Teaching is a tough job. You are expected to help every student learn and achieve good grades, but that’s only the beginning. You’re often in the position of acting like a parent or a counselor: teaching and modeling appropriate behavior, communication, and social skills. The problem is, your degree in education didn’t prepare you adequately for this aspect of teaching.
Every teacher has students struggling with mental health issues Did you know that 20% of students aged 9 to 17 have a diagnosable mental health disorder that causes some degree of impairment? Even worse, 10% have a disorder that causes significant impairment. And by all measures, student mental health issues are on the rise, including anxiety, mood, attention, and behavior […]
Welcome to our podcast: Conversations About Student Mental Health. I’m Chris Leonard, Clinical Social Worker working with adolescents for over 25 years. In this podcast, I talk with school administrators, educators, clinicians, and parents to open a dialogue that will help the growing number of students struggling with mental illness.
Mandated mental health education in public schools seems to be trending across the country. New York and Virginia pioneered this concept in the summer of 2018, becoming the first two states to pass a law requiring mental health education in public schools. This past summer, Florida and New Jersey passed similar laws. Let’s take a look at the new mental […]
With the increasing numbers of students suffering with anxiety, depression, and school avoidance, schools and parents are resorting to home instruction as a solution. This sometimes happens due to recommendations from psychologists and psychiatrists who don’t understand the purpose of home instruction under NJ law.
Effectively managing school refusal (also known as school avoidance or school phobia) takes a consistent, coordinated effort between the parents and the school. It may also require help from outside mental health resources. In this article, we’ll address common mistakes as well as more effective school refusal intervention strategies for both schools and parents.
Welcome to our podcast: Conversations About Student Mental Health. I’m Chris Leonard, Clinical Social Worker working with adolescents for over 25 years. In this podcast, I talk with school administrators, educators, clinicians, and parents to open a dialogue that will help the growing number of students struggling with mental illness. In this episode, I will be speaking with a […]
Welcome to our podcast Conversations About Student Mental Health. I’m Chris Leonard, clinical social worker and educator, working with adolescents for over 25 years. The purpose of this podcast is to talk with school administrators, educators, clinicians, and parents to open a dialogue that will help the growing number of students struggling with mental illness. In our last episode, we […]
Welcome to our podcast, Conversations About Student Mental Health. I’m Chris Leonard, clinical social worker, working with adolescents for over 25 years. The purpose of this podcast is to talk with school administrators, educators, clinicians, and parents, to open a dialogue that will help the growing number of students struggling with mental illness. In this first episode, I’m going to […]
By Christopher J. Leonard, MSW, LCSW, M.ED. Parents and educators have grown increasingly anxious about child suicide and they have good reason for concern. . Among school age youth, suicide is the second leading cause of death. In a survey of United States students in grades 9 through 12, 16% reported that they seriously considered suicide, and 8% stated that […]
