Mental health awareness in the classroom is also important in Red Deer’s Catholic school system.
Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools continue to invest in school teacher-counsellors by helping instructors receive their Masters degrees in counselling.
The teacher-counsellors are “crucial” as they are attuned to their school environments and can spot concerns and provide support in a proactive manner, said Carmen Baumgarten, the division’s mental health consultant.
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Red Deer Public schools promote mental health awareness
They personally connect with students, parents and other staff. They also “continually assess and aid with the students’ social and emotional needs.”
Some teacher-counsellor duties are to educate students on issues such as drugs and suicide prevention. They enhance student resiliency by teaching coping and relationship-building strategies. As well, they advocate for students’ social and emotional needs, and can make referrals for intensive therapy and other community resources, whenever needed.
They also educate other staff on mental health issues.
The teacher-councillors can access clinical support through Baumgarten, a registered clinical psychologist.
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