#Health advocate virtual counseling professional

In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that, in just the first few months of 2020, online therapy use increased by 50% compared with the same time period in 2019.

#Health advocate virtual counseling professional

By decreasing mental illness stigma, advocating for school-based mental health services, and lifting up the voices of students who are advocating for their own mental health, you can create that supports the importance of mental wellness in your school.Online therapy became increasingly popular in 2020 as people sought professional help to cope with the emotional and mental consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Supporting these student-led initiatives helps to lift up the voices of students, who often are not consulted about their needs and concerns when it comes to mental health support for them and their peers.Īdvocating for student mental health is an important way to support students and ensure they receive the mental health services and treatment they need. Nationally, there are several student-led organizations that advocate for students’ mental health needs––including decreasing stigma, increasing access to treatment, developing support programs, and more. When advocating student mental health, it’s important to listen to the voices of students to understand and work toward meeting their needs. Educators and school leaders can also take their advocacy a step further by supporting organizations such as the American Counseling Association (ACA), which works hard to implement new legislation to increase funds and opportunities for school counseling programs. For schools that may not have sufficient resources to provide all students with mental health services, there are many pathways to funding school-based counseling and mental health programs. This is why school-based mental health support and counseling are so important to advocating for positive student mental health. While some students are able to access private mental health services, many students and their families don’t have the resources they need to obtain mental health treatment and services. Advocate for School Mental Health Services.A few ways to reduce mental health stigma in your school include implementing mental health days, openly discussing mental health struggles with students to normalize mental illness, or building an effective social-emotional learning (SEL) curriculum that teaches positive mental health coping mechanisms and emotion regulation. Ending the stigma surrounding mental illness helps students gain the confidence to speak up about their mental health concerns and ask for help when they feel they need support or treatment. Mental health stigma leads students to feel that their struggles are unusual, not real, or not severe enough to warrant asking for help. One of the biggest barriers to students’ receiving mental health support and treatment is the stigma surrounding mental illness. Here are three ways you can advocate for student mental health: With these statistics in mind, it’s important to take the steps to support and advocate for students’ mental health struggles. However, nearly 70% of students in need of professional help for a mental health concern do not receive adequate treatment.

It’s estimated that 1 in 6 school-aged youth live with a mental health condition.