MHA KY Youth Mental Health Back to School

2024 Back to School Toolkit: Supporting Young Minds

Today’s youth are facing unprecedented challenges to their mental well-being, and supportive adults can make a significant difference in a young person’s mental health journey.

Mental Health America’s 2024 Supporting Young Minds Guides have been created to empower parents, caregivers, teachers, and others to provide support by fostering nonjudgmental environments where young people feel safe expressing themselves. In them, you will find information about facilitating conversations and validating feelings, creating safe spaces and supportive culture in the classroom, and ways to promote peer support. We’ve also created resources to help young people support one another and feel empowered to set and achieve goals.

To view additional resources and download the entire Supporting Young Minds toolkit, visit MHA National here.

Descargar en Español.

To order printed copies of the Supporting Young Minds toolkit, please contact joni@mhaky.org.

2023 Back to School Toolkit: Selfies, Social, & Screens: Navigating Virtual Spaces for Youth

Virtual spaces are everywhere and have become a constant presence, offering social connectedness and the ease of instant communication. But the online world of selfies and social media also brings with it challenging situations that can have a negative impact on youth mental health.

The 2023 Mental Health America Back-to-School toolkit focuses on an area that MHA has seen be a key driver of youth mental health concerns: social media and online activity. The toolkit, “Selfies, Social, & Screens: Navigating Virtual Spaces for Youth,” provides educational information and tips on how to tackle some of the most common online stressors for youth, like social comparison, body image, misinformation, and cyberbullying.

Adult fact sheet: Online behavior and mental health
Adult fact sheet: Protecting your child’s mental health online
Adult fact sheet: Social media, youth, and comparison
Adult fact sheet: Tips to help youth avoid social comparison
Youth fact sheet: Why do I compare myself to others online?
Youth fact sheet: How to find healthy online communities
Youth fact sheet: The do’s of social media

Descargue El Kit De Herramientas De Vuelta A La Escuela 2023 En Español

Click here to order printed copies of “Selfies, Social, & Screens: Navigating Virtual Spaces for Youth.”

2022 Back to School Toolkit: All the Feels

Adolescence is already a confusing time without added concerns about social media, safety in schools, staying healthy, family financial security, and loss of loved ones—so we shouldn’t be surprised that the rates of anxiety, depression, suicide, and other mental health conditions are on the rise.

This year, Mental Health America Recognizes with our 2022 Back to School Toolkit that our youth are having “All the Feels” as they enter the new school year. These resources look at the issues young people face that are having an impact on their mental health and offer tips on how to deal with these issues and the resulting emotions. The MHA toolkit can also help parents and school personnel better understand the issues, such as the effects of social media on youth mental health and how to be supportive.

Click here to order printed copies of “All the Feels” materials.

2021 Back to School Toolkit: Facing Fears, Supporting Students

In 2021, the theme is “Facing Fears, Supporting Students” because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The greater discussions on trauma and abuse go above and beyond the pandemic as well.

Download the 2021 Back to School Tooklit.

2018 Back to School Toolkit

2017 Back to School Toolkit

For Parents and Other Adults

**Download the Toolkit to access lesson activities, worksheets, and a poster**

For Students

Additional Resources

2016 Back to School Toolkit

For Adults

For Youth

2015 Back to School Toolkit

For Youth

2014 Back To School Materials

Back to School Mental Health Toolkits

Back to School Toolkits released by MHA National every autumn in anticipation of the start of the new school year provide free resources, tools, tips, and information on early identification themes. Youth Mental Health concerns have reached national attention, and these materials are designed to help in a time of need.

Click on a topic to the left and see a PDF with information, our contact information, etc. If you’d like to order printed copies of any toolkit worksheet, a grant from SAMHSA and the Kentucky Dept of Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities (DBHDID) has provided us with funding to get them to you (within reason). See the button below each toolkit for the order form.

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Want More Information?

Mental Illnesses are brain-based conditions that affect thinking, emotions, and behaviors. Since we all have brains – having some kind of mental health problem during your life is really common. No matter what kind of mental health problem someone is facing, it is always possible to get better. If you think you’re experiencing a mental illness, try to find any kind of support earlier than later. Like other illness, treating mental illnesses early can help you get better faster.

We welcome the opportunity to assist you! We are available via phone, text, and email most weekdays. Please call 859.684.7778 or email mhaky@mhaky.org if you have urgent questions that are not covered here at this time!