Mental Health Magazine Layout

Page 1

Incorporating Facts ◆ The foundation of good mental health Mental Health is laid in childhood years, and has a into Educational major impact on multiple outcomes later in life, including educational Policies outcomes and future employment. ◆ Provide a system of affordable,

available and accessible high quality public day-care centres for all children.

◆ Implement evidence based anti-

and may reduce and prevent mental

health and wellbeing, and prevent

health problems, violence, bullying,

mental disorders in school.

conflict and anger.

with a sense of identity, self-respect, direction, meaning in life, mastery, belonging, safety, and social support.

◆ Include children and their families

M

in planning

requires the development of cognitive, emotional, and social skills for

which educational settings make an ideal context. Mental health may be defined as a state of wellbeing in which every individual realises their own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community. Thus, mental health is not just the absence of illness.

Educational settings promote mental health when they provide children and adolescents with a sense of identity and self-respect, direction and meaning in life, mastery, belonging, safety, social support and participation. Good mental health is associated with better educational and behavioural outcomes. A range of effective interventions are available to promote mental health and to prevent and reduce mental illness. However, very few children and adolescents receive such interventions in the school setting.

adolescents develop the ability to experience a range of emotions in appropriate and constructive ways: possess positive self-esteem and a respect for others; and harbor a deep sense of security and trust in themselves and the world. Mentally healthy children and adolescents are able to function in developmentally appropriate ways in the contexts of self, family, peers, school, and community. Building on a foundation of personal interaction and support, mentally healthy children and adolescents develop the ability to initiate and maintain meaningful relationships and learn to function productively.”

Bright Futures in Practice: Mental Health (National Center for Education in Maternal and Child Health)

Enhancing mental health in schools in comprehensive ways is not an easy task. Indeed, it is likely to remain

Schools are not in the mental health or

an insurmountable task until school

social services business. Their mandate

reformers accept the reality that

is to educate. Thus, they tend to view

such activity is essential and does not

any activity not directly related to

represent an agenda separate from

“Incorporating mental health into educational policies contributes to developing, maintaining and protecting society’s most potent and least developed resource, the mental health of children.”

school settings

“Mentally healthy children and

self-esteem, self-confidence, prosocial behavior, mental health and wellbeing,

mental health, providing young people

Mental Health and Education

schools enhance social-emotional skills,

based interventions to promote mental

and schools on whether they promote

ental health

targeted mental health initiatives in

bullying programs and whole-school

◆ Routinely assess day-care centers

by Chinonye Nriaka

◆ Well implemented universal and

that promote mental health and the wellbeing for oneself.

◆ Collect regularly data on children and adolescents’ mental wellbeing and any other problems

◆ Train school staff to support children’s psychosocial development

◆ Include mental health promotion in national school curriculum Mental health in schools educates school staff about learning barriers and promoting healthy development. It’s addressing systemic matters at schools that affect mental health, such as high stakes testing, bullying, alienation, and student disengagement from learning.

instruction as a sideshow. To counter

a school’s instructional mission. For

all this and end the marginalization

this to happen, we must encourage

of mental health in schools, those

them to view the difficulty of raising

interested in enhancing the role

achievement test scores through the

schools play in addressing mental

complementary lenses of addressing

health concerns must join with others

barriers to learning and promoting

in pursuing new directions that lead to

healthy development. When this is done,

the development of a comprehensive,

it is more likely that mental health in

multifaceted, and cohesive system

schools will be understood as essential

for learning communities that is fully

to addressing barriers to learning and

integrated into school policies.

not as an agenda separate from a

Such a system focuses on all students (not just some students), addressing barriers to learning and teaching (not just safety and health) and re-engaging students in classroom learning (not just minimizing behavior problems).

school’s instructional mission. In sum, advancing mental health in schools is about much more than expanding services and creating full service schools. It is about establishing comprehensive, multifaceted approaches that help ensure schools are supportive places that maximizes learning and well-being for students. •


Incorporating Facts ◆ The foundation of good mental health Mental Health is laid in childhood years, and has a into Educational major impact on multiple outcomes later in life, including educational Policies outcomes and future employment. ◆ Provide a system of affordable,

available and accessible high quality public day-care centres for all children.

