Mental Health Awareness for Teachers

Work on Yourself First

I began my teaching career in 1988 at a boarding school. Not only was I head of an art department, but I also lived in a boarding house with teenagers. At the age of twenty-one, I was only a few years older than the students I taught!

During the next fifteen years, I had the incredible privilege of being exposed to the daily life of thousands of teenagers 24/7, seven days a week. In addition to my boarding house duties, I coached rowing at five in the morning. I windsurfed with my students, wading through icy waters during the winter months. I tramped through the mountains on Duke of Edinburgh Award expeditions. In general, our students had a pretty balanced life. Although teaching had its demands, we had little paperwork, the Internet didn’t exist and if I am honest, I don’t remember many mentions of mental health.

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There is no doubt that teaching today is nothing like it was in the late 80’s! By contrast, it is one of the most challenging jobs you could choose. The workload is demanding, the admin is draining, the policies, procedures and expectations are such that the profession has one of the highest burnout rates of all careers. Figures reveal 21% of NZ teachers either move schools or leave the regular teaching profession. In
addition, almost a fifth of primary school teachers and half of high school teachers quit within the first five years. More than 17,000 students are without teachers due to a nationwide shortage.

Two questions arise: Why are teachers so burned out? How can we equip our teachers with the resources to stay? There is no doubt that the increase in concern around mental health in the classroom adds an enormous emotional drain on teachers who have to juggle student anxiety, bullying, parent expectations, overwhelm and fear. Whether we blame information overload, social media comparison, academic pressure, a lack of boundaries or socio-economic reasons, we must accept that change needs to happen.

Essentially, we need to increase the training and support offered to teachers to empower them in mental, emotional and psychological survival and wellbeing. As founder of Teenage Toolbox, and co-founder and CEO of ImpACT-Mental Health, I believe the psychological theories and principles we learn in universities are useless – unless we activate and empower teachers with basic strategies that create healthy change.

ImpACT-Mental Health, delivers Resilience Education Programmes to equip students, parents and teachers with skills to survive. In a rapidly changing and uncertain world, endurance, adaptability and perseverance are required now more than ever!

In the 80’s, resilience was an essential ingredient that empowered survival. The outdoors, sport, physical activity – as well as exhaustion – all played their role in good sleep and healing, alleviating the signs of depression, and reducing anxiety and fear for students and teachers. Along those same lines, music, drama and the arts, being involved in creativity and innovation prioritised social connections.

IMH believes what it takes for teachers to survive is not complex. What teachers struggle with – which IS different now – is time! Therefore, we must build into the teaching profession time to heal, time to breathe and time to grow so that teachers stay psychologically strong. In turn, they can bring a depth of compassion and understanding into the classroom.

One of the most popular talks ImpACT-Mental Health delivers to teachers in schools is Understanding Trauma and Coping Mechanisms. We address the challenge of facing a class of thirty or more students while dealing with personal, emotional and psychological issues, internal wounds and unaddressed ACE scores. A broken relationship, young toddlers, teenage conflict, empty nest syndrome, elderly relatives, divorced parents, sickness, loss and even death all take their toll. Yet, while we send our students to support services and

school counsellors, how much time do teachers invest in themselves? Adversity doesn’t discriminate. Yet we know it isn’t necessarily what happens to us that dictates our stress levels or our life outcome, as much as how we respond to those adversities.

My first published book, TAKEN, tells the story of having my 1, 3 and 5-year-olds abducted while pregnant with my fourth child. As trauma and tragedy ripped through my life, I became aware that I had choices in my response to suffering. In addition, I needed to own my healing journey to be the best version of me. To go on and raise four children – and to be beneficial in the classroom – I needed to first take
care of myself. Six of the non-negotiable strategies we use in IMH to empower teachers to survive are no different from those that empowered me on my healing journey. Embedded into our resilience education programme, those skills are also endorsed by research we carried out into the lives of 150 individuals we interviewed on the skills needed to overcome adversity. They include:

• Live in gratitude and the power of positivity.
• Connect with friends and family. Prioritise support.
• Take time out to heal.
• Examine and implement improved physical exercise, diet and lifestyle.
• Accept help, therapy and personal development.
• Find healthy coping mechanisms, boundaries and communication.

Teachers are, without doubt, undervalued, overstretched and challenged in every area of their lives. Yet, in expecting them to impact student lives and have the skills and resources to address a mental health crisis in the classroom, they must first prioritise their own needs. Recognising that need is only the first step. The second step is to equip teachers with resilience tools and increase training around trauma and coping mechanisms.

Taking time for healing, developing healthy mindsets and communication, implementing boundaries, understanding needs, and building a sustainable life are foundational to transformation and growth. If we devote a little more time to our teachers’ self-care – as we used to many years ago – they can not only become the best versions of themselves outside the classroom – but also inside!

In essence, we must ensure our mental health programmes don’t exclude those that matter the most! Let’s raise awareness around recognising the value of our teachers and do all we can to support their own psychological well being!

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Sue O’Callaghan


Sue O’Callaghan
Sue O’Callaghan is a public speaker, thought leader
and master influence in Resilience Education and

Trauma Recovery.

A powerful motivational speaker she is a firm believer
that tragedy and adversity are the foundations to
thriving in life if an individual confronts their healing

journey head-on.
For one-on-one sessions, school bookings,
publications or other information, Sue can be

contacted on
suesieoc@gmail.com