Many students feel relieved at the opportunity to explore certain topics, but it is also very normal for challenging feelings to come to the surface for your students if they are struggling with something in their own lives.
It’s important to remember that if a student gets upset, you haven’t caused that upset, you are merely seeing what was there all along, which gives you a better ability to help them get the support they need.
You don’t have to be their therapist or know anything specific about mental health to be able to support your students if they are having a reaction (e.g., Acting out, becoming visibly upset, over-sharing, or disengaging from learning).
No matter what reactions you see, you want to keep three steps in mind:
Use empathy
Maintain boundaries
Refer to a professional when needed
In the attached PDF, a series of specific examples is provided that will illustrate how the three steps can be applied in various circumstances.
There is also a Lesson in the Educator Wellbeing section that gives you a chance to practice supporting a student who is struggling with mental health challenges:
If you have further questions about responding to challenges in the classroom, please contact us via the chat function on the platform!