Episode 160: Simple Mental Health Supports Every School Can Use Right Now

Mental Health Awareness Month is coming up, and I know how easy it is to feel like you need to do more.

Add another lesson. Try something new. Fit one more thing into an already full schedule.

In this episode, I share a different perspective. Supporting student mental health is not about adding something big. It is about what is already happening in your day and how you show up in those moments.

I walk through simple, realistic ways I support student mental health that do not require extra time or complicated planning. These are things you can start using right away.

In this episode:

• Why mental health support is not limited to a lesson, a week, or a specific month
• How everyday interactions shape how students feel and respond
• Simple ways to support students without overwhelming your schedule
• The role consistency plays in helping students feel safe
• How to support your own mental health while supporting others

Practical Ways to Support Mental Health:

• Checking in with students in small, informal moments throughout the day
• Helping students understand that all feelings are valid and worth sharing
• Teaching a few coping strategies and practicing them regularly
• Creating predictable routines so students know what to expect
• Making space for connection through simple conversations
• Using tools like calm down kits to support regulation when needed

"You are not responsible for doing everything. You are responsible for doing what you can with intention."

Resources Mentioned:

Calm Down Kit Freebie!

High School Mental Health Lesson

Feelings Check Ins

Grab the Show Notes: Counselingessentials.org/podcast

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Connect with Carol:

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• High School Counselor Connection Facebook Group

Mentioned in this episode:

Perks Membership

You're listening to the Counselor Chat podcast, a show for school counselors looking for easy to implement strategies, how to tips, collaboration, and a little spark of joy.

I'm Carol Miller, your host. I'm a full time school counselor and the face behind counseling essentials. I'm all about creating simplified systems, data driven practices, and using creative approaches to engage students.

If you're looking for a little inspiration to help help you make a big impact on student growth and success, you're

in the right place.

Because we're better together. Ready to chat. Let's dive in.

Hey everyone.

Welcome back to another episode of Counselor Chat. I am so grateful that you are here with me today.

My name is Carol Miller and I'm your host.

And if you are joining us for the first time, I'd love to welcome you here.

And if you have been around with me for a while,

thank you so much for coming back for another episode.

Well, today, my friends,

we are talking about mental health. I mean, I think our role as counselors,

we are supporting the mental health of our kids every single day.

But let's face it, Mental Health Awareness Month is sneaking up really quickly on us.

And here's the thing,

there can be a lot of pressure to add something special to celebrate Mental Health Awareness Month,

because after all, mental health is the focus of what we do.

But here's the thing.

You don't have to feel like you have to add that one more thing in,

unless of course, you really want to.

But then ask yourself, what can I take off my plate too?

Because as we're supporting student mental health,

we also have to support our own mental health.

And here's the other thing.

Supporting student mental health, it doesn't have to be a real big production.

In fact,

it's often the small, consistent things that we do that make the biggest difference.

And let's start with this truth, too.

Mental health support.

It isn't just one lesson. It's not one week or even a month.

It's not one big initiative.

In fact,

it's the everyday moments.

It's how students feel when they walk into a classroom or when they make a mistake or when they're having a really hard day.

And so I thought I'd start us out with a really quick story.

You know, it's the one about a story with the boy walking along the beach after a storm.

Well, if you know anything about storms,

they can bring a lot of stuff to the shore.

And after this particular storm, thousands of starfish had washed up on the shore and there was A little boy walking along the beach. And one by one, he started picking up the starfish and throwing them back into the ocean.

And when a man walked by and said,

what are you doing?

And the little boy says, well, putting the starfish back into the water as if they're not. They'll die if they're not in the water.

And the man says, little boy, there are way too many. You can't possibly make a difference.

And at first, the little guy, he was kind of discouraged, and he started walking away with his head down.

When the next thing you know,

he turns right around,

he picks up another starfish and continues to throw it into the water.

He keeps doing this and doing this and doing this.

And the man once again walks up to the boy and says, little boy, I already told you,

there are too many. You. You can't possibly make a difference.

And with that,

the boy picked up one more starfish, tossed it into the water, and said,

but I made a difference for that one.

And this is the perfect story when it comes to school counseling, because it's easy to feel like there's too much or there are too many needs, or I can't get to everyone.

