What is a Mental Health Primer?

Children with mental health challenges travel between school, home and community every day. A mental health primer is designed to help teachers, families and mental health professionals:

• Understand the role of schools in fostering and maintaining an environment for good mental health
• Understand the role of mental health professionals and community providers in treating mental illness
• Understand the role of families as essential partners in their children's development

The effective support of children's needs in psychological and social mental health requires shared, collaborative work between schools, families and the mental health system. A mental health primer also provides basic information, including

• Strategies to maintain a healthy psychological and social environment
• Basic signs and symptoms that might indicate the development or presence of mental illness
• Knowledge of how certain disorders, or the medication to treat them, might manifest themselves in the classroom and the home environment
• Knowledge of protocols about what to do, who to contact and how to work productively across system boundaries in support of children and their families

Mental Health Primer Resources