The Importance Of Mental Health Education

The Resiliency Scales for Children and Adolescents (RSCA) is a profile of personal strengths that assess personal characteristics that are associated with resiliency (Prince-Embury, 2011). These scales help identify how well a child and youth are able to recover from significant distress, adversity, or life traumas. The RSCA was developed by Sandra Prince –Embury and published by SAGE influenced largely by the Development Theory, Social Learning Theory, and Psychosocial Theory (Prince-Embury, 2009). The RSCA aims to measure clients in three areas of perceived strength, limitations, and/ or vulnerabilities that are related to psychological resilience, assessing youth from 9 to 18 years of age (Prince-Embury, 2012). This tool assists administrators to identify children who have low personal resource and high vulnerabilities before they fall behind and become symptomatic. The assessment results are often utilized as a planning measure on which to focus the treatment plan more towards resiliency intervention if needed (Prince-Embury, 2011). The RSCA can be later used with the same individual as an evaluation measure of the impact of resiliency interventions that have taken place. Even when a client is coping effectively in the present the RSCA can identify how that particular individual may respond when adverse events are encountered (2011).

In the United States, the topic of mental health tends to be overlooked because of the negative stigma behind mental illness. Also, mental illness is not generally seen as a public health issue because it does not fit the narrative of epidemiology. However, mental illness is a topic of public health because mental illness can be prevented and treated. Mental illness is the central cause of many risky behaviors around the United States, such as gun violence, drug abuse, unhealthy eating, and suicidal tendencies. The damage does not stop there. Having mental illness causes risky behaviors, and then those risky behaviors cause even more health problems, for example, unhealthy eating leading to hypertension. Helping prevent mental illness and keep

Mental health remains a taboo topic which is often discounted as a serious health issue until events of great tragedy, such as the shootings at Columbine and Virginia Tech, force the topic into the public view and force public for discussion. The strong stigma associated with mental health issues impedes the identification of mental health issues early within the illness and further more makes preventative care nearly impossible. Feelings of anxiety or depression are frequently dismissed and viewed by the general public and some health professionals, not trained in mental health, as a sign of weakness and laziness. In view of the growing need for psychiatric health providers, the present lack of services, and this stigma one can see how

Currently in today’s society, coming out as gay is easier than admitting to a serious mental problem. This effect puts a burden on teens who suffer from problems and don’t know where to go; which led to the increase of teen suicides as seen in the media. In the average classroom size, about three of the twenty-four students have depression; not mentioning other common disorders such as bipolar disorder, panic disorder, ADHD, conduct disorder, and eating disorders. Without better programs in schools to prevent and inform about mental disorders, the current taboo on them, the bullying of students suffering, and the romanticization of diseases will continue to increase the negative effect mental disorders have on teens.

Resilience is a quality that I pride myself in encompassing, and it has in multiple ways, what has defined me as a student. Though both personally and academically, I suffered multiple setbacks, they have never succeeded in distracting me from my future ambitions. Over these numerous years as a student, gaining many insights, I have learned that spending weeks mourning failures is not an option and is ultimately ineffective. When I receive a less than adequate grade, or face problems in extracurriculars, in those moments of weakness, I may bend and stretch, however, it will never define me. I remind myself that through hard work it is possible to get back on course. As a result of my resilience, built through several hardships and failures,

Mental illness is a tough topic for many, but it does not have to be. There is no reason for people to have to live with an illness that they could very easily get help for. Educating teens in school is how to get rid of the stigma and alarming amount of teens who are going through their illness without help. If they knew how to safely handle it and that they are not alone. This education could save the more than 5,000 people from committing suicide every year (National Mental Health Association). Mental health education is not something that would be nice to have, it has become a necessity that America has lived with without for much too long.

Children with severe mental disabilities are attending public school systems, some cannot properly adjust to the social mechanics, consequently causing horrific outcomes to themselves and others. Are the school boards and government doing everything they can to ensure the safety and education of all students?

