A school-based, culturally sensitive, suicide-prevention program for American Indian adolescents, also known as Zuni Life Skills Development. Themes this program covers 1) building self-esteem, 2) identifying emotions and stress, 3) increasing communication and problem-solving skills, 4) recognizing and eliminating self-destructive behavior, 5) information on suicide, 6) suicide intervention training, and 7) setting personal and community goals. The curriculum also incorporates three domains of well-being that are specific to tribal groups: 1) helping one another, 2) group belonging, and 3) spiritual belief systems and practices. Lessons are interactive and incorporate situations and experiences relevant to AI/AN adolescent life such as friendship issues, rejection, divorce, separation, unemployment, and problems with health and the law.

This course has been designed for educators working with students in grades 7 to 12.

This is a non-credit, online curriculum that consists of 6 modules designed to be taught sequentially in 6-12 hours of classroom time.  Modules include all course materials including learning objectives, lesson plans and all materials needed to deliver the curriculum in perpetuity. All student-facing materials are also translated into Spanish and Portuguese. Also includes one year of data collection and analysis via Osprey Research Group (pre/post surveys). After analysis, lifetime access to curriculum updates and quarterly Community of Practice Meeting access. 

Learn more about this course, including program background and learning objectives, at Mental Health Collaborative.

Mental health literacy is the foundation for mental health promotion, prevention, and care and can be developed through classroom based curriculum implementation that has been scientifically shown to improve mental health related outcomes for students and also for their teachers. Curriculum aligns with National Health Education Standards and CASEL competencies. 

In this course, educators will learn how to apply this classroom-ready, web-based, modular mental health curriculum resource as well as develop their own mental health literacy. Educators can then use this resource designed to be delivered to regular classrooms to successfully address mental health-related curriculum outcomes designed to be delivered by classroom teachers to students in grades 7 to 12.

A complete library of brain-based mental health resources for your whole school community, Pathways to Empower offers:

• Elementary School Teacher Resource: Grade-Level Sequential Lesson Plans (~10 lessons per grade) that can be broken into smaller parts.
• Middle & High School Student Workbooks: The workbooks include four core modules:
  1.      Neuroscience 101 introduces the developmental stages of the brain and different systems.
  2.      The Resilient Mindset Model explains how our brains naturally respond to challenges so we can use challenges as opportunities to build resilience.
  3.      Brain-Based Relationships applies the science and strategies learned in the first two modules to our interactions with others.
  4.      Mental Health Literacy covers the four goals of mental health literacy through the lens of neuroscience.
• Educator Professional Learning - Options include:
  1.      Live in-person training - customized by grade level (suggested half-day length)
  2.      Live online training - customized by grade level (length can vary)
  3.      2.5-hour asynchronous online program - covers the core learning content with a focus on educator-first
• Fostering Wellness in Children & Teens (family learning) - Options include:
  1.      1-Hour asynchronous online program
  2.      Live in-person or online learning session