Should Schools Prioritize Mental Health Support, Awareness, and Education? | EP. 37

In JAMA Pediatrics’ article published last 2019, they said that many mental health conditions first appear in youth and young adults, with 50% of all conditions beginning by age 14 and 75% by age 24.

For years, bringing light to mental health education, awareness, and support has been a move that seemed too hard to achieve. In the same article, JAMA Pediatrics even stated that one in six youth have a mental health condition, like anxiety or depression, but only half receive any mental health services.

Many have struggled, and lots are still there. But as we slowly move towards a modern period of openness, thankfully, more and more people are starting to talk about mental health. Families, friends, teachers, and fellow men are starting to recognize people’s need to be held and heard. More eyes have been opened to see the reality behind one’s low points. Even schools now have programs and activities to help students achieve both wellness and academic success. After all, we all have the capability to be empathetic towards our fellow men.

In this episode, we engage in a conversation with the one-and-only Emily Rion, one of Revere High School’s Guidance Counselors who is passionate about overall student wellness. As a school counselors, they focus on social-emotional wellbeing, academic support, and college/career readiness. Emily has over 14 years of experience as a high school counselor, with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a master's in Education focused on school and private counseling.

 

Having suffered the challenges around mental health as a teenager, Emily was once just like those students who are struggling to achieve academic success because of mental health issues. But then, she met a counselor who later on changed her life for the better. Now, she’s here with us, speaking as a counselor herself, wanting to help us recognize the need to prioritize mental health education and awareness in schools. Tune into this episode, and we hope that as you move forward, you find your own Emily Rion.

 

 

Show Highlights:

 

(00:00:00) Episode disclaimer, highlight, and introduction

(00:01:24) Today’s topic: Prioritizing mental health conversation in schools and ensuring support

(00:02:31) Welcoming our guest: The one-and-only Emily Rion

(00:03:05) Struggling with mental health as a teenager and meeting the counselor who changed her life

(00:06:42) Students’ challenges: From five years ago to the present time

(00:09:00) Bringing light to mental health and support should happen at a federal level

(00:11:39) Schools are the heart of a community

(00:13:53) Schools focus on the mental wellness of students = students who are academically successful

(00:15:23) Tips on how to prioritize mental health education and awareness in schools

(00:20:04) Social-emotional wellness camps: Where the ideas came from, what it’s like, and what the feedback was

(00:20:35) Message from our sponsor: Speaks2Inspire is the mental health solution for young adults suffering in silence. Learn about how your campus can benefit from partnering with Speaks2Inspire by visiting www.speaks2inspire.com. 

(00:26:30) On asking for the support of the administrators: “Don’t give up. Keep pushing along.”

(00:30:00) Lending a hand even when you’re not the expert

(00:33:36) What do you say to a student who is in need of support?

(00:37:15) “I was never gonna give up on him, but I wanted him to know that I was struggling too”

(00:43:38) For local and national resources, go to http://www.speaks2inspire.com/resources. Call or text the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (988) if you need support. Join the Unlearn The Lies About Mental Health Facebook group: https://bit.ly/UTLcommunity.

(00:45:00) How and where to find your own Mrs. Rion

(00:47:15) Viktor Frankl and his book “Man’s Search for Meaning”

 

Key Takeaways:

“I’m one counselor to maybe 350 students; that’s a lot. And the same with my colleagues. We need more mental health-focused practitioners in schools. And honestly, without trying to get too political, I think that has to happen at a federal level. We have to have buy-in from our politicians that see the need for mental health in schools. We think about communities and you think about where a lot of kids get their meals from, sometimes their warmth from for the day, their shelter; it’s the school. We are the heart of communities. I feel like it really has to come from the top of that buy-in.” – Emily Rion

“They are my students. They are my responsibility to help and lead and guide to the point that they want to. Not everybody wants me to be as involved, and that’s okay. I meet my students where they’re at. I meet my families where they’re at.” – Emily Rion

“We cannot expect our students to work towards their academic goals if they are not mentally well. So it is incredibly important to focus on mental wellness for our students in order for them to be academically successful.” – Emily Rion 

“I am very respectful to other people's wishes and belief systems and all of that; however, having that whole child's best interest at heart is incredibly important, and that’s what needs to happen for sure in the school system.” – Emily Rion 

“Every single one of us has the capability to be empathetic towards other people.” – Emily Rion 

“It may seem kind of hard, but it’s really not, because those people that are willing to help you are probably already in your life and you don’t even know it.” – Emily Rion

Connect with Emily via the following: 

Email: [email protected]  Phone: 440-465-0422 Twitter: https://twitter.com/reverecounsel

 

Unlearn The Lies About Mental Health is Hosted by Abraham Sculley

Contact Speaks2Inspire to learn about S2I programs: https://speaks2inspire.com/services/. Mental health resources for students: https://speaks2inspire.com/resources/. Connect with Abraham on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abrahamsculley/. Order a copy of Unlearn The Lies https://amzn.to/32B2jRh. Join the Unlearn The Lies About Mental Health Facebook group: https://bit.ly/UTLcommunity.

This episode is powered by Speaks2Inspire, the mental health solution for young adults suffering in silence. Speaks2Inspire works with colleges and universities to create and implement safe, comprehensive programs for campuses across the nation.

If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis please reach out to the Crisis Text Line by texting “Home” to 741741 or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by calling 1-800-273-8255.