GHS NEWS

Teachers Now Required to Take A Refresher on Mental Health

This course could help students who suffer from mental illnesses

Editor Colleen Brownley

As a result of the pandemic there has been a spike in mental health problems, especially in teenagers. Gloucester High School teachers have started to take an online mental health course to refresh them on the signs of mental health problems and what to do when a teacher suspects a student may need help. The videos used to educate the teachers were very clear that they are not meant to be used to diagnose, but rather to help recognize signs of a possible problem. The course instructed the teachers to report a student to a superior when confronted with a child who they believe might suffer from a mental illness.

Thoughtful Thursday is another practice being implemented to help students with mental health. This application is being used to help students manage themselves more effectively and create better, more sustainable relationships with their peers. The program also educates students on how to make responsible decisions with various processes they can use such as pros and cons lists and thinking of the situation from another perspective.

Mental health can often be overlooked in teenagers. Parents and guardians can minimize the feelings of their children and come to the conclusion that they’re just a moody teenager, when there actually might be something serious occurring. The course mentions BPD or borderline personality disorder, which even some psychologists refuse to admit can appear in children. The course also mentions binge eating disorder, another mental health problem that is often overlooked. It is important to educate teachers about mental health issues, especially the ones that are stigmatized such as BPD and binge eating disorders, because it allows students suffering with these problems to have a safe space, someone they can come to when they need help.

The course featured an entire section on anxiety and depression. It explained how even small signs of these two illnesses are best to report because they are quite serious. The video showed that signs of depression are self harm, increased and prolonged moodiness, and a sudden drop in grades. The video explains that teachers cannot be held accountable for reporting a student who turns out to not be mentally ill. But they can be held responsible when they see the signs of a child who turns out to be mentally ill, yet they didn’t report it.

Courses like these can educate teachers on how to guide their students in the right direction, they could even save lives.