Mental Health in High Schools Curriculum Guide

Basic, foundational training is available at no cost via University of British Columbia. To request comprehensive training (and an adapted US version), visit The Mental Health Collaborative. To get started, scroll down to the form at the bottom of the page and enter your information to be contacted about the training that's right for you and your classroom.

Summary

This course has been designed for educators working with students in ages 12 to 19.

This is a self-paced, non-credit, online course that consists of 6 modules. The estimated time commitment is approximately 6-8 hours in total. Modules are completed sequentially and each consists of:

  1. Classroom activities

  2. Self-guided study

  3. Module test

This online program is asynchronous (no real-time events are scheduled).

Learn more about this course, including program background and learning objectives, on the Faculty of Education’s Professional Development & Community Engagement website.

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. A Canadian-developed, nationally and internationally-researched resource, the Mental Health Curriculum Guide (The Guide) – previously available only through face-to-face delivery– is now available online.

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 aged 12 to 19.

Rubric and Standards

Mental Health Literacy Components

Decreasing stigma

Understanding how to foster and maintain positive mental health

Understanding how to seek help effectively

Understanding mental health disorders and their treatments

High School Learning Standards

Advocate for reducing stigma associated with emotional and mental and behavioral health

Compare & contrast emotional, mental-behavioral illness, mental well-being and concurrent disorders

Describe how self-harm or suicide impacts other people

Describe laws related to minors accessing mental health care

Explain how to help someone who is thinking about attempting suicide

Identify school and community resources that can help a person with emotional, mental and behavioral health concerns

Implementation

Program Material Cost

Basic, foundational training available at no cost via Mental Health Collaborative and includes data collection on implemented programs.

Modality

Classroom Curriculum

Setting

Health Classes and Other

Grade Level(s)

Middle

High

Evidence

Header

5 Publications (3 Peer-Reviewed)

Study Types

1 Randomized Control Trial, 5 Single Group Designs

Study Samples

Countries: Canada, US Sample Sizes: Ranged from 60 to 534 Students Grade Levels: Ranged from 6th to 12th Grade

Major Findings

Student receiving curriculum experienced significant increases in mental health knowledge scores and positive attitudes towards mental illness (i.e. stigma reduction) which sustained in follow-up assessments (which ranged from 1 month to 1 year).

Published Studies