Beyond Self-Care: School Mental Health for Faculty and Staff
First Presenter's Institution
Greater Greenville Mental Health Center
First Presenter's Brief Biography
Chris Haines is a Licensed Professional Counselor and the Director of School Mental Health Programs at Greater Greenville Mental Health Center. Chris’s team includes 82 therapist positions serving 101 schools and programs in Greenville County School District. Chris is the School Mental Health Therapist at West Greenville School, where he has specialized in the treatment of adolescents with severe emotional and behavioral disorders for the past 15 years. Chris is on the South Carolina roster of clinicians trained in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, a trained EMDR Therapist, a Trainer on Adverse Childhood Experiences, and a Trainer in Trauma-Informed Practices. Chris’s education includes a Master of Science in Marriage and Family Therapy from John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Arkansas. Prior to working in School Mental Health in Greenville, Chris worked as a community-based therapist serving children in Washington, DC and Maryland.
Document Type
Event
Primary Strand
Mental Health
Relevance to Primary Strand
Fostering the positive mental health of adults in schools who serve kids is necessary in order to effectively support the mental health of students.
Alignment with School Improvement Plan Topics
Leadership/ Continuous Improvement
Brief Program Description
Addressing the mental health needs of adults who work in our schools is necessary for delivering both high quality education and for establishing a healthy school climate. Faculty and staff are experiencing greater stressors than ever, and addressing their mental health needs with practical strategies is vital. This session will help school leaders to identify the stressors affecting faculty and staff, to understand the impact of those stressors on school climate and employee retention, and to develop strategies that support the mental health needs of faculty and staff. Participants will apply brain states, self-care strategies that maintain mental health, and strategies for creating a community of care that supports the mental health of employees, especially during times of stress. This session will include both didactic information and practical strategies that school leaders could implement immediately.
Summary
Addressing the mental health needs of adults who work in our schools is necessary for delivering both high quality education and for establishing a healthy school climate. Faculty and staff are experiencing greater stressors than ever, and addressing their mental health needs with practical strategies is vital. This session will help school leaders to identify the stressors affecting faculty and staff, to understand the impact of those stressors on school climate and employee retention, and to develop strategies that support the mental health needs of faculty and staff. Participants will apply brain states, self-care strategies that maintain mental health, and strategies for creating a community of care that supports the mental health of employees, especially during times of stress. This session will include both didactic information and practical strategies that school leaders could implement immediately.
Evidence
This presentation will include evidence from research conducted by Penn State and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation on the sources of teacher stress and strategies proven to reduce job stress and improve organizational climate of schools.
Learning Objective 1
Participants will be able to identify brain states and adult behaviors associated with them in schools.
Learning Objective 2
Participants will be able to identify sources of teacher stress.
Learning Objective 3
Participants will be able to apply strategies proven to reduce stress and improve school climate for faculty and staff.
Recommended Citation
Haines, Chris, "Beyond Self-Care: School Mental Health for Faculty and Staff" (2023). Southeast Conference on School Climate. 57.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/secsc/2023/2023/57
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Beyond Self-Care: School Mental Health for Faculty and Staff
Addressing the mental health needs of adults who work in our schools is necessary for delivering both high quality education and for establishing a healthy school climate. Faculty and staff are experiencing greater stressors than ever, and addressing their mental health needs with practical strategies is vital. This session will help school leaders to identify the stressors affecting faculty and staff, to understand the impact of those stressors on school climate and employee retention, and to develop strategies that support the mental health needs of faculty and staff. Participants will apply brain states, self-care strategies that maintain mental health, and strategies for creating a community of care that supports the mental health of employees, especially during times of stress. This session will include both didactic information and practical strategies that school leaders could implement immediately.
