Mental health was on the menu at Rocky View Schools most recent Board of Trustees meeting.
On Jan. 21, representatives from the public school division’s Enhanced Supports for Mental Health (ESMH) mobile consultation and intervention team presented a delegation to trustees about the group’s mandate and how ESMH provides valuable mental health support to RVS students.
Psychologist and team representative Crystal Dittrick said the group’s aim is to help the division’s students who may struggle the most with complex mental health and trauma-related needs.
“Health is really a state of complete physical, mental and social wellness and wellbeing,” she said. “It’s not merely the absence of mental illness. I think that’s really important to address, because oftentimes, mental health and mental illness are equated as one thing.
“Mental health is really about the way we are in the world – the way we feel, think, act, cope and manage those everyday stresses of life.”
The team’s presentation delved into the differences between mental illness, complex trauma and stress, as well as what supports the ESMH team provides students. According to Dittrick, the team’s collaborative efforts include working alongside RVS’ learning supports assigned to each school – occupational therapists and psychologists – as well as the students' teachers and the families.
“We wrap around those teams to be able to support those students so they feel they are [able] to support that student,” she said. “Sometimes, that’s as small as an informal consultation. Other times, it’s as big as us getting involved and doing very hands-on work in classrooms, specifically with families and students.”
According to positive behaviour coach Kerri Woods, while mental illness, trauma and stress may be different entities, they are still inter-related. She spoke about how student responses to mental health challenges can play out in various ways, including post-traumatic stress symptoms, challenging behaviour, suicidal ideation or self-harm.
“But trauma doesn’t have to be all doom-and-gloom,” she said. “We can change their narrative. That’s why we’re here. We can change their narrative and their outcomes. That’s one of the reasons we’re passionate and believe this work is so important.”
The presentation also included multiple video clips, featuring students, teachers and family members who have utilized and benefited from ESMH's resources.
Laura Lambert, a middle-school teacher with RVS, said the team’s mapping meetings were particularly beneficial for some students in her class. Mapping meetings include bringing various people together, including students, family members, school teams and the family’s other support systems, to share their perspectives.
“I’ve been able to see their success and really be able to celebrate that with them,” Lambert said in the video clip. “Students are so in tune with what they need. Sometimes, it’s just a matter of getting them to a place where they know how to communicate back to the adults.
“I think mapping meetings allow students and family members a strong voice and bring everyone to the table, which I love, because we’re all on the same page and can make a plan to move forward.”
Following the presentation, Board Chair Fiona Gilbert thanked the ESMH representatives for their work, adding that supporting mental health remains an advocacy, board and budget priority for RVS.
Superintendent Greg Luterbach echoed that sentiment, saying the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on students’ mental health have made the topic even more pertinent in the last year.
“Certainly, these days, it’s a topic gaining more and more conversation space, which is great,” he said. “When students might be struggling, it is important that we have resources both at the school level and jurisdictional level in order to support students.”
Scott Strasser, AirdrieToday.com
Follow me on Twitter @scottstrasser19
