May is Mental Health Month and this week is Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week
For over 65 years, mental health organizations and advocates have led the observance of May is Mental Health Month by reaching millions of people through the media, local events and screenings to promote awareness and reduce stigma.
Mental health is as important as physical health to children’s quality of life and directly impacts their learning and development. Mental health is not simply the absence of mental illness; it also means having the skills necessary to cope with life’s challenges. Children cannot learn effectively if they are struggling with a mental health problem, such as depression, or feel overwhelmed by academic, social or family pressures. Students, families, and communities thrive when schools meet the needs of the whole child, foster social-emotional skills, and identify and prevent mental health problems early.
The first week of May is Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week. This year, the week was started on Capitol Hill with a legislative briefing titled The Importance of School-Based Mental Health Programs. The briefing was sponsored by Representative Grace Napolitano (D-CA), who has reintroduced the bipartisan Mental Health in Schools Act (H.R. 1211) to increase support for school mental health services as part of ESEA.
Children’s mental health is a significant public health issue. About 1 in 5 youth in the United States will experience a mental, emotional or behavioral disorder during their school years. The CDC recently reported that these rates are increasing. The most common of these are anxiety disorders, depressive disorders and behavioral disorders, including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Despite their prevalence and impact, most people remain unaware that behavioral health conditions affect about one in four Americans. Half of these mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders begin before the age of 14, and three-fourths by the age of 24. The most recent data from SAMHSA (2013) indicates that of the 1 in 10 adolescents (10.7 percent) experiencing a depressive episode, only 38.1 percent will receive treatment.
School mental health is the coordination of services and interventions among school-employed mental health service providers and community mental health resources to support students, families and school staff within the school setting. Schools offer an ideal context for prevention, intervention, positive development, and regular communication between school and families. School mental health services are included within NEA’s Opportunity Dashboard and as a critical component of a comprehensive approach to safe and successful schools. Strengthening school health and mental health programs should be included within the guidance and best practices promoted by any education reforms that seek to promote positive student outcomes and life-long success.
Join NEA HIN (soon to be NEA Healthy Futures) in promoting Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week and Mental Health Month – Children’s #MentalHealthMatters in ESEA #OpportunityforAll #MHM2015
Here are some activities for promoting awareness of children’s mental health and the need to strengthen school mental health services as part of May Mental Health Month.
Click here to learn more about children’s mental health through a helpful infographic.
Posted by Libby Nealis
on May 7, 2015