Protecting mental health in educational settings
Schools play a vital role in preventing mental health problems, as they are central spaces for learning and development during childhood and adolescence. It is an environment where children and adolescents spend many hours, and where everything that happens impacts their self-esteem, beliefs, habits, relationships with others, future plans, and so on. Promoting initiatives that strengthen these aspects in a healthy way consolidates protective factors for students' health.
If you work in the educational environment and wonder what can be done to promote good emotional health in students and thus prevent a mental health disorder, we review some basic guidelines for a good prevention strategy.
Reflect on your own beliefs
It has been shown that students learn far more from their experiences than from what is explained to them. As educators, we guide dozens of students throughout our professional careers and inevitably become role models for them. Embracing this responsibility requires essential reflection on our beliefs about success, health, gender, and diversity; our strategies for resolving certain situations; our communication style; and our relationship with our bodies and ourselves. Everything we wish to teach our students will be much more meaningful if it is consistent with how we present ourselves to them.
Develop a school coexistence plan
During childhood and adolescence, school and high school are central spaces in life. Feeling comfortable at school and belonging to the community is essential for emotional well-being, which directly influences self-esteem, learning, and social relationships. Practices such as assemblies, tutoring, restorative circles, and peer mediation are some of the options that can be implemented to strengthen bonds, promote emotional expression and management, and acquire conflict resolution strategies. It is very important that students see school as a safe space where relationships develop in an atmosphere of respect and zero tolerance for any type of violence . In this way, we foster a sense of security and confidence that, in a challenging situation, they have personal strategies at their disposal and will find support from both their peers and teachers.
Promote healthy habits
Adopting a broad view of health helps us promote both physical and emotional well-being. Establishing respectful relationships with ourselves and others, dedicating time to our hobbies, friends, and family , resting , and identifying and managing our emotions are just some examples of habits that care for our health, as does maintaining a balanced diet , engaging in physical activity , and avoiding tobacco, alcohol, and other substances . The society we live in presents thinness and a toned physique as the universal ideal of health, so it is crucial to pay attention, across all areas of education, to avoid reinforcing this belief in order to prevent fostering unhealthy attitudes that could ultimately lead to an eating disorder.
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Promoting the diversity of potential
Valuing the potential of each student broadens the range of positive role models they can see. Viewing this diversity as enriching for the entire student body strengthens self-respect and respect for others. Limiting a person's potential to the few socially predetermined values can generate expectations and comparisons that become sources of stress, worry, or frustration. Stimulating each student's potential without striving for excellence, while ensuring enjoyment in learning and interpersonal relationships, is a protective factor in regulating perfectionism and unhealthy levels of self-imposed pressure.
Expand teacher training in relation to mental health
Teachers play a vital role in preventing and detecting warning signs of vulnerability or risk among students. Early detection of these signs is key, but how can they contribute to this important task if they are not trained on what to identify? It is essential to provide them with the knowledge, time, and resources necessary to pay attention to subtle changes, observable within the school setting, that may appear among students in response to stressful life situations, adverse experiences, or personal factors such as low frustration tolerance, perfectionism, or excessive self-criticism, for example.
Use teaching materials in which diversity is positively represented
It is very important to review the materials we offer students, whether books, films, toys, or informational materials. It is essential that these materials respectfully and positively represent the diversity of body types, functional abilities, sexual orientations, cultural backgrounds , and so on. We must also avoid materials that reinforce established gender stereotypes, which can be very restrictive and limiting for all students and a source of pressure that may generate discomfort and dissatisfaction. Providing inspiring role models is crucial.
Promote healthy time management
It's very important to be able to observe our students' schedules from a distance to ensure they have a structured environment that promotes their well-being. Encouraging them to make time for hobbies, friends, and family is just as important as having time for studying or homework. It's advisable to avoid overly demanding and stressful workloads.
To foster critical thinking
We have long known that new technologies and social media are transforming how we interact with our environment and with ourselves, as well as how we learn and access information. Fostering critical thinking and the responsible use of these devices and platforms is fundamental for managing them safely. To this end, it is essential to guide our students in acquiring strategies for selecting, verifying, and filtering information, as well as resources for managing interpersonal communication.
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