The No-Nonsense Guide to Mental Health in Schools: What Every Teacher Can Do to Make a Difference

Responding to the rise in challenges to the mental health of young people, this book provides schoolteachers with the essential skills required to recognise emotional distress in their students, and more importantly, empowers them to make a genuine difference.

Teachers have unintentionally become the ’first responders’ for distressed youth in their schools, but they cannot be expected to carry out mental health interventions. This book provides teachers with essential mental health literacy and knowledge of mental health first aid so that they know how to act when their students need help. The chapters provide concise and jargon-free outlines of the main mental disorders that teachers can expect to encounter in their classrooms and offer practical guidance on how to speak to these students and help them towards the most suitable support in the community. Drawing on the best available research and offering illustrative case studies to support core skills, this book gives teachers the confidence and competence to take action.

A crucial resource for all school staff, The No-Nonsense Guide to Mental Health in Schools supports teachers to feel confident in making a difference in the wellbeing of their students.

John Burns is a clinical psychologist based in Sydney, Australia. He has an extensive career history working as a clinician and researcher in the field of school mental health and has published articles, scientific papers and book chapters. He received his PhD from Macquarie University, where he continues to be an Adjunct Fellow in the School of Psychological Sciences and an Affiliate at the Centre for Emotional Health.