Welcome to this edition of the Educator Mental Health Resources newsletter. This newsletter is created by the BC Schizophrenia Society in partnership with BC Partners for Mental Health and Addictions Information.
For a calendar of support and education events for family members and supporters, please visit www.familyevents.bcss.org
If this email was forwarded to you by someone else, you can sign up for your own copy here. There are also companion newsletters for family members and supporters of persons with a mental illness, and for mental health professionals.
In this newsletter
- E-Visions Schools Edition - check out this magazine edition for lots of great evidence-based content on mental health and addictions as it relates to schools.
- Help for family members and supporters of persons with a mental illness
- Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention Centre workshops for youth
EVisions School Edition
Vol. 5 | No. 2 | 2009
Background
Editors Message
– Sarah Hamid-Balma
Visions’ editor points out that there is no one face of mental health and substance use in the classroom. So how can we be sure kids don’t fall through the cracks? If you can help the most vulnerable, then most times you can help them all.
The Rise in “Non-typical” Students
A Challenge for Our Times
– Cheryl Ashlie
As a veteran school trustee, Cheryl has watched as the “typical” learner has become less and less common in the classroom. With these changes come challenges; and to overcome these challenges there must be changes.Â
Youth and Mental Health/ Substance Use Problems
How Schools Are Involved
– Lynn D. Miller
One in five BC school kids have some type of mental disorder. Only one in five of those kids will get the help they need. The school years are also when many kids use substances for the first time. Here we learn what schools - and the government - can do to help.
Alcohol and Other Drug Use Among BC Students
Myths and Realities
Elizabeth M. Saewyc
Drug and alcohol use is running rampant in our BC schools. Or is it? An expert in youth health clears up common substance use myths, and highlights the facts.
Experiences and Perspectives
My School Years
The Wild Ride From Basements to Bikes
– Chris
Having a mental disorder can be quite the journey at any time, but in the unruly adolescent years it can be downright wild. A brave student shares the years he lost because of his illness, and how he rode his way to a brighter future.
To Tell or Not to Tell?
The question of disclosure
– Caris Smythe
It can be a struggle to find the right support for your child with special needs, but what if you yourself are facing mental health issues? One mother outlines her struggle to help her son while facing stigma because she was open about her illness.
Let’s Not Talk About It?
Teaching teens about substance abuse
– Andy Sibbald
After years of struggling to teach teens about drug and alcohol use one educator, and recovering alcoholic, found what works: Learning from the mistakes of others and not talking about healthy lifestyles, but living them.
Bullying at School Can Take the Sunshine Out of Life
A student and parent share their experiences
– Lenette and Darlene Doskoch
We have all heard about the devastating effects of bullying. Here one extraordinary young girl opens up her painful past and a mother celebrates the return of her Sunshine Girl.
Weathering the Storms
A family’s journey through earthquakes, loss-and bullying at school
– Shabana
When it rains it pours. An “instant” mother shares the struggles of helping her two beautiful nieces through loss, bullying and natural disasters. While navigating the school system is tough she’s found that keeping an open mind helps open doors. [Online only]
Educating Youth About Mental Illness
– Shelby Rankel
Teaching the teachers. One extraordinary young woman is using her battle with a mental disorder to arm teachers and student s with Mental Illness First Aid. [Online only]
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Alternatives and Approaches
School Connectedness: It Matters to Student Health
– Laura MacKay
Having a sense of belonging has been shown to improve the well being of students. This article explores the connection between connectedness and healthy choices and lets us know what schools can do to improve the odds.
Rethinking Drug Education
– Dan Reist
While the idea of drug education in schools is well meaning, its results are iffy at best. An addictions expert tells us that when it comes to talking to our kids about drugs it’s time to get real.
Student Mental Health: Teachers Can Help
– Cheryl Hofweber
Teachers spend a lot of time with our kids. Because of this, they are often the first line of defence when our children develop a mental disorder. This article takes a look at what teachers can do to prepare themselves to help our kids.
