Mental Health Resources for Teachers, Students, and Families
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. This year’s theme from the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is “More Than Enough,” a reminder of every individual’s inherent worth as a person. NAMI writes:
“It’s an opportunity for all of us to come together and remember the inherent value we each hold — no matter our diagnosis, appearance, socioeconomic status, background or ability. We want every person out there to know that if all you did was wake up today, that’s more than enough. No matter what, you are inherently worthy of more than enough life, love and healing. Showing up, just as you are, for yourself and the people around you is more than enough.”
For K-12 educators, many of whom are taking on more responsibilities than ever in the face of staff shortages, this reminder couldn’t be more apt — today’s teachers (though they may not always feel like it!) are far more than enough, consistently showing up to the classroom and striving to empower each one of their learners. For K-12 students, too, this reminder is more important than ever. In the face of an unprecedented mental health crisis among teens, particularly girls and LGTBQ+ youth, Mental Health Awareness Month deserves extra consideration this year from all of us in the K-12 education space.
To help you build your own knowledge bank, support your students, connect with families, and even lift up your peers, we’ve collected mental health resources to read, share, and save.
Resources for Background Knowledge
This resource from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration outlines in detail what teachers should know about mental health and substance abuse, what signs and symptoms they should look for in students, and how to start a mental health support program at school.
This government website provides an overview of school-based mental health support systems, including what they might look like, why they’re beneficial, and key practices for developing and implementing a program at your school.
This article from Inspired Ideas explores the connection between mental health and social and emotional learning in teens, providing teachers with an overview of trauma-informed teaching practices and SEL integration into core curricula:
Resources for Teachers to Share with Students & Use in the Classroom
Students spend so much time in school — exploring their identity, interacting with peers, and becoming themselves. Educators, as a result, are many students’ first line of support for mental health. Each of these resources is designed for educators to address mental health in the classroom.
On Our Sleeves, a movement founded by Nationwide Children’s Hospital, created a kit of conversation starters for both elementary and middle school that help teachers talk to students about mental health in a classroom setting:
Each of these digital shareables from the National Institute for Mental Health have clear, actionable, bite-sized information about child and adolescent mental health. Designed for easy sharing, the infographic and article topics range from teen depression to helping students cope with trauma:
This article contains tips for teens on managing anxiety, coping with stress, and understanding grief and loss, all derived from our wellness curricula, Teen Health and Glencoe Health:
Actively Learn, our supplemental digital curriculum platform for grades 3–12, contains free Student Guides, articles written for students on high interest topics that pertain to students’ daily lives. At the link below, you’ll find a number of articles pertaining to student mental health that you can integrate into your lesson plans.
Finally, this free classroom poster addresses how to manage stress:
Resources for Home
Students’ mental health needs extend beyond the boundaries of the classroom. The following articles are written for parents and families:
On Our Sleeves also offers a variety of helpful resources for families. This free kit, developed by experts, helps parents have meaningful, open conversations with children about mental health:
This article from Nemours Children’s Health, a pediatric health system, focuses specifically on how parents can help when their children worry, with actionable practices and indicators of when worry is a sign of an anxiety disorder:
Based on the social and emotional learning (SEL) framework from CASEL, this guide to SEL at home helps parents implement research-based strategies to reinforce the SEL competencies their children may be learning in school:
Resources for Teachers to Share with Peers
Teacher mental health matters, too! These resources address the social, emotional, and mental wellbeing of educators.
This article from Mental Health America lists ways teachers can help themselves and help other educators to protect their mental health:
The National Education Association (NEA) has collected articles, resources, and research about mental health specifically in the context of the K-12 landscape, considering the impacts of COVID-19 on both students and teachers:
Social and emotional learning is largely acknowledged as critical for students, but research shows that it could be beneficial for teachers, too:
For articles about mental health written by educators, see:
