3.1 What can you look out for?
It is especially important to note that as an educator you are not expected to be an ‘expert’ in mental health or mental illness, nor are you in a position to offer any diagnosis or treatment. Rather, you can acknowledge that you are in a unique position to notice when learners may not be feeling OK and to be able to offer some supportive conversations or to help them access further support. This latter role will be explored more in Week 4.
Activity 4 Behaviours and emotions as a reflection of mental health
- Take a look back at Activity 2 where you drew a model for the continuum of mental health.
- Now choose two of the case studies in the following document: Case studies.
- Using the information from Section 2, what signs or symptoms of common health problems might you expect to see in your chosen case studies if they may be experiencing poor mental health? Place these on a continuum for each case study.
- Note where you may place these signs in various places on the continuum for either case study.
Discussion
Periods of poor mental health can be experienced in response to a range of circumstances, often in response to events and the surrounding environment. When these periods are longer lasting, they have a greater impact on a learner’s ability to study, among other things. As an educator you can sometimes notice the signs and symptoms of poor mental health and be able to offer supportive conversations and signpost to other services if needed. You will learn more about these types of conversations in Week 3.
An important consideration about signs you may notice within your learners, is whether this demonstrates a change in how that individual usually behaves or expresses themselves. For example, some people may be naturally shy and quiet in group activities. If this is what you have come to expect from them, then this may not be cause for concern. However, if a learner who is normally quite vocal and active in group tasks suddenly becomes quiet and withdrawn, then that change in behaviour may be something that gets your attention.
There may also be a change in the language being used by a learner, such as repeated expressions of hopelessness or despair, or displays of emotions such as episodes of tearfulness or outbursts of anger.
If these changes become more profound, and last for longer periods of time, this may indicate something more problematic and raise concerns further.