Educators and school personnel play a vital role in promoting mental health and well-being and identifying and responding to emerging mental illness in children and adolescents. However, they often have not received the education, training or ongoing support needed to respond in the classroom.
This month, Axis Health System staff Michaela Collins and Shea Anderson of our Community Counseling Assistance Program (CCP) team completed a training to help bring support to educators in Southwest Colorado. Classroom WISE (Well-being Information and Strategies for Educators), was developed to provide educators with the knowledge and skills they need to support their students’ well-being and mental health. Classroom WISE is a free 3-part training package that assists K-12 educators. Developed by the Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (MHTTC) Network in partnership with the National Center for School Mental Health, this package offers evidence-based strategies and skills to engage and support students.
“We completed the training because schools (staff, students and families) are some of our target audiences for our CCP program,” said Collins. “We think that they can benefit from this information and can always use support, as they are doing so much every day. We want to give back a little to them.”
Classroom WISE offers a training on mental health literacy for educators and school personnel, as well as a video library and resource collection. The package is built on six key modules developed by school mental health professionals and teachers that cover:
- Creating a safe and supportive classroom
- Teaching mental health literacy and reducing stigma
- Fostering social-emotional competencies and well-being
- Understanding and supporting students experiencing adversity
- The impact of trauma and adversity on learning behavior
- Classroom strategies to support students
Educators are invited reach out to the Axis CCP team to learn more about how the Classroom WISE resources can support them. Call 970.828.6004 or email mcollins@axishealthsystem.org
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