But the truth is, every small moment matters.

So let's make this really practical,

because I know you're busy.

And here are some simple tier one ways I think you can support mental health without adding one more thing to your plate.

Do the daily check ins.

I mean, this doesn't have to be formal. It could be as you pass by your kiddo in the hallway,

how are you today?

You get the thumbs up, the sideways, the down.

Maybe it's just a one word check in.

And you know why this really matters?

Because when students,

they name their feelings, they're more likely to manage them.

And when we notice those feelings,

we can respond earlier before things escalate.

I mean, how many times have you walked into the building and you notice a little person looking not too great?

Do you wait until later or do you manage it right then and there?

I know I tend to manage it right then and there, and then maybe go and check in a little bit later just to see if things are better.

We also want to normalize feelings. And I mean,

not just some feelings, but all of them.

And we say this a lot, but do we show it?

Because students need to hear.

It's okay to feel nervous. It's okay to feel frustrated.

It's okay to have a hard day.

And I know because I'm guilty of this too.

Sometimes we just want to say Stop crying already.

But that doesn't really help out.

It's when we say, yeah, I can see you're really upset.

Can you tell me about it?

Because when our students think I shouldn't feel this way,

they start to shut down.

But when they think, hey, this makes sense,

they start to open up.

And we also want to teach simple coping tools over and over and over and over again.

Not tenant strategies, not complicated systems, just a few tools that we repeat constantly, like deep breathing or taking a break.

Positive self talk, asking for help.

But here's the key. Don't just teach it once.

Practice it when the students are calm so they can use it when they're not.

Maybe every time you go in for a classroom lesson,

at the end, before you leave,

you have kids breathe as a transition,

just to slow their body down, their breathing down, and their thoughts down.

It's something simple we can add in,

and it only takes a second.

We also want to make sure that we build predictability into our day.

Because predictability,

it really creates safety,

and safety, it supports mental health.

And this can look like consistent routines,

clear expectations,

or knowing what comes next.

I know that this may be hard,

but if you are going in and you're teaching classroom lessons,

maybe it's too late for this year.

But next year,

make a plan to schedule them all out on a regular basis throughout the year.

I personally cannot stand when I am scheduling lessons and they're so haphazard. It's like this teacher wants it this time,

but then next month,

maybe I will see them, maybe I won't. I don't know if I'm getting into the class.

They want a different time, a different day.

No,

just make it consistent.

Give yourself a schedule.

And you know what? That schedule, it protects you too.

And it actually will help your own mental health because predictability is helpful.

So just build it in.

And let's face it, when our students feel safe,

their brains, they're ready to learn.

We also want to create spaces for connection.

Connection doesn't require a full lesson.

It can be a quick circle, a partner share a simple question like, what's one good thing from your day?

If you're having lunch, bunches.

And maybe they're just there for kids to build connection.

Add into it a simple high, low, buffalo. What's the high part of your day? What's the low part of the day? And your buffalo? Well, that's just simple,

simply something kind of silly for the day.

But once again, those routines help with predictability.

Predictability gives us safety,

but that safety also helps us build connection.

And with all of that,

we're also going back to the normalizing the feelings and having that quick daily check in.

Like I said, you don't have to have a million and one things to use.

You only need a couple little strategies.

You just have to use them all the time.

The other thing is you don't have to say, wow,

it's so late in the season. It's too late for me to add this one thing in or I'll have to wait until next year.

We have been wanting to do these little class calm down kits since probably October in my building.

And we have been waiting and waiting.

We thought we were going to have our connected community schools person come in and help us with that because they are helping with behaviors in the school.

And one thing came up and then another thing came up and we couldn't get the boxes, and then we couldn't. We were waiting on the laminating sheets. I mean,

if it wasn't one thing, it was something else. And there were all these little tiny issues with getting these simple little calm down kits out.

And this calm down kit, just so I can explain it to you, is just a pencil box. And on top of the pencil box, it says calm down kit. And it's got this cute little graphic of a beach with sun, with.

With different faces on it.

Um, there's like five or six different suns, One sad,

not so sad. So like the whole range of emotions. And then when you open it up, there's another little piece that's taped on there that is basically how to use the box.

