Mental Health in Schools
Three Ways You Can Center Mental Health in Your School
With increasing urgency over the last few years, educators, school administrators, and even researchers have taken a deeper dive into what equity and inclusion truly looks like within the education system, specifically as it relates to the creation of school policies, initiatives, and programs that take place at the district level and within the walls…
Meet the Fall 2022 Mental Health Advocacy Academy Class
Today marks the beginning of the second year of our Mental Health Advocacy Academy. The Academy is a unique leadership opportunity for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) high school students to create change in their schools and communities. Our 2022 youth advocates (listed below) will…
How to Prioritize Self-Care During the School Year
A new school year marks a new beginning, filled with determination, optimism, and, unfortunately, sometimes nervousness, dread, or feelings of overwhelm. It’s not uncommon when things start to feel difficult for students to forgo their self-care for academic achievement. However, it doesn’t have to be this way. As we start a new semester, I instead…
Five Mental Health Parenting Tips To Start the School Year
One day, I was unpacking my two oldest daughters’ backpacks (both elementary students), and a worksheet caught my attention. It was a “gratitude jar” coloring page, and both of my children scribbled into their jars pictures of things they most appreciated: our dog, their friends, cheese, and more. The worksheet stood out amid all the…
Our Top School Mental Health Tips By Students, For Students
Active Minds is adding mental health to the list of things to check off your back-to-school list. To help, our two “Mental Health Prep” YouTube lives shared tips for managing your mental health at school, with a focus on anxiety, depression, and self-care. During our first live panel, Active Mind’s senior manager of K-12 student…
An Educator’s Guide to Supporting Student Mental Health
Every year, I participate in summer orientation where we welcome students to campus. As a professor, this time is critical to meet the incoming class, hear from them about what they need during this transition, and uncover more about the best way we can lead in supporting student mental health. We take this responsibility seriously…
Mental Health Awareness Starts With You: High School Mental Health Prep
Content Warning: This piece contains mentions of suicidal ideation. During my freshman year of high school, I felt lost. Looking back, I see myself as a young girl trying her best to support a best friend struggling with suicidal ideation but not knowing where to turn. I see someone scared, lacking support, and not fully…
Advice for My Freshman Self: College Mental Health Prep
Dear me, How are you feeling about going to college for the first time? Nervous, excited, a little bit of both? I get it. It can be overwhelming thinking about all the big changes that come with moving out on your own, making new friends, taking harder classes, and just growing up in general. Not…
Every Generation Benefits When We Talk About Mental Health – Here’s How to Start:
International Youth Day is celebrated annually on August 12 to bring youth and young adult issues to the international community’s attention. This day gives an opportunity to celebrate and amplify young people’s voices, actions, and social justice initiatives, as well as their meaningful, universal and equitable engagement. This year’s theme is intergenerational solidarity, which emphasizes…
Heading Out on College Tours this Summer? Here Are Five Questions To Ask For Your Mental Health
Throughout my college admissions process, I considered several factors when choosing a college: campus life, program opportunities, rank, location, class size, cost, and sports to name a few. While some of these elements would undoubtedly affect my mental health, I never directly questioned how my mental health would fit into the schools I was visiting,…
Active Minds is the nation’s leading nonprofit organization promoting mental health awareness and education for young adults.