Mental Health Awareness Month 2023: Combatting the Student Mental Health Crisis

Mental Health Awareness Month 2023: Combatting the Student Mental Health Crisis
Resources

April 21, 2023

Resource: Blog Industry: K12
Tags: K12 Education, Prevention, Safety

Mental Health Challenges on the Rise Amongst Students

Schools across the country are continuing to face increasing student mental health challenges.  

According to CDC data, nearly 1 in 3 (30%) U.S. high school students seriously considered attempting suicide in 2021—up nearly 60% from a decade ago. Girls and LGBQ+ teens are facing record-high levels of violence and mental health challenges, and 1 in 5 (18%) U.S. high school students experienced sexual violence in the past year—up 20% since 2017.  

Experts from the American Psychological Association site multiple causes of the current mental health crisis, including post-pandemic stress, social media and cyberbullying, sexual violence, early puberty rates, and structural factors like homelessness and poverty.  

Mental health is now widely accepted as equally important as physical health, but there is a nationwide shortage of trained providers and a growing need for mental health support. Schools play a key role in helping kids, but roughly half of U.S. public schools offer no mental health assessments or services.  

Moving forward, psychologists agree it’s increasingly important to equip schools to support student mental health and well-being.  

  

Support Student Mental Health & Well-being with Vector Solutions  

Vector Solutions has been delivering high quality, expert-authored professional development and prevention resources to millions of K-12 staff and students for nearly 15 years.   

 

Student Safety and Wellness Courses 

Our powerful, engaging student courses for grades 6-8 and 9-12 cover a wide variety of safety, wellness, and social-emotional learning topics that positively impact school culture, safety, and student mental health. 

Each module features diverse peer presenters and includes educator resources like lesson plans, discussion questions, and activities.  

Course packages include:  

  • Substance Misuse Prevention 
  • Mental Health & Well-Being 
  • Healthy Relationships & Inclusion 
  • Personal & Community Safety 

  

Staff Training and Professional Development 

Expert-authored online training and professional development courses specifically written for K-12 teachers and school staff build awareness and equip them to detect and respond to student mental health issues. Courses include: 

  • Youth Suicide: Awareness, Prevention and Postvention 
  • Bullying: Recognition and Response 
  • Student Mental Health Awareness 
  • Diversity and Inclusion 
  • Making Schools Safe & Inclusive for LGBTQ and Transgender Students 
  • Trauma-Informed Practices 
  • Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports 
  • And More 

Download our catalog or request a demo to learn more about our student and staff course offerings. 

 

 

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