Empowering Educators: Leveraging Technology to Support Student Mental Health

Everyday we seem to be reminded of the challenges and difficulties our students and educators are facing. The world isn’t making it easy on our mental health as the needs continue to rise and the capacity to meet the needs continues to decline. One of my biggest concerns is the direct impact it is having on our children…their needs are growing louder and more urgent every day. 

Additionally, I’m often reminding educators that in order to help our students’ social, emotional and mental health, we (as advocates for children) have to have our social, emotional and mental health in check too. It can be compared to the rule when flying…always put on your oxygen mask first and then help those around you. It can also be compared to how we are delivering core content…we wouldn’t want a math or ELA teacher teaching without confidence and understanding in that subject, right? So we wouldn’t want something as important as social, emotional and mental health to be managed by those who feel like they are struggling with their own. 

Let’s dig into some of the realities our educators and school communities are faced with each day:

• There is a 1:500 student to school counselor ratios (ASCA recommends 1:25)
• There is a 1:1200 student to school psychologist ratios (NASP recommends 1:500)
• Nationally, there is an average 6-12 month waiting lists to access mental health support (sometimes even longer in some parts of the country)
• 1 in 5  3-17 year olds have a current mental or behavioral health condition (National Survey of Children’s Health) *
• Estimates range from 70% to 80% of children with mental health disorders going without care. *

*According to National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH)

This all points in the direction of a mental health crisis for our children and if we don’t adapt our ways of serving students’ social, emotional and mental health, we will continue to see their struggles grow and worsen. If we keep trying to serve students the way we always have, we are setting ourselves and our students up for more struggle and possible failure. As frontline advocates, educators play a critical role in identifying, addressing, and supporting students through these growing challenges. There’s a catch though: to effectively do so, they must be equipped with the time, resources and tools that make their jobs easier and more effective—and technology is one of the most powerful allies in this mission.

There are innovators that are working to solve this critical problem each and every day. As a former school counselor myself, I felt the pains of too many student needs and not nearly enough time or resources. My time in public education was way before our world experienced a global pandemic that exposed the realities and exacerbated the mental health needs of children. I became curious a couple of years prior to the pandemic on how to leverage technology in a way that could assist professionals in supporting students faster and more effectively. I knew how important social, emotional and mental fitness was for students and the only logical way to ensure we could provide education and support in this critical area in my mind was figuring out the best ways for technology to do what it does best to allow professionals to do what they do best. After connecting with many innovators, researchers, educators and students over the last handful of years, TEAMtalk was brought to the market last year to do just that.

I recently had the privilege of meeting with a group of students at The Nativity School in Harrisburg, PA. While there, I learned so much about their perspective related to our product, TEAMtalk, but also generally about tech tools to support student mental health. Students shared the importance of tools like TEAMtalk because oftentimes they aren’t comfortable or sure how to communicate certain concerns or problems. They went on to share some things that don’t necessarily need adult help or attention but would be helpful to get off their chest. TEAMtalk uses a unique way to reach students by bringing our diverse TEAM of characters to life to provide a safe way to support students. One student shared, “The TEAMology characters give us a place to talk where we won’t be judged. You can pick different characters on different days and they can help shift your mood to be more positive.” It was clear after spending time with these students that they saw value in how TEAMtalk could support them personally at the exact time they needed it based on their unique needs. They made it clear though that it was important for them to have a non-judgemental space where their voice could be heard in addition to caring and trusted adults. From their perspective…they needed both. 

Designed appropriately, mental health platforms are able to leverage carefully created AI engines that can cast a net on thousands of students at one time giving the ability to immediately get a pulse on emotional wellness across the student population. This provides immediate insight to needs students might have that couldn’t have possibly been discovered with student to staff ratios. This allows for students to be serviced faster and provides a way to triage needs to offer more personalized support. 

With long waiting lists and growing needs, access to mental health support is a challenge. Technology used effectively alongside our educators provides a way for ALL students to gain access in real time when they need it…not having to wait days, weeks or months. 

Final Thoughts…

We can’t keep doing what we’ve always done. The time is now for educators to lean into partnerships, innovators and new ways of thinking to transform the ways we are servicing students. Technology is not the cure all. But, if designed thoughtfully, with appropriate training and used with fidelity, it can create amazing opportunities for us to provide support for students that has never been possible.  Change is hard and uncomfortable…but it’s also inevitable and constant. By committing to learning how to leverage technology alongside human intelligence related to social, emotional and mental health and wellness of our children, we are committing to a hopeful future that offers healthier, happier families, schools and communities.