Mental Health Awareness in Schools

Mental health issues can interfere with academic achievement for most students when issues are treated. 
Some issues may go untreated because students may not be able to identify the emotions they are experiencing. The consequences of untreated mental health problems are significant and can touch every aspect of school life including discipline and safety, school climate, family engagement, instructional time, and teacher stress (Rossen & Cowan, 2014).

Teachers and other school employees may be able to identify when a student is having issues and refer those students to the school counselor. However, the short time that a school counselor may have with the student makes it difficult to get to underlying issues that the student may have.
Students should be educated about mental health issues. It would allow those that may be experiencing them personally to be able to identify a problem that they can seek treatment. 












Mental health awareness creates a safe environment of acceptance.  Knowledge of mental health issues can help remove the stigma attached to them.  Students that do not have mental health issues should knowledgable of some of the issues their peers may face and the factors that come along with them. When they are aware of these things it can remove fears or myths that they they may have about mental health issues. 

 These can emerge in childhood or adolescence 
  •  Depression and other mood disorders 
  • Anxiety disorders 
  •  Attention-defi cit/hyperactivity disorder 
  •  Emotional-behavioral disorder
  •  Obsessive-compulsive disorder More commonly emerge in adolescence 
  • Eating disorders 
  •  Schizophrenia
  •  Addiction/substance abuse 
  •  Personality disorders • Conduct disorder (Rossen & Cowan, 2014).
Mental health awareness creates a safe and comfortable learning environment for all students. It helps students understand what others may be experiencing. It also allows the student with mental health illness the ability to recognize when they need to seek help without going through life with issues that go untreated. 

References
Rossen, E., & Cowan, K. C. (2014). Improving mental health in schools: raising awareness of the many children who come to school with mental health issues and then treating them appropriately is the best way to ensure they achieve their potential in school and life. Phi Delta Kappan, 4.

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