0:02

TELL ME MORE:

0:04

STUDENTS ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORTS

0:07

(Brad): Hey there, my name is Brad.

0:09

And today, I’m talking with Heather

0:10

about student mental health.

0:12

So Heather, who can I talk to at school about my mental health,

0:15

or if I have a concern about a friend?

0:17

(Heather): Yeah, so that’s a great question.

0:20

Um, I think a lot of students will start

0:22

by talking with a friend,

0:23

if ever they have a concern for their mental health,

0:26

or possibly another friend’s. But there are some situations

0:29

where you might want to talk to an adult,

0:31

to help get you connected with support.

0:33

At school, we have lots of great choices that, you know,

0:37

people could possibly go to if they feel comfortable.

0:40

I think I would suggest that people start by looking at

0:44

who they feel like they can talk to, and feel comfortable with.

0:48

So that might possibly be a teacher,

0:51

it could be support staff,

0:52

like a child and youth worker. (Brad): Right.

0:54

(Heather): If you’re in a Catholic school,

0:56

might be a chaplain. We also have guidance educators,

1:00

we have student success teachers, resource teachers.

1:03

(Brad): Awesome. (Heather): Your school might have an Indigenous

1:06

or a Black graduation coach

1:08

that you might feel comfortable to talk to as well.

1:10

And then there’s possibly your principal

1:12

or your vice-principal. So those would all be some great options

1:15

that I think students could go to

1:16

if ever they were looking to get connected

1:19

to a regulated mental health professional in their school.

1:21

(Brad): Awesome. Yeah, no, it sounds like we have lots

1:23

of great options to go to.

1:24

That’s great. (Heather): Yeah, for sure!

1:26

(Brad): So, what kind of services are available at school

1:29

to support students with their mental health?

1:31

(Heather): Yeah, okay, great question. So at school,

1:34

there might be a range of different supports.

1:37

It will look different in every school.

1:38

But I would say that every school will be able

1:42

to connect you with a regulated mental health professional.

1:44

So that might be a school social worker,

1:47

a school psychologist, possibly a psychotherapist,

1:49

or even a mental health nurse.

1:51

So they can offer counselling, or help to get you connected

1:54

with resources that might be in your community.

1:57

I think the other thing I would share is that it’s important

2:00

that students know that there are choices

2:02

when it comes to looking at supports,

2:05

so it’s important that you find somebody

2:07

that you feel good connecting with.

2:08

(Brad): Of course.

2:10

(Heather): So that might mean that you’re looking for somebody

2:12

who speaks the same language as you.

2:14

Or somebody who understands your identification,

2:17

or possibly more about your culture and identities.

2:19

(Brad): Absolutely. Um, that’s great.

2:21

What kind of services are available in the community

2:24

or online to help students with their mental health?

2:28

(Heather): Yeah, great questions.

2:29

There’s lots of resources that are available for students.

2:33

You might first begin the conversation, though,

2:35

with somebody at home, that might be a parent, caregiver.

2:40

It might also be a community member.

2:42

You may talk to an elder or a coach, possibly a teacher.

2:46

There’s lots of great options in terms of places

2:49

that students can go to,

2:50

to start the conversation about their mental health.

2:53

In our communities, you can find lots of resources

2:56

that offer free service that are also confidential,

2:59

meaning they strive to keep your information private.

3:01

(Brad): Nice.

3:03

(Heather): There’s three youth resources I’d like to highlight

3:05

that are available for students all across Ontario,

3:07

and they are One Stop Talk, Kids Help Phone, and ConnexOntario.

3:12

(Brad): Can you tell more about One Stop Talk?

3:14

(Heather): Yes. So One Stop Talk is a resource that is available

3:18

to young people in Ontario that they can access themselves.

3:22

They can do this by going online, through a phone, tablet,

3:26

or computer, where they can get access

3:29

to a trained mental health professional.

3:32

There are no waitlists for this service,

3:34

so you can get access right away when you go online.

3:37

(Brad): Very nice!

3:39

(Heather): They’re open Monday to Friday from 12 to 8,

3:41

and on Saturdays from 12 to 4.

3:44

It would say that they’re there to offer counselling to you,

3:47

and offer a counselling session right away.

3:49

They can also help get you connected with resources

3:52

in your community, though,

3:54

if you were looking for that after speaking with them.

3:57

They would say that there’s really no problem that’s too big

4:00

or too small to bring to them and their team,

4:03

they would be happy to connect with you about that.

4:05

And if ever somebody was in doubt,

4:07

they would encourage you to reach out and speak about that.

4:10

They have services in English and in French,

4:13

and translation support available in over 240 languages.

4:16

(Brad): Oh wow! (Heather): Including ASL.

4:18

(Brad): No way, that’s awesome! (Heather): Yeah!

4:20

(Brad): Can you tell me a little more about Kids Help Phone?

4:22

(Heather): Yeah. Kids Help Phone is a great resource

4:24

that’s there to support young people with their experiences

4:28

or feelings that they might be having.

4:30

They’re a resource that’s available Canada-wide.

4:33

They offer support in a range of different language options,

4:36

so there’s lots of choices

4:39

if you’re looking to connect with someone.

4:41

I’d also say that they’re open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

4:45

(Brad): That’s awesome.

4:46

(Heather): So, if ever someone was wanting to reach out,

4:48

they’re there.

4:50

I would also offer that you can connect with them

4:53

by using a phone, a tablet or a computer.

4:57

They have online messaging, text, chat services.

5:01

They also have some great resources on their website.

5:04

And their services are free, and confidential as well,

5:07

so meaning, they work to try and keep your information private.

5:11

(Brad): Can you tell me a little bit about ConnexOntario?

