Teachers and students are exhausted. We are nine months into a lingering and increasingly dangerous coronavirus outbreak, which has hastily forced most learning environments to become virtual and/or hybrid. We are facing extreme cases of social isolation from families and friends that have persisted through many cultural and religious holidays. So what are we doing to take care of ourselves and each other?

It seems that now, more than ever, teachers and students need to bolster their mental health supports within the classroom. What can we do to best support ourselves and students right now, and how can we go about integrating that into the classroom? Drawing from research and examples, there are multiple ways to bolster mental health within your classroom.

Many are struggling with Mental Health through a pandemic

Research regarding mental health during the pandemic is still being conducted; as a result, we don’t know much about the long term trends regarding how 2020 has affected the mental health landscape in the classroom.

Teachers have seen significant increases in mental illness and burnout over the past few years. A study conducted this year by the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence found that out of 5,000 surveyed teachers, “The five most-mentioned feelings among all teachers were: anxious, fearful, worried, overwhelmed and sad. Anxiety, by far, was the most frequently mentioned emotion” when describing their current emotional state” (Cipriano & Brackett 2020). The National Education Association recently released a report noting that “more than a quarter of teachers surveyed reported that the COVID-19 pandemic has made them consider early retirement or leaving the profession altogether” (Heubeck 2020).

Students are following the same trend in burnout and mental illness. Research notes that for college-age students, “the growth in counseling center appointments from 2009 to 2014 (30%) was six times greater than the rate of growth in institutional enrollment (5%)” across the United States (Xiao et. al., 2017). K-12 students are experiencing higher levels of anxiety and depression, with many schools reporting higher cases of anxiety and depression among students ages 8-17 (Child Mind Institute 2020). And with many districts facing financial downsizing, schools are struggling to keep up with the demand to support students’ mental health needs.

What are some Innovative District Solutions? 

Despite the growing need and challenges, research and school districts have found innovative solutions to help support students during this time. In fact, many schools have made mental health support a priority given its intrinsic ties to increased academic outcomes. The Los Angeles Unified School District is one such school district by implementing a mental health hotline for parents, students, and teachers to call into when seeking mental health support, or advice on how to support others. The District has supported a variety of requests and calls ranging from anxious students to teachers seeking guidance on supporting students. (Preston 2020).

Are you doing Wellness Check-ins?

In the East Cleveland Unified District, educators are holding a “wellness check-in” zoom calls for their students and parents to express their emotions around racial injustice, the pandemic, and mental health struggles. The district also ran programming for students to deal with stress and burnout, called the You Matter Academy (Preston, 2020). Another widespread solution in K-16 education resides in telehealth. According to the Child Mind Institute, “Nearly 60% of U.S. counties don’t have a single psychiatrist,” and “within rural communities, only 20% have a psychiatrist” (Child Mind Institute 2020). As a result, telehealth sessions represent a potential solution to the logistical barriers surrounding access to psychiatric help in education.

Connection, Self-Care, and Mirroring: Bringing Mental Health Support into the Classroom

While these are district-wide approaches, many of the same concepts--connection and self-expression-can be applied in the classroom. In my earlier blog post on Social Emotional Learning, I wrote about the importance of teachers mirroring SEL for their students, since research demonstrates that teachers who are effective in SEL skills are more likely to transfer those skills to their students. The same concept applies to mental health support in the classroom. 

Teachers are certainly not counselors--but their ability to express themselves and care for their own mental health is paramount to improving overall mental health in the classroom (Jones, 2013). Actions such as acknowledging out loud how you are feeling before class starts, checking in with students throughout the lesson, and pausing to process emotions before responding send strong messages to students regarding how to act and conduct themselves in the classroom. Furthermore, the ability to recognize when students are displaying signs of grief, depression, or anxiety allows educators to better respond to students in distress; resources such as the Child Mind Institute provide helpful resources on how educators can spot and support students that are struggling. 

Building Relationships with Students is where it’s at!

 Another helpful indicator to spot and support struggling students relies on building strong relationships with parents, who are partners in your students’ education--especially with virtual learning. Setting up consistent and clear lines of communication with parents allows educators to have a better understanding of their students, and provides greater insight into a students’ overall mental health state. Finally,  increasing mental health support in the classroom also lies in increasing student interaction during lessons. With the persistent need for social distance, many K-16 students are experiencing loneliness and disconnection from friends (Child Mind Institute 2020). By increasing interaction and self-expression in lessons, students have the ability to interact with others in a meaningful way. 

Conclusion

Students and teachers require mental health support now more than ever. Although we are unaware of the extent to which mental health issues and burnout are increasing in students and teachers, the current research available displays a bleak picture. By increasing educator self-care, parent/teacher communication, meaningful student interaction within the classroom, teachers can set their students up for mental health success. 

References: 

Child Mind Institute. (2020, April). Telehealth in an Increasingly Virtual World. Retrieved from https://27c2s3mdcxk2qzutg1z8oa91-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2020_Summary.pdf

Cipriano, C., & Brackett, M. (2020, June 15). Teachers Are Anxious and Overwhelmed. They Need SEL Now More Than Ever. - EdSurge News. Retrieved November 06, 2020, from https://www.edsurge.com/news/2020-04-07-teachers-are-anxious-and-overwhelmed-they-need-sel-now-more-than-ever

Heubeck, E. (2020, October 09). What Teachers Want From Their Leaders Right Now. Retrieved November 06, 2020, from https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2020/10/08/what-teachers-want-from-their-leaders-right.html

Stephanie M. Jones, S. (n.d.). Educators' Social and Emotional Skills Vital to Learning - Stephanie M. Jones, Suzanne M. Bouffard, Richard Weissbourd, 2013. Retrieved September 24, 2020, from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/003172171309400815

Supporting Mental Health Well-Being - Research and Policy. (n.d.). Retrieved November 06, 2020, from https://www.act.org/content/act/en/research/reports/act-publications/mental-health-report.html

Xiao H, Carney DM, Youn SJ, et al.: Are we in crisis? National mental health and treatment trends in college counseling centers. Psychol Serv 2017; 14:407–415 Google Schola