Teachers face the challenge of corralling young people into a room to stay focused, learn, finish work, behave, and stay safe. With countless backgrounds, cultures, learning styles, and personalities, this can be difficult in and of itself. When you add mental illness or poor mental health in the mix, it can be impossible.

Here, we outline how teachers can incorporate positive mental health tactics to enrich their learning environment and facilitate better learning.

STEP 1: LEARN about common mental illnesses and their warning signs.

Students face a range of mental obstacles that most are not yet equipped to deal with. Often, they don’t even know how they’re feeling or what they need to succeed. You can be the determining factor in their future just by paying attention to behaviors, patterns, and sudden changes in your students!

Warning Signs

• Anxiety Disorders: overwhelming fear or anxiety, restlessness, fast heart rate
• Behavioral Disorders: acting out, being withdrawn, difficulty concentrating, mood swings, involvement in fights, drastic changes in personality
• Eating Disorders: not eating, throwing up, or avoiding food
• Suicidal Behavior: hurting or talking about hurting oneself, involvement in fights, being withdrawn, intense worries or fears, drastic changes in personality

This list is not exhaustive and, as you can see, many warning signs might overlap with each other or with cognitive and learning disorders, or difficulties at home. Paying attention to your students and talking with them and their families about any concerns can help differentiate what’s normal for them and what might be a bigger problem.

STEP 2: ACCESS school and local mental health resources.

Does your school have a psychiatrist, psychologist, or school social worker? Get to know that person, how they prefer to see students, and how you can help them. Working in tandem with onsite mental health support is the best way to minimize the load on teachers while directly intervening with students.

Whether or not there’s onsite mental health support, teachers should also be familiar with local mental health resources like emergency services, psychiatric clinics for children, abuse hotlines, free counseling, and shelters/food pantries.

Pro Tip: 988 is the new suicide hotline number. Post it in your classroom, especially if you teach middle or high school students.

STEP 3: PROMOTE positive thinking, mental wellbeing, and trust in your classes.

Start every year off by establishing a supportive, safe, and healthy environment in your classroom that avoids judgment, bullying, and stressful situations. When students feel safe, fewer crises will develop and, when they do, the teacher has a trusted platform for resolving it.

You can also teach students about the relationship between thoughts, feelings, and actions. Encourage self-reflection and personal trigger awareness. Mindfulness, meditation, breathing exercises, and grounding exercises are all great ways to incorporate introspection.

• In-The-Moment Interventions
• If possible, remove the triggering event (ex: a particular person or item).
• Talk in a calm, measured, low voice.
• Use empathetic language like “I’d like to help.” instead of “What’s wrong with you?”
• If able, move the child to the side and allow the rest of the class to continue. Privacy and 1:1 communication can help the student feel less targeted or judged.
• Don’t ignore, punish, or isolate a student in response to a mental crisis; try to get to the root of what happened and discuss ongoing interventions with their family and the school.

STEP 4: PROTECT your own mental health as well!

Your mental wellness is the basis for the quality education and support you provide to your students. You’re no good if you’re emotionally depleted, so establish and stick to boundaries that work for you.

Delegate and/or tap in outside help when it’s needed. Remember, your job isn’t to diagnose or resolve all student obstacles, but simply to support them as best as you can in the classroom.

Explore classroom activities and strategies for mental wellbeing here.
Get some fun ideas for teacher self-care here.