Campaigns like Bell Let鈥檚 Talk, endorsed by Olympic athlete Clara Hughes, bring awareness to the need for change in the stigma surrounding mental health. Telling people to 鈥渟hake it off鈥� is never an acceptable way to deal with the symptoms of mental health 鈥� a growing concern that has become more prevalent in society, including our schools.
Earlier in the school year, the Positive School Climate Committee (often known as the 鈥淎ctivate team鈥�), hosted speaker Bobby Henline. He showcased to students how he uses humour to deal with stress and help others deal with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Following that session, students were invited to a 鈥渟creamfest鈥� wherein they were encouraged to scream out their stresses.
On Feb. 11, UCHS held an afternoon symposium on anxiety awareness and building coping strategies to help them foster their mental health.聽
Principal Ruth Cey remarked, 鈥淭he conference grew out of our student engagement goal which aims to promote a sense of belonging for our students. Both our 鈥淭ell Them From Me鈥� student surveys, as well as feedback from members of our Positive School Climate Committee indicated that we needed to address this topic. Anxiety can affect a student鈥檚 overall sense of belonging as stress can prevent a student from feeling comfortable or safe in their environments, including the school environment."
Cey also added, 鈥淲e had heard of similar presentations at Macklin and Kerrobert schools, so we decided to book one for our students. Then, we brainstormed ideas for various breakout sessions that would appeal to a wide variety of student needs and interests and ended up with a keynote presentation followed by 18 repeating small group sessions. Our school counsellor, Rochelle Simoneau and our Student Services teacher, Kyla Snell were instrumental in helping to plan this really informative day.鈥�
UCHS鈥檚 goals for this one-day event were to give students information and strategies to help them understand and cope with anxiety, and depression. Many schools are finding an increased need to address the issues of anxiety and depression. This is due to both an increase in their prevalence, but more importantly an increase in the recognition of mental illness as a condition worthy of attention and care.
UCHS offered in house sessions to students that addressed a number of issues people face today, followed by a parent session at night.
The school enlisted the help from the following presentors:
Pam Welter has worked with the Canadian Mental Health Association for 16 years. Cognitive Behavioral therapy (CBT) is a talk-therapy that can help you manage by changing the way you think and behave. It was originally designed to treat depression, but is now used for a number of mental disorders and very effective in the treatment of anxiety. CMHA Kindersley Branch offers a wide range of training, programs, and presentations on mental health topics.
Nevaeh Wellness鈥檚 Cindy Kissick is a mom of five children, including an angel baby. Cindy is a certified yoga instructor (RYT) and is registered in Yoga for Special Child since March of 2014. She is a Meditation Instructor for Kids and Teens since November 2015. Cindy both practices and teaches mindfulness 鈥搘hich means to pay attention to the present moment, with intention, in a non-judgmental way, in order to achieve a calm and relaxed state. It is a practice of awareness and observation and a very effective treatment in mental health such as anxiety.
Heartland Health Region鈥檚 Cheryl Brost, who works as a child, youth and family counsellor in the Kindersley area, was also on hand for the event. Her 20 years of experience in counselling played an integral part in the keynote address that kicked off the afternoon symposium.聽
Their presentations included interactive speaking with the students, the showing of several videos tailored to this audience, as well as demonstrating with students the importance of mindfulness and the value of stress releasing activities.
From the keynote presentation, students selected two breakout sessions from a list of 18 possible options. Each session lasted 45 minutes and each addressed a different need and different coping strategies for anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues.
Students said, 鈥淚t was hard to pick which sessions I wanted because there were so many interesting ones offered,鈥� 鈥淚 loved the sessions I attended,鈥� 鈥淚f kids were patient to listen to the message the reception was great,鈥� and, 鈥淚 noticed fellow students fully engaged in what they were hearing.鈥�
Organizers lined up an impressive variety of facilitators and topics for students to choose from. Of note was former UCHS student Shelby Solomko, now in her third year of social work at the University of Regina. She led a session sharing her experience and knowledge on reducing anxiety when making the transition from home life to post secondary.聽 While Solomko was on the lower floor speaking, one of her professors, Jack Andrews, was facilitating a session just above her, teaching students calming exercises that lead to stronger listening skills. Andrews has also worked in the Heartland Health region as counsellor.
Other sessions included Lana Prescott who discussed the topic 鈥淪elf Talk, how to turn negatives into positives," and Cindy Blanchette, who brought in her dog Buddy to show students the benefits of pet therapy as it relates to the treatment of anxiety, depression and stress. Interestingly, this is a technique that the University of Saskatchewan uses. During exam times the university brings in therapy dogs to several locations on campus to aid students in coping with stress.聽
It was especially interesting to note that the usual chaos and noise that accompanies a normal school day when students are transitioning from classroom to classroom was transformed on this day. As students went from session to session a sense of greater calm ensued instead, leading one only to believe that the messages of the event were speaking for themselves and had already made an impact on the actions of students who were participating.
Later that night at the parent portion of the event, parent attendees were heard to be discussing how their children found the sessions, 鈥渋nformative and relaxing,鈥� that the sessions 鈥渞ang a bell with things they didn鈥檛 know before,鈥� and that 鈥渢hey wish they could鈥檝e attended more,鈥�
In the evening session, Pam Welter shared a fact that the World Health Organization outlined in 2009 that by the year 2020 depression and anxiety would be one of the number one health concerns. She then stated, 鈥淗ere we are four years before that prediction and the volcano has already erupted.鈥�
Welter also went on to praise UCHS for hosting such a conference, discussing the value in being proactive rather than trying to respond after a incident of injury, violence or suicide.
Although the evening portion for parents only held a baker鈥檚 dozen, the audience was no less fascinated after they had heard their own children talk of their experience from the day.聽
Just as parents were seated, an abrupt, loud, bang was heard. Cheryl Brost, councillor for Heartland Health, asked those in attendance how they felt immediately following that noise. Parents described their increased heart rate, quick surveillance to see where the noise came from, and the anxiousness they felt. Cheryl reminded them that these are the feelings that occur when the brain is afraid and/or highly anxious. Brost, Welter and Kissick all outlined the nature of anxiety and importance of recognizing the signs and symptoms of it. The facilitators sought to drive home the message that in emotional pain the brain reacts the same as physical pain.聽
A power point presentation that included some captivating videos helped parents to understand the issues that anxiety can result in and some of the methods they recommend for supporting kids through anxiety. Each presenter also had a table set up with resource material for parents to browse and all were open to discussion before and after the sessions.
The overall message both for students and parents was the value and importance of recognizing anxiety and finding strategies that work for the individual in coping, as well as an illustration of the avenues of help that are available for addressing these issues.
