Surrey Homes | SH39 | January 2018 | Interiors supplement inside

Healthy Minds
Education
Susan Elkin stresses the importance of mental health awareness in schools and at home
Credit: FreeImages.com/Picaland
2017 was a big year for mental health awareness. Let’s
hope 2018 is even better because classroom statistics
about the mental health of our young people are dire and
worsening.The estimate is that, at any one time, around 30%
of school pupils have unresolved mental health issues. That
means that there are three in every class. In my time – both in
‘challenging’ high schools and ‘privileged’ independent ones
– I have seen it all. I’ve witnessed self-harm, eating disorders,
damaged self esteem, depression, anxiety, children being
traumatised by bullying and much – far too much – more.
Well, first we need to acknowledge it and talk about
it. January is an ideal time since, for many, it is said to
be the lowest point in the year. Mental health matters
as much as physical health. There is no more reason to
be ashamed of, say, anorexia than of chicken pox.
Bravo Prince Harry who spoke openly about his own problems
last year. He and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have
put their weight, including a £2m grant from The Royal
Foundation, behind the stigma-breaking Heads Together.
Meanwhile Theresa May promised last year that every
school would have a mental health first aider. At present,
some schools have a counsellor but many do not and, in
practice, there can be a long wait to see him or her.
Teachers will try, of course, because the vast majority
of them care deeply about the welfare of their pupils. The
difficulty is that few have the relevant training to help
effectively and therefore might make things even worse.
I often think about a 15-year-old I taught. Let’s call her Michelle.
Deeply troubled she was given to scraping her finger nails hard
down the back of her other hand so that both her hands were
permanently raw, sore, bleeding and often infected. I was head
of year and Michelle’s kind friend would bring her, distressed,
to my office almost daily. I listened and did what I could but
of course it was way beyond my experience and expertise to
give much real help. In the end poor Michelle was admitted
to a rural mental hospital – when such places still existed.
Youngsters like Michelle are in every school. A few of
them – the worst scenario – are suicidal. Yes, we have to find
ways of getting professional help to them quickly. It would
also help a bit, I think, if we – every parent, grandparent,
sibling, teacher and the rest – stopped setting them up to fail.
They don’t have to have a dozen top grade GCSE passes, a
perfect body or a beautiful face for life to be meaningful. And
we should be telling and showing them that every day.
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