Preventive Mental Health Education
Here at All About Mental Empowerment, we are passionate about preventive mental health support. With our education in Naturopathic Medicine, we are trained to be experts in preventative health. We decided to dedicate our careers to focusing on providing preventative mental health education to youth because of our shared passion for mental health.
The research on youth mental health tells us that 70% of mental illnesses have their onset in childhood or adolescence. Worldwide, we are currently facing a mental health crisis, with individuals needing support now more than ever before! As these rates continue to increase and the healthcare system struggles to meet the demands, it is becoming increasingly important to begin mental health education in schools. When we equip young people with a toolbox of coping strategies that contains resilience building skills and the ability to ascertain when they need support, we have the opportunity to intervene before they reach the point of needing critical interventions.
The time to bring a comprehensive mental health strategy into schools is now! After working with over 15,000 students and speaking with hundreds of principals and school staff about their mental health needs, we have found three components to be essential in building a comprehensive, preventative mental health strategy in schools.
Component #1: A Resilient Community
We firmly believe that raising resilient children requires a healthy, resilient community. We’ve heard from hundreds of teachers who are burnt out or are on the verge of taking mental health leaves. We’ve also heard from stressed and overwhelmed parents who simply don’t know how to start these conversations at home, or are battling mental health stigma and are looking for guidance on how to do things differently with their own children. Supporting the mental health needs of both the educators and the parent community is an essential part of raising resilient children.
Component #2: A Culture That Sparks Honest Mental Health Conversations
Mental health stigma is still a barrier in mental health education today. By introducing mental health education in public schools, we can work towards destigmatizing mental health issues from an early age. Creating an open and understanding environment helps students feel comfortable seeking support and discussing their emotions without fear of judgment. Creating this culture requires teachers to have the opportunity to learn how to comfortably integrate these conversations in the classroom.
Component #3: A Plan
Many schools have public health nurses and guidance counselors in place to support students who need extra support. However, we have found that these resources are exhausted in schools and that few schools actually have a preventative mental health strategy in place to support all students. A preventative mental health strategy allows staff to identify potential issues at an early stage and intervene before they escalate. It also gives students the opportunity to experiment with coping strategies that they can use when challenges arise, and it encourages them to seek support early.
Preventive mental health education in schools is an essential component of nurturing a generation of emotionally intelligent, resilient, and compassionate individuals. We hope that these three essential components inspire you to take action to improve the mental health strategies within your school community. Not sure where to start? Get a free demo of The Mental Empowerment Courses by CLICKING HERE to see how preventative education can transform the mental health of your community.
P.S. If you enrol your entire school to the Mental Empowerment Course, you get 15% off! This offer is only valid until end of September.