Resources and Helplines For Teachers and School Counselors

As you begin teaching the curriculum, you may have additional questions about how you can best support your students. In this section, you will find resources that will be helpful if a student needs support beyond what you are able to offer, as well as resources to support your own well-being.

Supporting Your Own Emotional Well-being:

While inviting students to bring their stories to the projects they create, you may hear experiences that speak to incredible loss, difficulty, and heartbreak. You may at times also find that listening to your students’ stories and serving as a witness has an impact on your own mental health. This is something that people in other caring professions (nurses, doctors, social workers, therapists, counselors, etc.) also experience. It is crucial that you take care of yourself, so that you can continue to show up for your students. This could include exercising, eating well, and making time to connect with friends and loved ones. In addition, below you will find a list of resources that can further support you in taking care of yourself. It is also worth noting that your healthcare provider will likely have a list of mental health professionals who offer services at a reasonable cost. Additionally, there are links to teletherapy below.

Resources

1. Screening Tools

Mental Health America (MHA): This is a screening tool that gives you a quick snapshot of your mental health.

2. Mental Health and Wellbeing Education

Mental Health America (MHA): This site shares signs and symptoms, facts, statistics, and the latest news on mental health.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): This page covers mental health basics and helps you know what to look for.

Child Mind Institute: Information tailored for educators on how to identify and respond to children with signs of a mental or learning disorder.

Mental Health California: An innovative digital magazine featuring mental health topics. They also provide education and awareness campaigns, and present community forums and special events.

3. Wellness & Meditation

Headspace: An app that provides instructional videos and guided meditations to support emotional well-being.

InsightTimer: A free meditation app with a diverse array of meditation styles.

Liberate: A safe space for the Black community to develop a daily meditation habit.

UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center: An app that offers you guidance and practice in mindfulness meditation.

4. Self-guided Tools

Berkeley Greater Good: Science-backed exercises to improve wellbeing and happiness, as well as a suite of resources such as podcasts, videos, and quizzes.

Self-Compassion.org: This website curates Dr. Kristin Neff’s ground-breaking work on self-compassion and includes research, recommended practices, and other resources.
Pinterest Wellbeing: A collection of short (<5 minutes) evidence-based exercises to help you with stress – developed with the Stanford Lab for Mental Health Innovation.

5. Clinical Services: Online Therapy

coa: Therapist led emotional fitness classes as well as one on one online therapy services.

Inclusive Therapists: This website features a directory of mental health professionals with diverse backgrounds who strive to provide safe and equitable therapeutic services.
Therapy for Black Girls: Online space to promote mental wellness in black women and girls, providing therapy resources and educational materials.
South Asian Therapists: International directory of therapists of South Asian descent.
Talkspace: This organization offers a wide range of mental health service options (e.g., text, live video, and phone) provided by professional counselors. The organization has specific support available for teenagers.

Supporting Your Students’ Emotional Well-being:

Most of the time, your role will be to stay present with your students as they share their creative work, and to make a connection with your own story if a genuine connection exists.  Encourage students to reach out to a school counselor if they are seeking additional support. School counselors can refer them to mental health professionals. In addition, here is a list of links below that can provide additional support to your students.

1. Screening Tools

Mental Health America (MHA): This is a screening tool that gives you a quick snapshot of your mental health.

ULifeline: An online resource specific to college mental health, containing information about mental health disorders and a self-evaluator tool.

2. Mental Health and Wellbeing Education

Mental Health America (MHA): This site shares signs and symptoms, facts, statistics, and the latest news on mental health.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): This page covers mental health basics and helps you know what to look for.

Stand for all: An online program offering remote coaching support designed to teach skills and strategies to address common issues like low mood, worry, poor sleep, panic and discomfort around others. Courses are self-paced and can be taken anonymously.

California Surgeon General’s Playbook: An article offering information on stress relief for caregivers and students during Covid 19.

The Half of Us: An online resource providing information and tips relating to processing emotions.
www.nami.org: NAMI is the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness.

3. Wellness & Meditation

InsightTimer: A free meditation app with a diverse array of meditation styles.

Liberate: A safe space for the Black community to develop a daily meditation habit.

UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center: An app that offers you guidance and practice in mindfulness meditation.

4. Self-guided Tools

Berkeley Greater Good: Science-backed exercises to improve wellbeing and happiness, as well as a suite of resources such as podcasts, videos, and quizzes.

Self-Compassion.org: This website curates Dr. Kristin Neff’s ground-breaking work on self-compassion and includes research, recommended practices, and other resources.
Pinterest Wellbeing: A collection of short (<5 minutes) evidence-based exercises to help you with stress – developed with the Stanford Lab for Mental Health Innovation.

Stand for all: An online program offering remote coaching support designed to teach skills and strategies to address common issues like low mood, worry, poor sleep, panic and discomfort around others. Courses are self-paced and can be taken anonymously.

I am – Positive Affirmations: An app that will send individuals tailored daily affirmation reminders as often or as little as they desire.
Moodpath: Depression & Anxiety: An app that will support individuals in reflecting and monitoring their thoughts and moods.

5. Clinical Services: Online Therapy

Thriveworks: This website features an extensive directory of therapists who specialize in working with children, teenagers, and adolescents. It has both in-person and online counseling options while maintaining the services at an affordable price.
Inclusive Therapists: This website features a directory of mental health professionals with diverse backgrounds who strive to provide safe and equitable therapeutic services.
Therapy for Black Girls: Online space to promote mental wellness in black women and girls, providing therapy resources and educational materials.
Talkspace: This organization offers a wide range of mental health service options (e.g., text, live video, and phone) provided by professional counselors. The organization has specific support available for teenagers.

Student Helplines:

There are times when you may need to intervene in a more urgent, direct way rather than simply referring students to online counseling or an online resource. If a student poses a danger to him or herself or to another person, then immediate action should be taken.

  1. National Eating Disorder Association National Helpline 1-800-931-2237

     

  2. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Hotline 1-800-662-4357

     

  3. National Alliance on Mental Illness Cutting/Self Harm helpline? Text “NAMI” to 741741

     

  4. National Runaway Safeline: 1-800-RUNAWAY (1-800-786-2929) Connect with a trusted, compassionate person who will listen and help you create a plan to address your concerns.

     

  5. Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741 (USA)

     

  6. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 800-273-8255

     

  7. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline #2: 800-273-8253
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