Best Practices to Support
Mental Health for Children and Youth…Love, Empathy and Connection
Part 1 of a 4 Part Series
Submitted by: Stacey Hannay,
HPEC Comprehensive School Health Representative
Have you ever wondered how to address mental health and
related issues in your classroom without triggering students? As professionals,
we are always striving to provide our students with safe and caring learning
environments, and as our classrooms become more complex so do our students
needs. In this digital era we can find
many pieces of literature to support our teaching practices, but not all
provide us with strength-based approaches to dealing with mental health. As a teacher-researcher for 20 years now, my
classroom and the students in it have drastically changed, and I have found my
teaching practice evolving sometimes faster than I can input information. In an
attempt to provide you with some guidance on mental health and related issues,
I would like to share the first of a 4 part series into the journey of “best practices”, exploring resources and
tools to support mental health in your classroom that are clinical in nature
and supported by the research that informs them.
I recently had an opportunity to sit with Priscilla Asamoah
(MEd, RPC) from Alberta Health Services to discuss “best practices” for teachers’. As we opened up the dialogue between
us, the question around which resources and tools would best serve teachers in
their quests to promote safe and caring learning environments for students
around mental health came to forefront of the conversation. Our first in a 4
part series begins with Love, Empathy and Connection: Supporting Mental Health.
What is the research showing? The best predictor of a child or a youth’s mental
health is having a loving and supportive caregiver in their lives. This is
likely due to what scientists and child development specialists are calling
attachment.
Mental Health Literacy Series: https://www.cyfcaregivereducation.ca/videos
Love, Empathy and Connection: Support for Mental Health
Caregiver Handout:
Video:
Love, Empathy, and Connection will go a long way in
supporting your students’ mental wellness. As a teacher and caregiver, you have
one of the most important jobs in the world, however be aware that this is not
solely your responsibility and there are always options for assistance if you
are ever in need of some extra help. Listed below are some universal supports
for professional development.
(MORE)Mental Health Online Resource for Educators:
Alberta Health Services:
