Nowadays, the frequency of mental health crises in children and adolescents is increasing, and we need some methods and strategies to deal with them. However, our advice takes a step back and first focus on creating spaces that promote mental health – and schools are the ideal pl

Nowadays, the frequency of mental health crises among children and adolescents is increasing, and we need some methods and strategies to deal with them.

However, our advice takes a step back and first focus on creating spaces that promote mental health – and schools are the ideal place to build these environments.

Contact, expectation and purpose

New concept psychology expert Professor Rong Xinqi said that focusing on "connection, expectation and purpose" is a necessary supplement to personal efforts around mental health.

As all educators know, this requires a system support—a method that creates an ecosystem of collective support.

Create a "connection" starts with meaningful relationships. Psychological research shows that good interpersonal relationships can reduce anxiety and depression, improve self-esteem and immune system, and stimulate the center of happiness in the brain.

A close connection will bring a sense of belonging, which is related to the better mental health of adolescents.

School is an ideal place for a sense of belonging type of connection, but the reality tells us that this doesn't always happen. Among many surveys, only about 20% of students said they felt they belonged to the school.

During the conversation with teenagers in many cases, we found three different steps, which can be called the "attribution process": Follow, dialogue and care.

Educators can take some simple steps to get students through certain parts of the process—simply focus on a student, use their name or the correct nickname and have a conversation to show that they are always being followed and cared for. These are methods to cultivate students' sense of belonging.

2. Expectation: Consistency between ability and goal

Nowadays students are too stressed to learn and are overwhelmed, which will lead to negative emotions such as school aversion, anxiety and burnout. Obviously, both parents and schools have too high goals and expectations for students.

Most of the students we have come into contact with say that they feel that their abilities are limited and cannot meet the goals and expectations of parents and schools.

However, Professor Rong believes that allows parents and schools to align their children's goals and expectations with their children's personal abilities and is the key to improving students' mental health. Teenagers want to be pushed and accepted, but they don’t want to be suppressed, defeated and chase some goals that they simply cannot achieve.

One way to avoid such a bad result is to ensure that consistency occurs evenly between the child’s ability and parent-school expectations, especially those involving student achievement and performance.

Determine students who may feel they are not ready for success based on the environment and personal circumstances of the school and children, and ask them to tell them where possible problems are, and then set goals and expectations that suit them.

3. Purpose: Let students discover their own goals

In school, educators should learn to help students develop awareness of "the goals they want to achieve and what kind of people they want to become" - this is crucial for mental health.

There have been studies showing that students who feel they are needed and contribute effectively to their groups in school reported that their mental health “thrives.”

Professor Rong said that one basic way to help students discover goals is to "ask more questions." This can be achieved through small group reflection sessions in class, or by prompting students to explore the answers to their questions. Any activity that gives them new information about their interests and passions helps them find their goals.

Thankfully, many of these things have been done well by many schools and educators.However, as schools consistently promote connections, adjust expectations and help develop goals, they are taking steps beyond dealing with serious problems and addressing the conditions that lead to the crisis first.

If we want to see teenagers thrive, even under the pressure of today’s times, creating spaces that prioritize mental health is the ideal first step.

Reference:

·Springtide Research Institute (2022). Modern student mental health: What educators need to know. Springtide Research Institute.

·Flatt, A.K. (2013). A Painful Generation: Six Factors Causing the Mental Health Crisis in Higher Education in North America. University Quarterly, 16 (1).

·Prowse, R., Sherratt, F., Abizaid, A., Gabrys, RL, Hellemans, KGC, Patterson, ZR, & McQuaid, RJ (2021). Responding to the COVID-19 pandemic: Checking for gender differences in stress and mental health for college students. Frontiers in Psychiatry.