TEDx Talk: Mental health literacy can be taught in grade school

This talk by Wendy Smith brings light to the importance of teaching children mental health literacy at an early age. As educators, we want our students to have all the mental health information and resources necessary to overcome obstacles that mental health challenges may bring. Smith argues that in order to do this we must overcome the barriers of lack of access and stigma. To do so, she says we must teach kids about mental health, illnesses, signs, symptoms and treatments. This is mental health literacy. In addition, access to treatment and referrals should be something that takes place in the school. 

This talk is definitely worth the watch and highlights why mental health literacy needs to be made more of a priority in schools. In the age of Covid-19 where social isolation has led to increases in mental illnesses, some argue that mental illness has become a pandemic of its own. Teaching students to be literate in mental health is the first step in dealing with this problem.

By Christina@NU