by Khrystina Warnstadt
With so many schools integrating technology into their curriculum due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s time schools start offering digital resources for student mental health. The prevalence of youth mental health issues such as anxiety and depression is on the rise (Liverpool et al., 2020), as is students’ use of and comfort with technology. Integrating a digital mental health resource in schools is the perfect solution to reduce student stress while decreasing the workload for school counselors.
Neolth is a digital resource that provides stress and mental health support to students. Neolth’s self-guided digital platform and mobile app were built by healthcare and education professionals, in partnership with students. The solution provides on-demand resources for relaxation, emotional awareness, health education, and stigma reduction. These resources work to develop Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) in students, bettering their behavioral and academic outcomes (Woolf, 2021).
Learn more about Neolth in this 2-minute explainer video
Over the next few weeks, our team will give real-world examples of how the most innovative schools and youth organizations are using digital health to help their students excel. Below is a sneak peek about the various ways in which schools are implementing Neolth.
How Schools Use Neolth
Neolth can provide self-guided mental health support for the entire student body. Not every student needs an appointment with a counselor, but all students need support. Implementing Neolth this way ensures that no students are struggling in silence and that they all have access to mental health resources 24/7.
Neolth can also be implemented for high-risk students that interact with counselors. The counselor can prescribe this tool as a way to provide these students with constant, on-demand support between appointments. Counselors can easily monitor students' activity on the app, stress levels, and mental health symptoms through our secure health tracking tool.
Beyond using Neolth as a school health tool, many schools are integrating Neolth into the curriculum during homeroom, health class, or even PE class. This method gives students some structure for using the app and can provide an opportunity for discussion amongst their peers. Infusing curriculum with mental health and self-care practices is beneficial for the students’ health and academic performance!
More details about each of these approaches, including step-by-step guidelines, to come in the next weeks. Stay posted!
How You Can Use Neolth
You can implement Neolth at your school simply and quickly. Our team will provide your students with access to the Neolth platform and give you a communications pack with step-by-step instructions about how to implement the program. From templates for student outreach material to lesson plans for teachers, our communications pack covers all of your bases - no additional work on your part. Just share one of our announcement templates with your community and you’ll be up and running with your students the same day! Over the next few weeks, we’ll be posting some examples of how REAL students, teachers, and counselors have implemented Neolth into their schools.
Ready to learn more? Schedule a meeting with us to see how the program can help your students.
References
Liverpool, S., Mota, C. P., Sales, C. M. D., Cus, A., Carletto, S., Hancheva, C., Sousa, S., Ceron, S. S., Moreno-Peral, P., Pietrabissa, G., Moltrecht, B., Ulberg, R., Ferreira, N., & Edbrooke-Childs, J. (2020). Engaging children and young people in digital mental health interventions: Systematic review of modes of delivery, facilitators, and barriers. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 22(6). https://doi.org/10.2196/16317.
Woolf, N. (2021). Building social-emotional skills with technology: How to use SEL to cultivate digital wellness. Digital Wellness Lab. https://digitalwellnesslab.org/articles/building-social-emotional-skills-with-technology-how-to-use-sel-to-cultivate-digital-wellness/.
