• While the use of therapy dogs at schools has been proven to offer benefits to students in terms of stress reduction and improved attendance and academic performance, school leaders also need to consider the needs of the animals themselves as they operate such initiatives, District Administration reports.
• Because schools are active and complex environments, the person in charge of the pet therapy program at school needs to be someone who understands the stress levels that animals can handle and the risks involved in having them around children. Rather than adopting a school dog, administrators may be better off beginning by bringing in volunteers with trained dogs who use compassionate methods of training that encourage bonding.
• These programs also work best when the goals are clear and the handlers, whether outside professionals or teachers, understand how to work with children who may be afraid or allergic to pets and how the animals can best be used to calm children and promote attendance and learning goals, the article says. Teacher also can benefit emotionally from the presence of therapy dogs on campus when the program is run efficiently.

(Calif.) Students stressed out over impending college acceptance and rejection letters drop by a teacher’s class to spend time brushing the therapy dog in her class just to calm their nerves.

At another campus, a first grader practices reading aloud while absentmindedly playing with the ears of a therapy dog that visits his class once a week.

Man’s best friend is playing an increasingly important role in maintaining student mental health as more becomes required of students to succeed academically.

Vicky Warren, a health teacher at Casa Roble high school in the San Juan Unified School District, has been bringing her golden retriever Cooper to class for the last five years. Warren said that having him in the classroom makes it feel more like home, which has helped lower student stress and made it easier to learn.

“He comes with me almost every day,” Warren said. “I've had students with anxiety and even Tourette Syndrome pet Cooper to feel calmer. Students come to my classroom at lunch, during passing periods, and a few stop by regularly for their daily interaction with Cooper.”

Warren said that some students credit Cooper as the only reason they show up to school some days.

“He is an integral part of my classroom and behavioral management, and I'm thrilled about the joy he brings to my students' day,” she said.

Every school should have a dog or another pet to reduce stress in the classroom, says Sir Anthony Seldon.

The University of Buckingham vice-chancellor says it is "a powerfully cost-effective way of helping children feel more secure at schools".

Sir Anthony was speaking at a conference about the need to improve young people's sense of wellbeing.

Education Secretary Damian Hinds says more schools seem to have "wellbeing dogs" and "the pets can really help".

The University of Buckingham's Ultimate Wellbeing in Education Conference examined how to respond to the stresses and anxieties facing young people.

Mr Hinds told the conference that the relentless presence of social media made growing up "more pressurised".

He said this could be all-pervasive for teenagers, making them compare their own experiences with the "perfect lives" on social media.

• Dog helps pupils with reading at primary school in Somerset
• School with dog subject of TV documentary
• Why a Bristol school has a dog on its staff
• University switches off social media to help wellbeing

It could also normalise exposure to harmful material on subjects like self-harm or eating disorders, he added.

 Greg Hudnall is the founder and Executive Director of HOPE4UTAH. He has championed suicide prevention in Utah schools and communities for over 20 years. His expertise is not only sought after locally, but also nationally at the highest levels of government.
Dr. Gregory A. Hudnall is a former high school principal, student service director and associate superintendent with the Provo City School District. He has been involved with suicide prevention for the past twenty years and has personally been involved with over twenty-five suicides as a first responder or consultant.
Dr. Hudnall has years of personal experience in working with suicide prevention. He has spent the last fifteen years as the executive director of a community crisis team responding to suicides, and is in his 16th year as chairman of the Utah Suicide Prevention Conference in partnership with Brigham Young University.
Dr. Hudnall was invited to testify before the United States Surgeon General on suicide in Utah and in 2013 was invited by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to present in Washington D.C. on the Circles4HOPE community mental health model at the “Dialogue on Behavior Health and Community Resilience in LDS Communities.”
In 2015 Dr. Hudnall was invited by the Whitehouse to participate in a webinar entitled strengthening the mental health of African American youth. 

 One teacher reported 'explicit photos' circulated by pupils had resulted in a police intervention, after they ended up online 

Young children are sharing online pornography and sexual content in and outside of the classroom, teachers have warned, as calls are made to ensure young people are given proper lessons regarding the dangers of online.

In a survey of more than 1,500 teachers, around two thirds (62 per cent) said they were aware of pupils sharing inappropriate sexual content, with as many as one in six (16 per cent) of these children of primary school age.

Respondents expressed concerns over pupils using mobile phones to share the sexual content, as well as using them to post their own images online or send “threatening” and “homophobic bullying texts” to vulnerable students.

Britain’s school children are experiencing a “sexting crisis”, according to a newspaper investigation.

Tens of thousands of children have been caught sharing sexual imagery online over the last three years, leading the Government and child-protection groups to call for compulsory sex education classes at schools.

The investigation, by The Times, included 50 schools and found that a third of all cases involved children aged 12 and 13. 

