How to foster healing and create resilience in a time of disconnect
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (Mohd) states that emotional injuries are killing us faster than physical ailments.
According to a 2021 surgeon general report, symptoms of depression and anxiety doubled in youth during the pandemic. Our emotions, our mental health, the way we process and acknowledge emotions in ourselves and in each other is critical right now – it’s a matter of life and death.
How did we get here? Well, I love Adam Grant’s reminder that many of our “best practices” were created for a world that no longer exists. When big emotion comes we are accustomed to “fixing it” at best, and “punishing it” at worst – all in the hopes that the big emotion will go away or at least calm (the fuck) down.
We need to do things differently.
People need to be seen, heard, and understood first. And then, and only then, we strategize and attempt to fix. If necessary, then we punish or consequence. And, if we’re going to bring up the problems, I think it’s only fair that we also think about solutions.
I know this to be true: we have to start with the big people, the leaders. Then and only then will our kids be okay. And those new best practices must be trauma-informed and relationship focused.
This team has poured their heart and soul into a university-level training course for K-12 Mental Health Practitioners and Administrators that I believe has the power to save lives. It’s called TIES. Don’t miss your spot in the next cohort and apply now.
I’ve got lots of thoughts on where we go from here – and this course, I hope, will be an important option for our educators. Spread the word to mental health practitioners and school leaders. We will get through this together.
