Supporting minds
An educator’s guide to promoting student’s mental health and well-being
Educators play an important role in supporting student learning about mental health and well-being by: Teaching about mental health using explicit and implicit opportunities in the Ontario curriculum; and Creating, fostering and sustaining a learning environment that is healthy, caring, safe, inclusive, and accepting.
Released by the Ontario Ministry of Education in 2013, this document promotes mental health literacy by outlining the most common mental health problems facing Canadian youth today. It is also focused on providing educators with the knowledge and resources they need to help youth. Each disorder or mental health struggle is explored using the guiding categories:
- what is it?
- what does it look like
- what can educators do
- relevant background information
- references and further reading.
Key topics include:
- policy considerations
- cultural/diversity considerations
- educational implications for students who are struggling with mental health treatment
- how teachers can create a positive classroom environment and reduce stigma in the school.
Why we’re recommending this resource:
- Accuracy of information: well-researched, appropriately cited, and well written / organized
- Authority: author is identifiable and has related qualifications and/or credentials / affiliated with a reputable institution
- Objectivity: minimal to no biases or affiliations with a company selling products of promoting a questionable agenda.
- Currency: information that is recent or has been recently endorsed
- Canadian resource