5:13

(Heather): Yes, absolutely. So, ConnexOntario is a resource

5:16

that’s available to support any person in Ontario

5:20

with helping to find resources in their local community

5:23

related to mental health, addictions or problem gambling.

5:27

(Brad): Interesting.

5:28

(Heather): You can connect with them by going online

5:30

to their website, you can email with them, chat, call.

5:34

There’s a few different options. (Brad): Yeah.

5:37

(Heather): And if you visit their website,

5:38

you can help learn more about how to do that.

5:40

They’re available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

5:43

So definitely a great option to check our resources

5:46

in your local community, that you might be looking

5:50

for support around mental health, addiction

5:52

or a problem gambling. (Brad): For sure. That’s great.

5:56

KIDS HELP PHONE

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TELL ME MORE:

0:04

STUDENTS ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORTS

0:07

(Brad): Hi, my name is Brad,

0:09

and today I’m speaking with Marianne.

0:10

So Marianne, how does a school social worker

0:13

support student mental health?

0:15

(Marianne): So, as a social worker,

0:16

a school social worker myself,

0:18

what we do is meet with students like yourself,

0:20

and we talk about things that might be stressing you out.

0:23

It could be family issues, schoolwork, student conflicts,

0:28

and we try to help find tools and find solutions.

0:31

And we can do that one-on-one,

0:33

we can do that in group sessions,

0:36

and we can also do some workshops

0:39

and classroom interventions as well,

0:42

to help reduce stigma and talk about mental health

0:45

in a non-judgmental way.

0:47

(Brad): Very nice.

0:49

(Marianne): We can meet with you privately

0:50

in a, again, non-judgmental setting,

0:53

to work through things that you are having difficulties with.

0:57

So that can be through journal writing,

0:59

it can be through just discussion,

1:01

and sometimes it’s through playing games together.

1:03

(Brad): Oh, that’s awesome!

1:05

(Marianne): And sometimes we help you by working with staff

1:08

and other school personnel,

1:10

to try to find some solutions to help you cope

1:13

with what you’re dealing with, and to empower you as a student.

1:15

We’re here to help.

1:17

(Brad): Is what you talk about in counselling

1:18

kept private between you and the student?

1:21

(Marianne): Good question. We do go over confidentiality

1:24

the first time that we meet.

1:26

We do keep things private, we won’t share with your teachers

1:29

or your parents, unless there is a danger of harm to yourself

1:34

or somebody else is in harm’s way.

1:36

(Brad): Right. (Marianne): Then we will have to

1:39

take other precautions.

1:40

However, when we meet for the first time,

1:43

we always go over that and answer any questions

1:46

that you might have.

1:48

And our first counselling session,

1:49

we always discuss how counselling works,

1:52

and kind of the process of it.

1:54

If we are not the right fit for you,

1:57

we will try to make sure that we find somebody

1:59

who’s a better fit. (Brad): How can I find out more

2:01

about counselling services at my school?

2:04

(Marianne): So in your school, you can reach out

2:05

to a trusted adult. So that could be a teacher, a principal,

2:09

a resource worker, or a child and youth worker,

2:11

and they can always help you get in touch with us.

2:14

At some schools, you can sign yourself up

2:16

for individual counselling on your own,

2:20

and so we’re here to help.

2:21

(Brad): Awesome.

2:23

SCHOOL MENTAL HEALTH ONTARIO STUDENT SITE

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TELL ME MORE:

0:03

STUDENTS ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORTS

0:07

(Brad): Hi, my name is Brad,

0:09

and today, I’m speaking with Dr. Yvonne, psychologist,

0:11

about how a psychologist

0:13

can help support students’ mental health.

0:15

So Yvonne, what is a school psychologist?

0:18

I didn’t even know there were psychologists in schools.

0:21

(Yvonne): Yes, there are psychologists

0:23

in most schools in Ontario.

0:25

I’m a school psychologist, which psychologists

0:28

have special training in things like helping kids

0:32

deal with really tough situations,

0:34

handling their emotions,

0:35

learning challenges and making friends.

0:38

(Brad): How do school psychologists

0:39

help support students’ mental health?

0:42

(Yvonne): Well, we try our best to help kids feel good mentally,

0:45

help them understand themselves better,

0:48

and also help develop some strong

0:50

and healthy relationships.

0:52

And help them succeed in life and at school.

0:54

We may do an assessment, which would involve us

0:57

talking to kids, listening to them,

0:59

and also understanding what’s important to them.

1:02

(Brad): Oh, that’s great. (Yvonne): Mm-hmm!

1:03

Sometimes, we might do some activities,

1:05

like reading, writing or math tasks.

1:08

It might also involve things like problem solving,

1:10

looking at things like your memory,

1:12

or how quickly you can do something.

1:14

(Brad): Interesting. (Yvonne): Yeah!

1:15

And at the end of an assessment,

1:17

we may diagnose a condition,

1:19

like an anxiety disorder, or an attention problem.

1:22

Things like depression, or even a learning disability.

1:24

(Brad): How else could a school psychologist help students?

1:27

(Yvonne): Well, school psychologists can work

1:29

with parents, caregivers and teachers,

1:31

and come up with plans and strategies,

1:33

and put them in place to support kids.

1:35

It could be to do with their learning,

1:37

or with how they’re feeling.

1:38

Some school psychologists may also provide therapy

1:41

or counselling to kids, because learning

1:43

and mental health are very interconnected.

1:45

(Brad): Mm-hmm.

1:46

(Yvonne): Another thing that we might do

1:47

is provide a referral or resources to someone else

1:50

that’s in the community, or in the school.

1:52

What we want to do is provide all the resources we can,

1:56

so that we can help students feel supported,

1:58

and to do their very best.

1:59

(Brad): That sounds awesome.

2:02

SCHOOL MENTAL HEALTH ONTARIO