Making the Most Out of Making Your School Smoke-Free
– Gerald Thomas
It will take more than just banning smoking on school grounds to reduce smoking rates among students. Here we learn the 7 steps to a smoke free school.
Regional Programs
FRIENDS Parent Training
Helping parents help their children deal with worries and anxiety
– Donna Murphy
No parent wants to feel the hopelessness of watching a child struggle with anxiety and depression. One mother turned her tragic loss into a powerful program that arms parents with the knowledge they need to help their kids cope.
A New Path in School District #22 (Vernon)
Our substance abuse prevention policies and procedures
– Doug Rogers
It used to be that if you were caught using drugs at school, you were kicked out. Now by asking one simple question: “What would I do if my child had a drug problem?” one school district is changing the way kids who use substances are “treated”.
Reaching Out
Two BC Programs Bring Mental Health Awareness to Youth
– Sophia Kelly and Judy Gray
Two innovative programs are changing student lives here in BC. ReachOut is using hip approaches to teach students about psychosis. Youth Net Delta is helping kids teach each other about mental health - and combating stigma along the way.
Jessie’s Hope Society Celebrates ‘EveryBody’ by Fostering Healthy Resilience
– Brian Chittock, Quinn Cashion-Vosburgh, Healther Rajala
One BC program is educating teachers and students about the importance of resilience. By teaching kids how to use the power of thought they teach them to celebrate EveryBody.
 Help for Family Members and Supporters
Relatives and friends of persons with a mental illness can find help, evidence-based information and services at: www.families.bcss.org or at http://www.heretohelp.bc.ca/skills/supporting-family
Crisis Intervention & Suicide Prevention Centre of BC
The Crisis Centre’s Community Education program provides free, interactive youth suicide prevention workshops to secondary school classes throughout the Lower Mainland and Sea-to-Sky corridor. The two workshops offered, Suicide Awareness & Response and Stress Management, focus on empowering young people to reach out to help themselves and each other when experiencing an emotional crisis. These workshops destigmatize the topic of suicide and teach young people how to prevent it. Students learn how to make healthy choices, how to recognize when their friends are distressed, and how to manage their own stress. Both workshops are designed for students in grades 8 to 12 and are facilitated by trained volunteers.
Please contact Tiffany Young for more information or to book these workshops for your school. tyoung@crisiscentre.bc.ca Tel: 604-872-1811 ext 234
Suicide Awareness and Response
- Grades 8-12 (1 class period)
- Realizing that youth suicide is a serious problem
- Understanding that many youth suicides are preventable
- Recognizing the key roles youth play in preventing suicide among their peers
- Featuring our new evidence-based choices
- reaching out classroom video
- Learning key warning signs to watch and listen for
- Knowing how to ask, listen and connect to helping resources
- Boundary setting and self-care for peer helpers
- Requires overhead projector and TV/ DVD player for 20 minute film
Stress Management
- Grades 8-12 (1 class period)
- Understanding stressors - both challenges and benefits
- Identifying physical, emotional and cognitive indicators of stress
- Recognizing personal and shared sources of stress
- Understanding implications of unmanaged stress for overall wellbeing
- Identifying effective and ineffective ways of coping
- Learning to manage stress through problem solving and adaptation
- Recognizing the benefits of reaching out for help
- Requires overhead projector
Looking to find referral or other resources for children and youth in BC?
Contact the Kelty Resource Centre. A staff person is available by phone or email to help locate clinical resources and information on mental health and addictions.
Who do I contact to refer a youth who might have psychosis for help?
Psychosis is a medical condition that needs to be treated as soon as possible. Early medical treatment has been shown to make a big difference in how quickly and completely people recover. Because of this, many health regions have specialized services for youth experiencing psychosis to provide immediate assertive treatment. Here is a listing of such services in BC. If your region isnât listed, you can get help finding services in your region, contact the Kelty Resource Centre. which provides information and referral services relating to youth mental health and addictions for BC residents. For a teacher-oriented list of signs of psychosis, please see this link
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