Your role in school mental health
Everyone has a role in creating schools that support and care for mental health.
A supportive school is important for everyone’s mental health. We all have a role in supporting mental health by caring for ourselves and each other.
- Self-care is an everyday habit that helps you feel balanced, calm, and well. It might look like getting enough sleep, taking breaks, moving your body, or spending time with people who make you feel good. Self-care can also include practices rooted in culture, tradition, faith, or spirituality, such as spending time on the land, making traditional foods, speaking your language, or participating in cultural ceremonies. These can help you feel grounded and supported.
- Community care is about creating a space where we support each other. It’s based on the idea that we’re all connected and have a role to play in each other’s wellness. Community care can include sharing cultural practices, working on shared projects, uplifting strengths, learning from each other’s traditions, and creating spaces where everyone feels seen and valued.
While self-care is about taking care of yourself, community care reminds us that it’s okay to lean on others, and that connection and caring for others build a sense of belonging at school and beyond.
Students like you play a big role in making school a supportive place. This page shares some ideas on how we can all work together to create a space where everyone feels safe, respected, and cared for.
As you move through this page, think about how you can use both self-care and community care, and explore actions that help you take care of your own mental health while supporting the well-being of others at school.
Learn more
A good place to start is learning about mental health. We sometimes call this “mental health literacy,” which includes knowing things like:
- how to take care of your mind and emotions
- what mental health is
- what mental illness is
- signs of mental health problems
- how to support others
- How and where to reach out for help when you need it
Mental health means different things to different people. Take time to learn about understandings and definitions that may be different from your own. Understanding Mental Health is a good place to start your learning.
Support yourself
Taking care of your mental health isn’t just for tough moments – it’s something you build into your daily routine. Just like we care for our physical health by eating well or getting enough sleep, we can do small things each day to support good mental health, too.
When you look after your mental health, you’re better prepared to handle stress, meet your goals, and be there for the people around you. Here are a few daily actions you can do to support your mental health:
- Learn when to say no and set boundaries to protect your time and energy.
- Connect to people, things, and activities that boost your mood (e.g., spend time in nature, engage in sports or physical activity, be with friends and family, connect with culture, language, or practice a ceremony).
- Meet your basic needs before taking on extra responsibilities.
- Celebrate your wins – whether it’s finishing a big project or just getting out of bed on a tough day, every victory counts.
- Stay organized to reduce stress and make space for what matters to you.
Remember, you don’t have to do it all alone. Talking to a friend or caring adult can make a big difference. Supporting your mental health is not selfish – it’s smart.
Talk about it
Talking about mental health helps break down stigma (like shame or judgment) and shows others they’re not alone. Even small conversations about well-being can create space for honesty, support, and connection. You don’t need to have all the answers – just starting the conversation matters. Here are some ways to talk with your friends:
- Sharing how you’re feeling can invite others to relate and open up too. You can say things like:
- “I’ve been off lately. I’m going to go talk to the guidance counsellor.”
- “Today’s been a bit rough, but I’m excited to see my friends later.”
- “I don’t have to work tonight, and I’m happy to have a break.”
- Mentioning things like taking a mental health break, going for a walk to clear your head, or setting boundaries helps normalize those choices.
- Being there for someone can be incredibly powerful. This could be listening without judgment, sharing stories, spending time together, or even sitting in silence.
Be kind
Research shows that when you engage in kind actions, you not only improve someone else’s day but can also brighten your own.1 Small acts of kindness might seem simple, but they add up to create a more supportive school environment. Here are some ways you can show kindness:
- Invite others to join games or participate in activities with you.
- Help others, like picking up something they dropped or assisting them with a tough question that you know the answer to.
- Be polite and express gratitude to others.
- Celebrate others’ successes, like doing well on a difficult test or making it into a sports team.
Create connection
School is about more than classes and homework. It’s also a place where you can build connections. Connection can look different for everyone. It might come through community, sports, clubs, culture, faith, land, or family. It’s often found in activities, like taking a walk outside, creating art, playing a sport, sharing stories, laughing with someone, or smudging.
Feeling connected to your school – like having friends, knowing there are adults you can turn to, people who check in on you, or feeling like you can be yourself – can help protect your mental health. Here are some ways you can create connection:
- Spend time doing things that connect you to yourself, your talents, your culture, your faith, the land, your community, or family.