So first you're gonna take a deep breath, and then you're gonna set the timer. And then you're going to do some coping strategy.

And then when it's all done, we're gonna get back to work.

And inside the box we have a box of crayons.

We have a little piece of pool noodle so that they can use. That's like a stress ball.

We have a fidget ring,

one of those little spiky sensory things. We have this little zipper bracelet.

We have one of the.

The teacher's aides helped make these little felt hearts.

They're just cut out and they're like two pieces of felt sewn together. So they're a little bit thicker, but they're like a sensory heart.

They're really sweet.

We also have.

I'm trying to think what else is in there. Did I take some coloring sheets? Because we have some coloring sheets,

but we have this little kit oh, and then there's the little timer. It's a three minute, like sand timer. We have these little kits. We made one for every single classroom and you know, when we handed them out last week.

So I mean, we're in April,

people. I mean, we started this back in October and we're just getting them out for this year.

And because we just want kids to get used to having them available.

And so we went in, we talked to the kids, explained like what's in the box, how to use the box,

gave the boxes to the classroom teachers,

and now it's done.

And while it's late for this year, I mean, we're still going into testing season.

So you know what? I think you could use a calm down box from time to time.

The kids know it's there.

But you could do something simple. You can,

you don't have to wait if you've had a project that you've been sitting on or that you started,

maybe finishing it up and get it out there and it's okay.

And I also have for you guys another little reminder.

I want you to pause for a moment and I want to talk to you because I know what can happen when we talk about mental health.

We do start thinking,

I should be doing more,

I need to fix this or I'm not doing enough.

So let me say this clearly as I say,

you know what, if you started a project and you want to finish it, go ahead and it's not too late.

But let me also say you are not responsible for doing everything.

You are responsible for doing what you can with intention.

That's why for me, my friends, it, it was really important for us to get those boxes out because we finally had them ready.

We finally got all the crayons and everything that was in it.

And rather than having them just sit there,

we said, you know what,

maybe I could have done more before to get these out.

Maybe I needed to fix all the problems earlier of not getting these boxes out.

Maybe I didn't do enough to get them out there.

But you know what, I did what I could with what I had.

And,

but the other thing is I did get those out and there was intention behind it.

So, my friends, sometimes the most powerful thing that you can do is show up,

listen,

be consistent,

and do what you can with what you have.

So in our real life,

as we're talking about mental health and doing things for our kids,

little things that can really make a big difference,

include a two minute check in that can change a student's whole day.

It's a calm down strategy that finally clicks where it's a conversation where our student feels heard.

Let me tell you something.

These, they're not small things.

These are everything.

Now if you're listening and thinking, I love these ideas,

but I need something I can grab and use right away.

I have some resources that I can help you with.

If you want to do some calm down kits,

even if they take, you know,

eight months like ours did, I've got you covered. And now not only do I have all the things that you need already,

I also now have a cute little PowerPoint that explains how to use them. So it's perfect.

So if you want that,

it's free. I'm going to drop it in the show notes and I really think that you will love it,

but you can do something like that.

Or if you want some mental health lessons, I'll put some links to some lessons in there as well as some ready to use activities.

Because my friends, you don't need to build everything from scratch.

If you're in perks,

you already know that there are tools waiting for you that will fit exactly what you need this time of year.

But I'm going to drop some things in the show notes just to make it easier. And like I said, that calm down kit is super cute and it's free.

So I want you to go and take a look at it.

Now,

here's a final thought.

Mental health support doesn't have to be complicated.

It doesn't have to be perfect.

Once again, it just has to be consistent.

And just like that little boy on the beach, you may not reach every student every day,

but the ones you do,

you are making a huge difference.

So my friends,

I hope you go on this week to be a thrower of starfish,

because that's making a difference.

Anyway, until next time, I hope you have a really great week.

Bye for now.

Thanks for listening to today's episode of Counselor Chat. All of the links I talked about can be found in the show notes and at counselingessentials.org podcast.

Be sure to hit follow or subscribe on your favorite podcast player. And if you would be so kind

to leave a review, I'd really appreciate it.

Want to connect? Send me a DM on Facebook or Instagram at counselingessentials.

Until next time.

Can't wait till we chat.

Bye for now.