Blog Posts by Lauren Cikara
Bringing Mental Health to Middle Schools (And to the Fairway)
When Active Minds received a three-year $3 million grant last year from United Health Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Optum, our team could not have imagined the impact that this partnership would have on the growth of our community. We are proud to announce that thanks to their support, we are bringing our proven peer-to-peer…
School Counselors’ Crucial Role in Student Mental Health
It’s no surprise that school counselors play an important role in supporting student mental health, well-being, and academic success in K-12 schools. They are the people most engaged in programs and activities that help students develop healthy goals, mindsets, and behaviors. They are making a difference in the daily lives of our K-12 students and…
The Mental Health Crisis of School Shootings
We forget. Again and again, we forget. We forget the lives lost. We forget the screaming and tears of the classmates. The gasping, breathtaking grief of the parents, and the ashen shock of the teachers. We forget the horror, the anger, the anguish. We forget. We allow complacency and suffering to perpetuate. Today, there are…
How the Pandemic Has Affected Youth Mental Health, From a K-12 Expert
Content Warning: This piece contains mentions of suicide statistics. When the COVID-19 pandemic began, many were concerned about how it would impact youth mental health, especially high school students. The disruption of daily life, the pivot to distance learning, and the stress of the ever-changing mutations of the virus led to many young people experiencing…
Celebrating the Importance of School Counselors in Youth Mental Health
This week we celebrate National School Counseling Week by acknowledging the impact that school counselors and other mental health professionals make in K-12 schools. They are the people students go to for help with academic planning, healthy mindsets, and behaviors. School counselors work to maximize student success and are vital to school leadership teams to…
Prioritizing Mental Health this School Year: Ideas from a K-12 Education Expert
Back to school season is here and it is feeling a little cloudy with a chance of _______. The word(s) that end that sentence seem to change daily. Depending on how COVID-19 continues to impact our communities, the messages we are hearing from schools about starting this academic year seem to be in flux. While…
Active Minds is the nation's premier nonprofit organization promoting mental health for young adults.