Responding to Students’ Mental Health Challenges with SEL

(Grades 6-12) / Flex Course

PDI Course Number: 144T02 / UCSD Course Number: EDUC42428

Course Description

Do you wish you had social-emotional teaching strategies to respond to the current mental health crisis among teens? Many of our students face numerous challenges that can contribute to poor mental health outcomes, including disabilities; adverse childhood experiences; social, racial, and ethnic justice; and risky behaviors. This online course is specifically designed for teachers in grades 6-12 who are looking to dig deeper into how these challenges impact mental health and how effective social-emotional strategies such as empathy, coping, problem solving, decision making, emotional resilience, and effective communication can make a difference. Teachers will be provided with thorough background information on each mental health challenge. The foundations of equity and equality in education will be discussed, as well as strategies for helping students who have suffered from trauma. Specific culturally-responsive social-emotional strategies will also be shared so teachers can be more effective working with students from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds. Finally, teachers will learn how to explicitly teach self-advocacy — a skill that all students can benefit from, regardless of the challenges they face. By the end of this course, teachers will be well prepared to teach critical SEL skills that directly relate to mental health. This course is worth 3 ⅓ semester units/5 quarter units (50 hours of training) from University of California San Diego (UCSD) Division of Extended Studies. For detailed information on university credit, click here.

"This course was absolutely, AWESOME! The material was presented well, and the resources were superb!" - Lisa Wilson-Robinson