New mandatory mental health literacy has been introduced in school systems this fall.
The Ontario government updated the Grade 10 career studies course to include mandatory learning on mental health literacy and is introducing mandatory resources for students on mental health literacy in grades seven and eight.
This updated curriculum teaches Grade 10 students to recognize signs of being overwhelmed and struggling, as well as how to find help locally when needed.
Students in Grades 7 and 8 will learn in their updated curriculum how to manage stress, understand the relationship between mental health and mental illness, counteract the mental health stigma and know when and how to get help.
The Mental Health Commission of Canada reported the country spends at least $50 billion per year on mental health problems and illnesses.
Early mental health promotion is essential in containing public costs.
However, the Canadian Institute for Health Information reported that nearly one in four hospitalizations for children and youths aged five to 24 were for mental health conditions in 2020.
They reported that children as young as five are part of the one in four being hospitalized for mental health conditions.
There needs to be mandatory mental health literacy earlier than seventh grade, but it must be done in a way that does not lead to misdiagnoses.
Kathryn Mettler, the program coordinator for Humber Polytechnic’s addictions and mental health post-graduate certificate program, told Humber Et Cetera that children diagnosed with mental illnesses usually experience several socioeconomic disadvantages.
“Unfortunately, they get ignored when we refer to what they’re struggling with as a mental illness or a mental health problem because those are actually responses to them not having their basic human needs met,” Mettler said.
“One of my favourite quotes from my own research is when a therapist said to me, ‘I can’t mental health someone out of poverty,'" she said.
Emotional literacy is needed when discussing mental health. Adults need to have the right skills when discussing a child’s mental health.
Mandatory training in this area should be a requirement for teachers so they do not say an eight-year-old has an anxiety disorder when that child is just feeling nervous about a quiz.
Then adults may be able to have conversations with children, asking them how they are, and how their day is going, and not necessarily having a conversation about mental health because they could just be having an off day.
Specialized staff is needed in schools with regards to mental health but Ontario is not good at hiring expert staff in schools, so this mandatory mental health literacy might not make too much of a difference.
The Canadian Association of Mental Health (CAMH) said mental illness accounts for about 10 per cent of the burden of disease in Ontario, receiving only seven per cent of health care dollars.
CAMH said 75 per cent of children with mental disorders do not have access to specialized treatment services. It said in any given year one in five Canadians experience a mental illness.
Bindia Darshan, Humber Polytechnic’s manager for wellness education and programs told Humber Et Cetera that as an occupational therapist, she said she believes it is a key component to our well-being.
“In terms of the post-secondary environment, there’s been a lot of focus on student mental health and well-being,” Darshan said.
The National Standard for Mental Health and Well-Being for Post-Secondary Students (2020) and the Okanagan Charter (2015) are two guiding frameworks for creating campus environments that support student well-being.
“At Humber, specifically within our Student Wellness and Equitable Learning (SWEL) department, we’ve extended our hours for providing mental health support this September and we’ve hired and are hiring several new staff to provide mental health services,” Darshan said.
Humber Polytechnic has made great strides in supporting student well-being which the SWEL annual report for 2023-2024 supports.
The report showcases Humber’s collective achievements in creating a more inclusive, supportive, and resilient campus community.
However, high school and elementary education still need much work in regards to mental health awareness, which begins with educating the adults who support them and regularly discuss mental health, and not just on awareness days dedicated to it.
