A toolkit for school mental health

A collective of experts in education, behavioral difficulties and mental health launches a toolkit to help children, their parents and school workers prevent the consequences of the pandemic.

Specialists, university researchers and organizations have joined forces, under the supervision of the Jasmin Roy Sophie Desmarais Foundation and in collaboration with the Quebec Committee for Young People with Behavior Difficulties (CQJDC), to create a toolbox to prevent the consequences. of the pandemic in schools. Supported by the Government of Canada's Emergency Fund for Community Support, the Foundation of Greater Montreal and Bell Let's Talk, experts in education, behavioral difficulties and mental health have been working on the project since May. This toolbox aims to support school staff, parents and their children in maintaining and developing healthy emotional and relational habits in this new educational environment. 

A scalable toolbox  

In connection with the measures put in place by public health, the strategies developed aim to promote the resilience of young people, help adults to better intervene in relation to behavioral difficulties and contribute to school perseverance by addressing the management of emotions, anxiety and stress.

There are also several solutions to help manage bereavement, difficulties related to motivation and sleep disorders. The intervention tools are presented in simple guides accompanied by videos, rhymes and exercises to support young people aged 3 to 17 to: 

• motivate yourself to study at a distance;
• calm their thoughts through transformation, visualization and coloring;
• calm their body through breathing, cardiac coherence and meditation;
• calm their hearts through self-esteem work, journaling, learning words to identify ailments;
• take active breaks at the desk;
• recognize potential triggers for stress or anxiety and the triangle of anxiety manifestations. 

Teachers and practitioners will also find tips to facilitate positive communication with the community and parents. Over the next year, a host of new strategies will be added in line with the advancement of research. The toolbox is available here.

Take stock of the start of the school year 

A virtual conference will be held on Tuesday, November 24, to provide a fair and realistic portrait of the start of the school year in the context of a pandemic. University researchers, organizations and research chairs will meet to take stock of the state of youth mental health, behavioral difficulties, the challenges to be met and the most effective strategies and initiatives that will have made it possible to an important difference in educational settings. Following this conference, new tools will be developed taking this assessment into account and strategies will be put in place for the months to come. To register for the conference, visit fondationjasminroy.com or cqjdc.org.