The General Well-being Schedule (GWBS) was used to capture general health and mood.23 The GWBS consists of 18 items that indicate subjective feelings of psychological well-being and distress. The first 14 questions use a six-point rating scale with anchors from 0 and 5 and the remaining four items use an eleven-point rating scale with anchors from 0 and 10. The total score can vary from 0 to 110 (high score indicating positive well-being and low distress). The interval 0–60 reflects severe distress, 61–72 moderate distress, and 73–110 positive well-being. The instrument has good internal consistency, test–retest reliability, and validity.23

The study population was screened for depression using the CES-D questionnaire, while psychological distress was screened using GHQ-12. The prevalence of depression was 65.2% (95% CI 62.4 – 68.0). The prevalence of psychological distress among the study participants was 75.0% (95% CI 72.5 – 77.6).

Everyone is different in society. There are special individuals, which are affected by mental health illnesses. Mental health issues can affect society both negatively and positively. There are cultures that treat these individuals like the reincarnations of gods. On the other side, there are cultures that isolate these individuals and look for cures to these pathologies. Mental health illnesses are important because they have to be studied to understand their cause, whether it may be biological or environmental. These issues are important because like every type of illness they have to be delicately studied, focusing on treatments to either cure them or reduce the symptoms of the pathology. These people were either conflicted with the ideals of society or they were praised by it. Cultures, which didn’t accept them, closed them up into asylums. Patients inside these facilities were brutally used as guinea pigs for their experiments. The way these people were treated shows how cruel and ignorant people were to the unknown. By learning from histories mistakes we can move forward in improving our society and achieve greatness.

Health, as defined by the World Health Organisation (WHO) (1946), is the “state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”. Alternate definitions include “a dynamic state of well-being characterised by a physical and mental potential, which satisfies the demands of life commensurate with age, culture, and personal responsibility” (Birscher, 2005). Health and wellbeing statistics are vital information as an indicator of the health of the nation. The statistics produced are observed to vary between countries as different methods and standards of measures are applied. The extent of measurement also depends on the social awareness of the implications of health and wellbeing.

They used a sample of 10 suburban Florida schools within one district. These schools were selected due to accessibility and ability to obtain permission from principals and school boards. The researchers also believed that using schools from one district would decrease variability that might exist due to local policies. There were 100 teachers given samples with 38% returning valid responses. It was noted that the limited sample was problematic. The sample represented teachers teaching 1st to 5th grade, with 1 to 10 years of experience (with an average of 7.6 years), and educational backgrounds including all with undergraduate degrees in education, twelve with masters degrees, 2 with additional specialists degrees, and one participant with a doctoral degree.

Results: Statistical comparisons have shown that there is a significant difference among two age groups under study regarding to psychological distress scale, psychological wellbeing scale and activity of daily living scale. No meaningful difference was seen concern with physical functioning (SF-36) scale between two groups.

Sole et al. also scored each participant using the Ceneralitat de Catalunya (GENCAT) Quality of Life scale. This quality of life scale focused on eight areas that are significant in determining quality of life. Emotional well-being (security, contentment), interpersonal relationships, material well-being (having money, a home, or a job), personal development (self-fulfillment, and acquiring new skills), physical well-being, self-determination (autonomy), social inclusion (feeling like a contributing member of society, and feeling supported by others), and rights (equal

A national survey completed by The Teachers Network in 2010 of 1,210 teachers in urban and rural schools revealed that high quality teacher training improved their effectives and new teacher retention. An overwhelming amount of teachers who participated in the survey commented that high quality pre-service teacher training programs lack a curriculum that supports the needs and environment of local schools and districts. Numerous teachers voiced the importance of early and frequent clinical experiences to better prepare them for them effective teaching. Teachers also suggested an apprentice program for new teachers, “If that first year, instead of being thrown into a classroom by yourself, you were thrown into an apprenticeship where you still were paid and had benefits [like other teachers], you could be in a room with somebody else [who was more accomplished and could guide you].”