Author Archive: September 2016

Our primary goal as educators is to help our kids learn. However, sometimes there may be something going on in their life that interferes with their ability to learn. Youth Mental Health First Aid helps teachers and other school personnel...

Beginning or returning to college can be an exciting time for students. Each year is a new chapter filled with learning, discovery and opportunities. But, how students respond to the stressors of higher education varies from person to person —...

My district has over 8,000 employees, so you can imagine it was a lot of work to meet the goal of training 80% of them in Youth Mental Health First Aid in one year. But it was 100% worth it....

Adults often joke about the moodiness and unpredictable nature of teenagers. As teens go through puberty, spend more time with friends and less with family and discover their own identities, the shifts don’t come easy — for them or their...

The first day of school is a welcome reprieve for many parents. Juggling childcare, work and summer activities can be flat-out exhausting! But, while parents may look forward to school-year routines, some teachers may have a hard time gearing up...

College campuses are a melting pot of cultures and experiences. Students can hail from the same state as their school, or from across the world. Some are first-generation students and some have alumni in their family. Some live in dorms...

A staggering 90% of police officers surveyed reported stigma as a barrier to seeking mental health help. Some of that stigma stems from what they, and other people in public safety, witness as part of their jobs. “Just as the...

Our nation has a youth mental health crisis. One in six youth and adolescents will experience a mental health condition in any given time, nearly half of teens (44%) report feeling persistently sad and hopeless and 50% of all mental...

When you have substance use challenges, navigating summertime social gatherings can be difficult. It can be hard to strike the balance between wanting to spend time with friends and family when you know there could be temptations, such as alcohol,...

Older Adults experience mental health challenges about the same rate as the general public. According to the Massachusetts Association for Mental Health, one in four older adults has a mental health issue. And just like people of all ages, you...

More than 4 million people have been trained in Mental Health First Aid (MHFA). That is cause for celebration! Of course, we are thrilled that our community of First Aiders is growing. But we measure success in more than numbers....

The challenges people who live in rural communities are vastly different than those who live in urban areas. What is gained in wide, open spaces is traded for convenience. Trips to the grocery store take more planning and walking or...