Building Mental Health platforms in schools for students, teachers & parents

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Safety in Schools

Webinar 21

Building Mental Health platforms in schools for students, teachers & parents

The holistic development of a human being comprises growth in each sphere, physical, mental, and social. However, it is rarely recognized or cared for by the individual or society. Child and adolescent mental health has only begun to gain attention but is far from recognition at the grass-root level. The World Health Organization claims that schools have an unparalleled opportunity and scope to improve the lives of young people and promote their mental health

The webinar aimed to understand:

• Social and emotional intelligence in the curriculum for students • Need of Mental health for meeting environmental demands - Role of educators, counselors and primary caretakers • NEP and Emotional Quotient • Role of NGOs in promoting School-based interventions over existing healthcare services

Esteemed Panelists:

MS. REKHA CHAUHAN Sr. Psychologist & Counselor, President AISUCAP, Working Group Committee Member-Manodarpan(MHRD) MS. VISHAKHA GUPTA -

MR. SUSHANT KALRA Founder, Parwarish Institute of Parenting, Renowned Parent Teacher Coach, TEDx Speaker Principal at Beacon High School, Pune

MS. PRACHI KHANDEPARKAR Psychologist and Project Lead Adolescence Health Promotion Programs at Sangath

KEY TAKEAWAYS

UNDERSTANDING MENTAL HEALTH • We try to push individuals out of certain emotions like crying and anger. We need to understand that anger is as important and as positive as happiness is. • Our emotions are not negative, their repercussions are. • The biggest road block in the field of mental health is the perception of mental health.

People are quick to seek professional help in case of any physical health issues but not when it comes to mental health. • Almost 64% of the behavioural issues and sexual and reproductive health problems arise during adolescence. • We have knowledge and developed many skills, everything is also available on the internet but the current generation does not know and has neither been taught the ways to cope up with emotional distress. • Mental health is a learning enabler. • A study found that nearly 80% students do not receive mental health care and over 50% with emotional and behavioural disabilities drop out of schools. • All of us need to understand that confusion and worry are natural emotions. • All of us only use 4-5 words to express our emotions, while we go through 300 different emotions on a daily basis. • The onset of mental health issues happen as early as in grade 6th; however they might not be apparent.

ROLE OF STUDENTS TO TAKE CARE OF THEIR MENTAL HEALTH • Students must take care of themselves by getting proper sleep, keeping their surroundings clean, and expressing their feelings and emotions in the best possible manner.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Individuals should not wait for their situation to get worse. If they feel a certain way they should talk about it with their mentors as soon as possible.

SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN SCHOOLS • Schools are the focal point of interventions into the mental health of children because they spend a significant amount of time in schools. • With a lifestyle shift of working parents, the responsibility of development of a child has been passed on to schools. • CBSE has launched a handbook on developing 21st century life skills. This booklet is available on the CBSE as well as the Manodarpan website of GoI. • We need to realize the importance of the social quotient in children. In today’s world we are all glued to social media and have not developed the appropriate social skills.

We can comfortably talk to each other over text messages but are uncomfortable to talk to the same person outside the digital world. • Measuring the emotional quotient of a child and assigning a number to it is not recommended.

NEED FOR MENTAL HEALTH TO MEET ENVIRONMENTAL DEMANDS • The foundation of a child plays an extremely important role in the emotional wellbeing of the child. • Everybody is focusing on achievement without recognizing that achievement involves self-reflection and understanding our relationships with those around us. • Children must be taught the difference between a good touch and a bad touch to avoid lifelong scars. • We need to realize how mental health affects the school life in terms of lower grades, depression, anxiety, absenteeism and dropping out of schools. • We need to allow children to learn when they want because humans grow in stages and it is important to learn what one wants in that particular stage. • Mental health and the emotional quotient define the arc of one’s career.

NEP AND EMOTIONAL QUOTIENT • The NEP ensures equitable and inclusive learning for all keeping in mind the importance of mental wellbeing. • If a child does not feel secure in certain environments we can’t expect the child to excel in studies, the NEP recognizes this and therefore discusses the importance of inclusion, special educators and early identification and addressal of mental health

KEY TAKEAWAYS

issues so that the drop rate in education goes down. The EQ is as important as IQ for the development of a child. We need to realize the importance of human skills such as empathy, compassion and assertiveness to get the task done. We must follow a step by step process to develop an emotional quotient. First we need to identify our emotions, second, we need to articulate them and then we deal with them. We all have a very poor vocabulary while describing our emotions.

GOVERNMENT, NGOS AND SCHOOL BASED INTERVENTIONS • Teachers must build better connections with students, parents, and the management to bridge the gaps between all individuals for better mental health of a child. • Educators need to ensure high morale of students. • School mental health services are essential for creating and sustaining safe schools; they increase accessibility, improve wellbeing, and enhance academic performance and problem solving skills of adolescents. • There is a need for integration of mental health into educational institutions. • Programs need to work on three levels; the school level, classroom level and individual counseling. • The government has launched several handbooks that have been approved by CBSE and NCERT and have been circulated in schools and are available online. • The government also has a chat line on their website

THE ROLE OF CARETAKERS • The word “parenting” is a misnomer, we often associate it with parents, however it is about nurturing children. Parenting involves all the caregivers of a child. • The caregivers must allow the child to feel all emotions and coach them to manage these emotions effectively to avoid repercussions. • Eating disorders, sleeping disorders, mood changes and withdrawal symptoms vastly impact the adolescents and can be identified by parents and teachers. • Parents need to create a space at home where it should be okay share everything with each other for great mental health. • Rather than creating a good image, parents and educators must open up about their issues and share their experiences with children. This normalizes mental health issues and makes children more comfortable with sharing their own stresses. • Parents must be supportive, build responsibility in the child, be complaint free and

KEY TAKEAWAYS

respect their child. Caretakers must answer all questions immediately and impart age appropriate knowledge to children. Parents can’t develop habits in children as per their desire, they need to build responsibility and develop habits in their children when the child wants it. Parents should try to understand the emotion of the child instead of focusing on the jargon used to express. Teachers must not be over protective of a child with behavioural issues, the difference in their attitude could make the child feel uncomfortable about their condition. If need be, caretakers should try to get the child professional help without having any negative connotation attached to psychological issues.

SURVEY FINDINGS

63.7% individuals feel that not enough mental health platforms have been built in Indian schools where children can express themselves fully. Close to 98% audience opines that it is essential to establish mental health awareness at school level. 98% of the audience also opines that family should be the first introductory environment for children regarding mental health. 76% principals and teachers conducted mental health awareness sessions during the lockdown. More than 79% of the participants think that changes brought about by the National Education Policy will give Emotional Quotient more coverage.