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You are listening to Supporting Supporters, a ChangetoChill podcast. This is a free mental well-being resource offered by Allina Health. My name is Tonya Freeman. I’m a licensed psychologist and regional lead psychologist with Allina Health.        

These podcast episodes are aimed with the goal of providing quick, tangible resources and information from Allina Health mental health providers on a range of mental health topics relevant to day to day lives of the listener. We invite you to join us in any way you please, whether you sit back and kick your feet up, or as you engage in movement, your daily commute, or as you prepare for your day. However you choose to join us, we welcome you and we honor your time.       

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Hi everyone! My name is Tonya Freeman, I am an early lifespan primary care psychologist with Allina Health and I want to start by thanking you for listening to our podcast, where we are hopeful to cultivate a space to give back to you. Our teachers who are day in and day out serving our next generations in a time of so much uncertainty. Thank you again for showing up today. This podcast project is especially meaningful to me as a first-generation scholar of higher education. Without teachers who supported, motivated, and cared for me, I certainly would not be where I am today and for that I am grateful. Because of those teachers, I have become a lifelong learner and strive to find opportunities to give back and serve in unique ways.    

I value your time and feel honored you have chosen to spend a few minutes with me, for you, your students, your family, and your community as without filling your cup, it is significantly more difficult to serve others, even if serving others fills your cup. There are certainly components that drain our cups completely dry, even when we love our jobs, especially in times of so much change and uncertainty. As I honor your time, I will dive right into this topic on supporting the family who is experiencing stigma.  

I have four topics in this episode:  

Topic 1: what is stigma and why is it a problem 

Topic 2: how does stigma effect a person or family with mental health difficulties 

Topic 3: what does this mean for children and adolescents and what can we do? 

Topic 4: primary prevention: things we can offer in each classroom to reduce stigma and promote safe, predictable, and positive environments  

Topic one: what is stigma and why is it a problem? 

Stigma is when someone or yourself views a person in a negative or unfavorable way because of perceived differences or characteristics that are viewed in a negative light, as a flaw, or a disadvantage. This is unfortunately especially common among mental health conditions. Stigma can then be felt as shame or feeling judged by another person. It can also come from within ourselves when we confuse guilt for shame. Brene Brown provides a wonderful example of the difference between guilt and shame that I will share with you now to highlight this difference. Guilt: “I feel bad” Shame: “I am bad” Guilt is often related to a behavior, something that can then be changed. Shame however becomes an identity. Another example Guilt: “I did a bad thing,” Shame: “I am a bad person.” I bring this up because in my preparation for this topic on mental health stigma, I did not come across much that even addressed guilt or shame in association to stigma. And yet it has so much to do with how we perceive, experience, and respond to stigma.  

Mental health disorders and diagnoses can be difficult to understand and there can be an experience of isolation, blame, and secrecy that are often increased by real or perceived stigma. This creates significant challenges to reaching out, learning about and accessing resources, and receiving support from loved ones. You can see here that avoiding mental health difficulties can increase feelings of isolation, blame, shame, and loneliness which often exacerbates mental health difficulties.  

Topic Two: how does stigma effect a person or family with mental health difficulties? 

• Mental health conditions are a leading cause of disability within the United States. There are many diagnoses that qualify for funded and protected accommodations 
• Suicide is the second leading cause of death of youth ages 15-24 and the tenth leading cause of death for all Americans.  
• People experiencing or diagnosed with mental health conditions may experience: rejection, discrimination, and victimization.  
• Such rejection and victimization can exacerbate symptoms and reduce utilization of resources, contributing to a longer recovery  
• According to the CDC more than half of the adults in the U.S. who could benefit from mental health services do not seek resources and the average delay between onset of symptoms and interventions is 8-10 years  

Topic 3: what does this mean for children and adolescents and what can we do? 

• Stigma on child mental health disorders is less researched though there is research indicating caregiver strain and burden as well as caregivers own experience and perception of stigma impacts childhood stigma.  
• Given large increases of emergency department visits for mental health conditions in the last two years in child and adolescent population and suicide being the second leading cause of death in teens and young adults, it is ever pressing that we attend to and stop the stigma. 
• One way educators and school systems as a whole can attend to reducing stigma is through education and access to resources. 
• For example offering educators and staff training in young mental health first aid, resources on adverse childhood experience (ACE), and host end the stigma campaigns and fundraisers to increase awareness and resources. 
• Additionally, throughout our podcast series you will learn a lot about emotional and behavioral disorders and symptoms that may impact students and the classroom in unique ways. Applying curiosity, sensitivity, and response to any behavior and mood changes in students and staff can greatly increase access to resources. 
• Lead by example, becoming aware of our own mental health and symptoms and responses to stress will not only improve your wellbeing but also improve your understanding of what families and students may go through when they experience mental health, what to look for, and what hurdles may have occurred for access to care.  
• We have many podcast topics on self-care and relaxation strategies that do not require professional services but can certainly go a long way for your overall wellbeing.  
• Promoting mental health services within the school district as a whole is also a key component in considering how to create a positive process, enriching environment, and reducing stigma and barriers to care. 

Topic 4: primary prevention: things we can offer in each classroom to reduce stigma and promote safe, predictable, and positive environments  

• Intentionally making connection with students and families from the start and on a frequent basis. 
• This will promote a trusting environment and if concerns appear, you have already established a predictable and trusting relationship. 
• Consider whether the physical space is welcoming, predictable, and safe or if it is chaotic, unpredictable, and unappealing. The physical space can incredibly impact promotion of learning as well as serve as a protective or risk factor to the nervous system in response to stressors  
• Establish and stick to consistent routines. 
• Adopting a zero tolerance policy on stigmatization.  
• We can do this by redirecting the conversation and later pulling the child aside to discuss the comments made without also shaming the child either during the one on one or in front of the class. 
• Including and delivering diverse and culturally respectful information in coursework. 
• When you notice a concern, document and monitor the changes, speak with your school psychologist if desired and available, discuss with the student if appropriate and or reach out to the family. 
• Remember language is key here and we do have multiple podcast episodes on how to approach such conversations. 
• Don’t avoid topics related to mental health. Silence promotes stigmatization. Instead, seek understanding to improve your ability to discuss and refer for mental health concerns. 
• You may also choose to have a quiet and calm down space in your classroom promoting each child’s ability to regulate. You may also consider mindfulness interventions to improve resiliency, promote regulation, and increase awareness to coping strategies. 
• Lastly it is important each teacher have a plan and feel supported by their school system in response to a child crisis such as a child/teenager experiencing suicidal ideation, disclosing homelessness or domestic violence.  
• We want to be both proactive and preventative. 
• Align with school policies that are appropriate and supportive. 
• Use evidence based information for guiding these plans.  

While we certainly could have covered more statistics and psychoeducation regarding mental health disorders, in consideration of your time, I am most hopeful this episode aided in your understanding of how stigmatization may impact parents and their offspring as well as teachers and school systems as a whole. If anything, I do hope this episode provoked thought and consideration for your own familiarity and comfortability in discussing and responding to mental health, supports that are offered in your school, and how you can create an enriching environment that reduces hyper arousal and stimulation and provides predictability and safety.  

Thank you for all you do for our students and community at large. I cherish your work and your time. See you in the next episode, Dr. Freeman.  

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On behalf of Allina Health and Change to Chill, we thank you for taking the time to listen to our podcast. We do hope you enjoyed this episode and we hope that you join us in other episodes covering even more interesting topics with mental health providers. As always, you can find the show notes and any accompanying research and tools at the change to chill website at www.changetochill.org. In health and wellness, take care and see you next time!