To focus on the importance of raising awareness of mental health and early intervention among teachers, Poddar Foundation conducted a mental health session for teachers of St. Andrew's School at Panvel. The initiative was aimed to empower teachers to deal with stress, emotional upheaval and forge better teacher-student and peer relationships. Doctors said teacher's mental health is one of the biggest factors in a student's academic growth, as the mental health of teachers and students are interconnected, thus directly affecting their learning and outcomes. While providing quality education is essential, it is also essential that teachers develop a strong emotional bond with their students.
The session had various aspects of mental health issues which were discussed including mental health problems like depression, anxiety and stress. Since learning disabilities are often discovered in school because of problems with academic work, the session also involved detailed discussions on issues like Dyscalculia, ADHD and more. “Over 18 teachers who had participated in the program felt that such awareness programmes about common mental health issues can drastically improve the health outcomes of teachers as well as students, and help reduce anxiety and depression. By making small positive adjustments, over the long term, meaningful change can occur for teachers, students, and school leaders,” said one of the teachers.
Dr Prakriti Poddar, Managing Trustee of Poddar Foundation said the burnout feeling among teachers, which is a low and stressed state of the mind, could be contagious. It affects not only educators but also the students with whom these educators interact. Studies indicate that nearly 10 percent of children aged 5-16 years already suffer from some form of clinically diagnosable mental health issues. “The idea behind the program was not only to ease the stress and burnout of teachers, but also to help students learn better. The training teachers receive is mostly about how to teach content, but there is hardly any training or counselling for their mental health. Apart from a few organisations that are spreading awareness about students’ mental health, nothing is done at the school level,” she said.
As part of the mental health session, coping skills were also discussed and how teachers can support their students and themselves, and relevant resources were provided to the teachers. “Some of the teachers also shared experiences of children in their class having various issues. They also spoke about how they are trying to understand and help the children and mentioned that such sessions will help them more in dealing with children who have different mental health issues,” Dr Poddar added.
Neha S Shah, Head Projects at Poddar Foundation, “Early intervention is important when it comes to any psychological, behavioural, or common and severe mental health disorders. School-based interventions can reduce risk factors to promote the mental health and well-being of teachers, children and adolescents. School-based mental health programs serve as inevitable tools which promote positive mental health and prevent mental illnesses.”