- Join clubs or activities that you enjoy.
- Sit with someone new at lunch or invite someone into a conversation. This might mean a lot to someone who is looking to connect but might not know where to start.
- Choose to be around people who encourage and empower you, making you feel good and supported. Relationships should uplift and support you, not weigh you down.
- Pay attention to small moments. A smile, a shared laugh, or quiet time with someone you trust can be meaningful, too.
Help a friend
When friends are going through tough times, they often turn to each other for support. It’s natural to want to help, but it’s also important to know you don’t have to do it alone. Sometimes, you might need to reach out for some support to help you help others, and that could mean sharing your concerns with a trusted adult.
There’s a difference between keeping a secret and respecting privacy:
- Secrecy is when you hide information, even from people who might need it to help.
- Respecting privacy means sharing only what’s necessary, and only with those who can provide support or keep someone safe.
If you notice big changes in a friend’s behaviour, or if their struggles are affecting their daily life, they might need more support than you alone can offer. If your friend says or does something that makes you worried, it’s important to talk to a trusted adult, even if they ask you not to. If someone is in crisis, keeping them safe is your most important role. The best way to be a good friend is to get them the help they need. Check out Help a friend for more tools and tips to support a friend.
Student groups and clubs supporting mental health
You can make a big impact on your school community. By participating in clubs, advocacy groups, or student-led initiatives, students can come together to support mental health at school. Student-led activities that focus on mental health usually try to:
- make it easier to talk about mental health
- teach others about mental health and reduce stigma
- encourage self-care, community care and wellness strategies
- share how to spot when someone might be struggling and where they can go for help
Your group doesn’t have to do it all. Sharing tips, making posters, or planning an event can all make a big difference. Here are some ideas to help you get started.
Encourage self-care and community care
Encouraging healthy habits and small acts of kindness can reduce stress, break down stigma, and remind everyone that they’re not alone.
- Create a wellness corner or bulletin board with calming visuals, stress management tips, and reminders to take breaks.
- Distribute wellness posters, helpline and support information, and notes of encouragement throughout the school (including in washroom stalls).
- Create opportunities that acknowledge, celebrate, and uplift peers’ identities, such as celebrating cultural events or highlighting diverse voices in school projects and announcements.
- Host feel-good activities, like kindness campaigns, therapy dog visits, baking exchanges, sports, games, or art sessions.
- Encourage older students to support younger ones, such as by creating care packages during exam season or sharing stories about transitioning to high school.
- Advocate for quiet spaces or wellness rooms where students can take breaks.
- Advocate for school policies and programs that prioritize mental health, such as stress management or wellness programs.
Share information about mental health
Help spread accurate information about mental health. This helps challenge harmful myths and build understanding about mental health.
- Host awareness events, like Mental Health Week or wellness fairs, with fun and interactive learning activities.
- Share facts about mental health through posters, social media, or morning announcements.
- Before you share any mental health information, check that it’s reliable and accurate with the help of a trusted adult. That way, you know you’re helping others with facts they can count on.
School Mental Health Ontario has blog posts, tips, and resources. Below are some resources you can share on social media, in online classrooms, or as posters in your school.
These resources were designed for school staff to use. Some students have worked with their caring adults to adapt these lessons and teach other students about mental health.
Share when and how to reach out for support
Everyone needs support sometimes, and reaching out is a strong, healthy step. Still, many people feel nervous or unsure about asking for help when it comes to mental health. You can play an important role in changing that by helping to create a school culture where seeking support is seen as a strength, not a weakness.
- Work with school staff to make sure mental health resources are easy to find. That might be posters in hallways or bathrooms, a section in the school newsletter, or links in virtual classrooms.
- Share where to go for help so that students know who they can talk to, such as guidance counsellors, caring school staff, or helplines.
- Normalize asking for help. Use announcements, posters, or social media to remind others that everyone struggles sometimes and that it’s okay to speak up.
- Make it easier to start the conversation by sharing simple ways students can ask for support, like:
- “I’ve been feeling off lately and don’t really know why. Can you help me?”
- “It’s been a tough few weeks, and I’m feeling overwhelmed. Can we talk?”
1 Cotney, J. L., & Banerjee, R. (2019). Adolescents’ conceptualizations of kindness and its links with well-being: A FOCUS Group Study. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 36(2), 599–617. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407517738584