◆ Implement evidence based anti-

and may reduce and prevent mental

health and wellbeing, and prevent

health problems, violence, bullying,

mental disorders in school.

conflict and anger.

with a sense of identity, self-respect, direction, meaning in life, mastery, belonging, safety, and social support.

◆ Include children and their families

M

in planning

requires the development of cognitive, emotional, and social skills for

which educational settings make an ideal context. Mental health may be defined as a state of wellbeing in which every individual realises their own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community. Thus, mental health is not just the absence of illness.

Educational settings promote mental health when they provide children and adolescents with a sense of identity and self-respect, direction and meaning in life, mastery, belonging, safety, social support and participation. Good mental health is associated with better educational and behavioural outcomes. A range of effective interventions are available to promote mental health and to prevent and reduce mental illness. However, very few children and adolescents receive such interventions in the school setting.

adolescents develop the ability to experience a range of emotions in appropriate and constructive ways: possess positive self-esteem and a respect for others; and harbor a deep sense of security and trust in themselves and the world. Mentally healthy children and adolescents are able to function in developmentally appropriate ways in the contexts of self, family, peers, school, and community. Building on a foundation of personal interaction and support, mentally healthy children and adolescents develop the ability to initiate and maintain meaningful relationships and learn to function productively.”

Bright Futures in Practice: Mental Health (National Center for Education in Maternal and Child Health)

Enhancing mental health in schools in comprehensive ways is not an easy task. Indeed, it is likely to remain

Schools are not in the mental health or

an insurmountable task until school

social services business. Their mandate

reformers accept the reality that

is to educate. Thus, they tend to view

such activity is essential and does not

any activity not directly related to

represent an agenda separate from

“Incorporating mental health into educational policies contributes to developing, maintaining and protecting society’s most potent and least developed resource, the mental health of children.”

school settings

“Mentally healthy children and

self-esteem, self-confidence, prosocial behavior, mental health and wellbeing,

mental health, providing young people

Mental Health and Education

schools enhance social-emotional skills,

based interventions to promote mental

and schools on whether they promote

ental health

targeted mental health initiatives in

bullying programs and whole-school

◆ Routinely assess day-care centers

by Chinonye Nriaka

◆ Well implemented universal and

that promote mental health and the wellbeing for oneself.

◆ Collect regularly data on children and adolescents’ mental wellbeing and any other problems

◆ Train school staff to support children’s psychosocial development

◆ Include mental health promotion in national school curriculum Mental health in schools educates school staff about learning barriers and promoting healthy development. It’s addressing systemic matters at schools that affect mental health, such as high stakes testing, bullying, alienation, and student disengagement from learning.

instruction as a sideshow. To counter

a school’s instructional mission. For

all this and end the marginalization

this to happen, we must encourage

of mental health in schools, those

them to view the difficulty of raising

interested in enhancing the role

achievement test scores through the

schools play in addressing mental

complementary lenses of addressing

health concerns must join with others

barriers to learning and promoting

in pursuing new directions that lead to

healthy development. When this is done,

the development of a comprehensive,

it is more likely that mental health in

multifaceted, and cohesive system

schools will be understood as essential

for learning communities that is fully

to addressing barriers to learning and

integrated into school policies.

not as an agenda separate from a

Such a system focuses on all students (not just some students), addressing barriers to learning and teaching (not just safety and health) and re-engaging students in classroom learning (not just minimizing behavior problems).

school’s instructional mission. In sum, advancing mental health in schools is about much more than expanding services and creating full service schools. It is about establishing comprehensive, multifaceted approaches that help ensure schools are supportive places that maximizes learning and well-being for students. •


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