Mental
Health Literacy is defined by the Canadian Mental Health Association (2016) as
increasing knowledge and awareness of mental health issues, while simultaneously
decreasing stigma and providing individuals with opportunities to learn. It has
become vital to teach students of all ages about mental health issues,
particularly because mental health disorders have become more prevalent in the 21st
century. In fact, 20% of Canadians experience a mental illness within their
lifetime (Canadian Mental Health Association, 2016). Manion, Papadopoulos, and
Short (n.d.) state that 19% of youth would not know if they had a mental health
disorder and 12% stated that they would not know where to seek help. These
statistics demonstrate why it is important to begin to teach students about
mental health disorders so that children and youth can gain knowledge and
awareness about what obstacles they may face. Decreasing stigma for children
and youth is extremely important, as 63% of youth have noted that fear or
embarrassment are the major barriers that make young people hesitant to seek help for mental
health disorders (Manion et al., n.d.). Throughout
the rest of this blog, I will provide you with some examples of how Mental
Health Literacy could be incorporated into an elementary school classroom.
For students in the primary grades, teachers
could use flowers to help students explore and talk about emotions in concrete
ways.
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| Smell the flowers and promote emotional literacy [Image]. (2013). Retrieved from https://kristinamarcelli.wordpress.com/2013/06/22/smell-the-flowers-and-promote-emotional-literacy/ |
Teachers could take the students outside and
have a discussion with them about which flowers look happy and which look sad.
Depending on their developmental level, students may also be able to identify
colours that remind them of different emotions. Teachers could expand on this topic and have students relate this discussion on emotions to their own
feelings. This provides the teacher and students with an opportunity to talk
about the various feelings that people experience each day and that each feeling
is okay to have. The students could discuss how they would like their own garden
of feelings to look and set goals for the day and the week. Additionally, they
could create a garden using a drawing or a collage and write about each flower
and what it represents in terms of their own emotions.
Additionally, there are a variety of YouTube videos
that describe mental wellness and illness in kid-friendly ways.
I had a black dog, his name was depression [Video]. (2012). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiCrniLQGYc
This is a great video that could be
shown to students in elementary school, as it explains depression in a way that
would help students understand mental health issues. The video encourages
viewers to seek help if they are feeling depressed and it discusses the
benefits of a variety of resources that people who are struggling with mental
health problems can reach out to. I particularly like that the video emphasizes
that there is no magical medication that will cure individuals and that no one
therapy will work for everyone. However, with that said, the video does stress that
depression can get better overtime if individuals ask for help, which is important, as it gives a sense of hope.
Another
idea that could be implemented into the classroom at any age, is positive self-image
poetry. It is extremely important, particularly now that mental issues are at
their most prevalent, to help children have positive self-images of their
bodies and their abilities. This project stems from a book called The Best Part of Me by Wendy Ewald.
After reading the book, students are encouraged to choose a part of themselves
that they love. After they have done this, the teacher can photograph the part
that each student chose in black and white film. Using the photos and the book
as inspiration, students write descriptive poems about the part of
themselves that they like best. In the end, the project would look something like this.
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| The best part of me: Positive self-image poetry [Image]. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/top-teaching/2013/03/best-part-me-positive-self-image-poetry |
This project would work to promote positive
self-image and positive mental health in students, while also incorporating mental
health literacy into the already existing curriculum. For more information
about this project, you can visit this link, which looks at one teacher's experience with it:
Additionally, teachers
could use books in the classroom to help guide discussions about difficult
topics like mental health. For example, a book called Can I Catch It Like a Cold would be an excellent choice when
beginning to discuss mental health disorders like depression. The book was
written by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and uses simple language
in order to explain depression to children (Scholastic, 2009). The book is
about a young boy named Alex who has difficulty understanding why his father
stays at home and does not go to work or attend Alex’s soccer games. With help,
Alex is able to learn more about his father’s depression and feels less
confused, as a result (Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 2012). It also
discusses how depression can be treated and the resources that children and
youth can go to when they or their loved ones are faced with mental health
issues (Scholastic, 2009). Something that the book addresses that is extremely important
when educating children and youth about mental health is that it lets
children know that they are not alone (Scholastic, 2009).
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| Play therapy supply [Image]. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.playtherapysupply.com/books/can-i-catch-it-like-a-cold--coping-with-a-parents-depression
Finally, it is extremely
important to provide students with resources so that they are able to seek help
if they need it. These resources could be provided to students when topics of
mental health are taught in class or teachers could keep them on hand for the
times when students come to them with a problem that they need help with.
Here
are some additional resources that teachers can provide to their students:
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References
Canadian Mental Health Association (2016). Fast facts about mental illness. Retrieved
from http://www.cmha.ca/media/fast-facts-about-mental-illness/#.Vv7nGuIrK00
Canadian Mental Health Association (2016). Mental health literacy. Retrieved from http://peel.cmha.ca/programs_services/mental-health-literacy/#.Vv7cuOIrK00
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (2012). Can I catch it like a cold? Coping with a
parent’s depression. Retrieved from http://www.camh.ca/en/hospital/health_information/for_children_youth/Pages/catch_like_cold.aspx
Manion, Papadopoulos, and Short (n.d.). Mental health literacy [Powerpoint
slides]. Retrieved from http://www.kidsmentalhealth.ca/documents/Res_TA1_MH_Literacy_Overview_Advisory_Council.pdf
Play therapy supply [Image]. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.playtherapysupply.com/books/can-i-catch-it-like-a-cold--coping-with-a-parents-depression
Smell the flowers and promote emotional literacy [Image]. (2013). Retrieved from https://kristinamarcelli.wordpress.com/2013/06/22/smell-the-flowers-and-promote-emotional-literacy/
Scholastic (2009). Can
I catch it like a cold? Coping with a parent’s depression. Retrieved from http://store.scholastic.com/Books/Hardcover-Books/Can-I-Catch-It-Like-a-Cold-Coping-With-a-Parents-Depression
Smell the flowers and promote emotional literacy [Image]. (2013). Retrieved from https://kristinamarcelli.wordpress.com/2013/06/22/smell-the-flowers-and-promote-emotional-literacy/
The
best part of me: Positive self-image poetry [Image]. (2013). Retrieved from
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/top-teaching/2013/03/best-part-me-positive-self-image-poetry
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/top-teaching/2013/03/best-part-me-positive-self-image-poetry
World
Health Organization. (2012, October 2). I
had a black dog, his name was depression [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiCrniLQGYc
