1. Mental Health and High School
Curriculum Guide
School Mental Health Literacy: The Foundation for
Youth Mental Health
Dr. Stan Kutcher and Ms. Yifeng Wei
Sun Life Financial Chair in Adolescent Mental Health
IWK Health Center and Dalhousie University

2. What is Mental Health Literacy?
Mental health literacy encompasses
knowledge and skills that address the
biological, psychological, and social
aspects of mental health to increase
the understanding of mental health and
mental disorders, reduce stigma, help
recognize and prevent mental disorders,
and facilitate help-seeking behaviors in
youth along the pathway to mental health care.

3. School-Based Integrated Pathway to Care Model
COMMUNITY
SCHOOL
STAKEHOLDERS
PARENTS POLICY MAKERS
MENTAL HEALTH LITERACY
ADMINISTRATORS
MENTAL HEALTH CURRICULUM
STUDENT
TEACHERS SERVICES MENTAL HEALTH
STUDENTS SERVICES
PROVIDERS
PROVIDERS
MENTAL HEALTH LITERACY
SCHOOL-BASED PRIMARY CARE
HEALTH CENTRE PROVIDERS
PROVIDERS
GATEKEEPER TRAINING

4. Who Needs to be Mental Health Literate?
Students
Teachers
Student services providers
Other school support staff
School administrators
Health Providers
Parents
Media
Wider Community

5. Mental Health & High School Curriculum Guide
A Mental Health Literacy Program for Students and Teachers
Mental Health & High
School Curriculum Guide
is the first mental health
literacy program to address
youth mental health in a
systematic manner for
Canadian secondary
schools, with the focus on
students and teachers

6. What are the Goals and Objectives of the
Curriculum Guide?
Promote students’ awareness of mental health and
understanding of mental disorders
Address stigma associated with mental illness
Facilitate an environment in which students can
maximize their learning
Help students develop their abilities to cope with life
challenges and stresses
Identify those students in particular need of assistance
or support
Provides information about “seeking help”

7. What does the Curriculum Guide Include?
Part 1: Introduction
Part 2: Teacher self-study materials
Part 3: Student questionnaire
Part 4: Modules/Lessons (core
component)
Part 5: Other activities and resources

8. What does the Curriculum Guide Include?
(Core Component)
Module 1: The stigma of mental illness
Module 2: Understanding mental health and
mental illness
Module 3: Information on specific mental illness
Module 4: Experiences of mental illness
Module 5: Seeking Help and finding support
Module 6: The importance of positive mental
health

9. MENTAL HEALTH & HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM GUIDE
Module 1- Stigma of mental illness
Concepts Expanding the concepts
• Stigma hampers the • Right to vote?
promotion of mental well- • Strange, bizarre and
being, the prevention of violent?
mental health • Dangerous or violent?
disorders, and the
provision of effective • Good job and life?
treatment and care. • Bad parenting?
• Stigma also contributes to • Friendship?
the abuse of human rights. • Never get well?
Please play the video to students and use other activities such as drama, art
work, role play to engage students

10. MENTAL HEALTH & HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM GUIDE
Module 2- Understanding mental health and mental illness
Concepts Expanding the concepts
• Introduction to the basics • The relationship between
of brain functions
• Concepts of mental the brain and the body?
health, mental • The role of the frontal
disorders/illnesses
• Complexities of the causes lobe?
of mental • The brain and the
disorders/illnesses
functioning of the
• Major mental
disorders/illnesses in heart, lung and fingers?
adolescents • The brain being sick?
Please play PowerPoint presentations to students and use other supplementary activities
such as drama, art work, role play to engage students

11. MENTAL HEALTH & HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM GUIDE
Module 3 – Information on specific mental illnesses
Concepts Expanding the concepts
• Relationship between mental • Schizophrenia, a split
illnesses/disorders and brain personality?
functions • Mood fluctuate naturally?
• Understanding about • Panic attacks comes on
symptoms, causes, treatments suddenly and last days?
and other supports for specific • Suicide not related to mental
mental disorders/illnesses health?
• Anxiety disorders responds to
Please play PowerPoint presentations to real danger?
students and use other supplementary
activities such as drama, art work, role play • Self-harm may lead to death?
to engage students

12. MENTAL HEALTH & HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM GUIDE
Module 4 – Experiences of mental illness
Concepts Expanding the concepts
• Mental • Most people who have
illnesses/disorders can a mental illness get well
impact a person’s life and stay well with
treatment?
• Seeking help and
proper treatment is
important.
Please play the video to students and use other activities such as drama, art work, role
play to engage students

13. MENTAL HEALTH & HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM GUIDE
Part 4: Module 5 – Seeking help and finding support
Concepts Expanding the concepts
• Getting help early • Vitamins and
increases the chances that meditation, good
a person will make a full treatments for most mental
recovery from mental illnesses?
illness • Treatment to relieve
• Provision of resources for symptoms, restore
help. functioning, and promote
recovery?
Teachers may want to bring in a guidance councilor, a school psychologist,
and other local resources to talk to students. A video is also available.

14. MENTAL HEALTH & HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM GUIDE
Module 6 – The importance of positive mental health
• Characteristics of an emotionally healthy person
• Strategies to enhance personal mental health
(e.g. stress management techniques).
Student engagement is important to create useful
strategies to remain mentally healthy.

15. How does the Curriculum Guide Fit in
Secondary schools?
Is designed for Grade 9-10 students and teachers
Implementation format is flexible:
Teaching in a blocked chunk of time (e.g. 1.5 hours everyday for one
week)
Integrating the various components in the existing curriculum and
teaching over the course of a semester
Other strategies based on the individual school needs
Curriculum duration: approximately 6-8 hours
Can be taught in the existing curriculum, e.g. Healthy Living
Supplementary online resources – Taking It Global (www.tigweb.org) and
www.teenmentalhealth.org
Is sustainable

16. How Can You Implement the Curriculum
Guide in your school?
Online supplementary resource –
www.teenmentalhealth.org
Taking It Global: www.tig.org

18. Social Network for Social Good
www.tigweb.org

20. Suggested Steps to Implement the Curriculum
Step 1 Step 2 Step 3
• Set up support system • Determine target grade • Teacher Training
(Example): and class (Example): Recruitment (Example):
• The team received support • Grade 9 was the best fit • HRSB recruited all 86 Grade
from NS Department of based on the decision of the 9 teachers who are currently
Education (NS Provincial NS Department of Education teaching the Healthy Living
Policy) • Provincial “Healthy Living” class.
• HRSB Student Services set up outcomes aligned with those
the infrastructure for of the curriculum and
curriculum implementation became the curriculum
in HRSB “home”

21. Suggested Steps to Implement the
Curriculum
Step 4 Step 5 Step 6
• Teacher training on the • Training Evaluation • Implementing the
Curriculum (Example): (Example): curriculum in the
• Three one-day training • All participants were classroom
periods were provided to 86 administered pre and post
educators from 37 HRSB tests on mental health • Student evaluation
schools on January 9, 16 and knowledge and attitudes
30, 2012 towards mental illness
• All participants also provided
feedback and comments on
the training session

22. How to Implement the Curriculum Guide in
Secondary Schools?
Start with teacher mental health
literacy:
Self study – self evaluation
On-site teacher training
Online e-learning modules are
being developed

23. Curriculum Training Objectives
To improve
educators’ knowledge
of the Curriculum
and its
contents, increase
knowledge regarding
mental health and
mental health
illness, and enhance
positive attitudes
towards mental illness

24. Curriculum Training Content
To examine the basic
concepts of mental
health, the epidemiology of
mental disorders that
typically onset in adolescence
and strategies to fight stigma
associated with mental illness
To reviews the six modules
of the
Curriculum, supplementary
educational resources and
teaching strategies for
effectively addressing mental
health literacy

25. LESSONS LEARNED

26. Discussion and Conclusions
The Curriculum training was effective in
improving mental health knowledge of
students and educators and improving their
attitudes towards mental illness
Educators self reported that they felt well
prepared and ready to implement the
Curriculum in their classroom
The Curriculum training set a strong
foundation for educators to work with
practitioners to improve youth mental
health along the pathway to care.

27. Curriculum Implementation
Preliminary Data
Figure 1: Mental Health & High School Curriculum Guide Training Results for Students
at Forest Heights Community School (n=74, p<.001)

28. Curriculum Implementation
Preliminary Data
Figure 2: Mental Health & High School Curriculum Guide Training Results for teachers
at Forest Heights Community School (n=29, p<.001)

29. Curriculum Implementation
Preliminary Data
Figure 3: Mental Health & High School Curriculum Guide Training Results for teachers
at Tri-County School Board (n= 17; p<.05)

30. Curriculum Implementation
Preliminary Data
Figure 4: Mental Health & High School Curriculum Guide Training Results for
Students at Tri-County School Board (n=35 (English); n=41 (French); p<.05)

31. Curriculum Implementation
Preliminary Data
Figure 5: Mental Health & High School Curriculum Guide
Training Results for Teachers
at Halifax Regional School Board (n=83; p<.0001)

32. Curriculum Implementation
Preliminary Data
Figure 6: Stigmatizing Attitudes Following the Mental Health & High School
Curriculum Training at Halifax Regional School Board (n=83; p<0.0001)

33. Who would be Interested in the Curriculum?
 Partners in planning or delivering the program
 Secondary schools or school boards
 Ministry/Department of Health
 Ministry of Education
 Funding agencies
 Program participants
 Program staff
 Program developer
 Organizations offering similar programs

34. The End
Sun Life Financial Chair
In Adolescent Mental Health
For more information visit
WWW.TEENMENTALHEALTH.ORG