Healthy Minds
National PTA has a new Mental Health pilot program and chose Louisiana PTA to be one of only a few to implement it! The Louisiana Healthy Minds State Champion for the program is Jessica Latin and is the Chair of the LAPTA Mental Health Committee. As a licensed professional counselor and doula, she is passionate about mental health. She serves as Secretary for the Judson Warriors PTA in Shreveport, LA and is a wife and mother of two elementary students.
For the next three years, she will be empowering families with resources and tools to help them make mental health a daily priority! If you would like Jessica to give a presentation at your school, event, or community organization, contact her at healthyminds@LouisianaPTA.org.
Back to School Help for Students with Anxiety and OCD
Getting back into the routine of school can challenge students in many ways, especially for children with anxiety and OCD. Here are some resources from AnxietyTraining.com that can help.
-
"A School Counselor Can Be a Great Ally for Children with Anxiety and OCD" highlights the importance of the school counselor and provides helpful tips on how parents can fully utilize the counselor to support their child at school.
-
"Tips for Teachers to Support Students with School Anxiety" provides insights and tools for teachers to use in the classroom to support students experiencing school-related anxiety.
-
"Returning to School: How to Handle Uncertainty and Fear" provides helpful strategies for parents of anxious students on how to support the management of uncertainty and fear as they return to school.
-
"Helping Your Anxious Child Navigate Back to School with Confidence" is a great resource for parents who want to help their child feel more confident as they prepare to go back to school.
​
There are two resource guidebooks with parent strategies or teacher strategies that provide practical tips, activities, and support for students experiencing anxiety and stress.
Resources
Life is full of ups and downs. It is normal for our emotional state to change on a day-to-day basis and in periods throughout our lives. When our minds are healthy and strong, we are more resilient to life’s challenges, able to use healthy coping methods, have better relationships, and maintain our overall health and well-being. That’s why it is important to be proactive about our mental health! National PTA has developed the PTA Healthy Minds Program to help families make mental health an everyday priority. Check out the resources on this webpage, including informational and activity resources directly for families and resources to help PTAs run PTA Healthy Minds programming. https://www.pta.org/home/programs/Healthy-Lifestyles/mental-health
LAPTA thanks On Our Sleeves for partnering with us to improve the mental health of children in Louisiana. The On Our Sleeves Alliance works to amplify the cause of children’s mental health through the voices and actions of leading corporations, youth-serving organizations and health care organizations across the country. The Alliance works to empower the mental health and wellness of every child in the US, through fundraising and distribution of expert-created resources necessary for breaking stigmas, educating families, and advocates and teaching mental wellness skills. See OnOurSleeves.org for more.
The families and members of NAMI Louisiana are here to help! We offer understanding to anyone concerned about mental illnesses and the treatment of mental illness. Mental illnesses are brain disorders that are biologically based medical problems. Untreated, they can cause severe disturbances in thinking, feeling and relating. This results in substantially diminished capacity for dealing with the ordinary demands of life. Mental illness can affect persons of any age and occur in any family. They are not caused by bad parenting and not evidence of weakness of character. https://namilouisiana.org/about-nami-louisiana/