 Senate Bill No. 972CHAPTER 460
An act to amend the heading of Article 2.5 (commencing with Section 215) of Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 1 of Title 1 of, and to add Section 215.5 to, the Education Code, relating to pupil and student health.
[ Approved by Governor  September 17, 2018. Filed with Secretary of State  September 17, 2018. ]

SB 972, Portantino. Pupil and student health: identification cards: suicide prevention hotline telephone numbers.Existing law, the California Suicide Prevention Act of 2000, authorizes the State Department of Health Care Services to establish and implement a suicide prevention, education, and gatekeeper program to reduce the severity, duration, and incidence of suicidal behaviors. The act authorizes the State Department of Health Care Services to contract with an outside agency to establish and implement a targeted public awareness and education campaign on suicide prevention and treatment, and requires that the target population include junior high and high school students.Existing law requires the governing board or body of a county office of education, school district, state special school, or charter school that serves pupils in grades 7 to 12, inclusive, to, before the beginning of the 2017–18 school year, adopt a policy on pupil suicide prevention, as specified, that specifically addresses the needs of high-risk groups. Existing law requires the Instructional Quality Commission to consider developing, and recommending for adoption by the State Board of Education, a distinct category on mental health instruction to educate pupils about all aspects of mental health, including, among other things, depression and suicidal thoughts and behaviors, as specified. Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to send a notice to each middle school, junior high school, and high school that encourages each school to provide suicide prevention training to each school counselor, provides information on the availability of certain suicide prevention training curriculum, informs schools about certain suicide prevention training, and describes how a school might retain those services.This bill would require a public school, including a charter school, or a private school, that serves pupils in any of grades 7 to 12, inclusive, and that issues pupil identification cards to have printed on either side of the pupil identification cards the telephone number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, and would authorize those schools to have printed on either side of the pupil identification cards the Crisis Text Line and a local suicide prevention hotline telephone number. The bill would require a public or private institution of higher education that issues student identification cards to have printed on either side of the student identification cards the telephone number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, and would authorize the institution to have printed on either side of the student identification cards the Crisis Text Line, the campus police or security telephone number, or the local nonemergency telephone number, as provided, and a local suicide prevention hotline telephone number. The bill would require schools and public or private institutions of higher education subject to these requirements that have a supply of unissued, noncompliant identification cards as of January 1, 2019, to issue the noncompliant identification cards until that supply is depleted.

Vote: majority  Appropriation: no  Fiscal Committee: no  Local Program: no 

 The heading of Article 2.5 (commencing with Section 215) of Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code is amended to read:

 Section 215.5 is added to the Education Code, to read:

 (a) Commencing July 1, 2019, a public school, including a charter school, or a private school, that serves pupils in any of grades 7 to 12, inclusive, and that issues pupil identification cards shall have printed on either side of the pupil identification cards the telephone number described in paragraph (1) and may have printed on either side of the pupil identification cards the telephone numbers described in paragraphs (2) and (3):(1) The telephone number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, 1-800-273-8255.(2) The Crisis Text Line, which can be accessed by texting HOME to 741741.(3) A local suicide prevention hotline telephone number.(b) Commencing July 1, 2019, a public or private institution of higher education that issues student identification cards shall have printed on either side of the student identification cards the telephone number described in paragraph (1) and may have printed on either side of the student identification cards the telephone numbers described in paragraphs (2), (3), and (4):(1) The telephone number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, 1-800-273-8255.(2) The Crisis Text Line, which can be accessed by texting HOME to 741741.(3) The campus police or security telephone number or, if the campus does not have a campus police or security telephone number, the local nonemergency telephone number.(4) A local suicide prevention hotline telephone number.(c) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) and (b), if, as of January 1, 2019, a school subject to the requirements of subdivision (a), or a public or private institution of higher education subject to the requirements of subdivision (b), has a supply of unissued pupil or student identification cards that do not comply with the requirements of subdivision (a) or (b), as applicable, the school or the public or private institution of higher education shall issue those pupil or student identification cards until that supply is depleted.(d) Subdivisions (a) and (b) shall apply for a pupil or student identification card issued for the first time to a pupil or student, and to a pupil or stude 

 YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat are the most popular online platforms among teens. Fully 95% of teens have access to a smartphone, and 45% say they are online 'almost constantly' Until 

recently, Facebook had dominated the social media landscape among America’s youth – but it is no longer the most popular online platform among teens, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. Today, roughly half (51%) of U.S. teens ages 13 to 17 say they use Facebook, notably lower than the shares who use YouTube, Instagram or Snapchat.

This shift in teens’ social media use is just one example of how the technology landscape for young people has evolved since the Center’s last survey of teens and technology use in 2014-2015. Most notably, smartphone ownership has become a nearly ubiquitous element of teen life: 95% of teens now report they have a smartphone or access to one. These mobile connections are in turn fueling more-persistent online activities: 45% of teens now say they are online on a near-constant basis.

The survey also finds there is no clear consensus among teens about the effect that social media has on the lives of young people today. Minorities of teens describe that effect as mostly positive (31%) or mostly negative (24%), but the largest share (45%) says that effect has been neither positive nor negative.

These are some of the main findings from the Center’s survey of U.S. teens conducted March 7-April 10, 2018. Throughout the report, “teens” refers to those ages 13 to 17.

 59% of U.S. teens have been bullied or harassed online, and a similar share says it's a major problem for people their age. At the same time, teens mostly think teachers, social media  

Name-calling and rumor-spreading have long been an unpleasant and challenging aspect of adolescent life. But the proliferation of smartphones and the rise of social media has transformed where, when and how bullying takes place. A new Pew Research Center survey finds that 59% of U.S. teens have personally experienced at least one of six types of abusive online behaviors.1

The most common type of harassment youth encounter online is name-calling. Some 42% of teens say they have been called offensive names online or via their cellphone. Additionally, about a third (32%) of teens say someone has spread false rumors about them on the internet, while smaller shares have had someone other than a parent constantly ask where they are, who they’re with or what they’re doing (21%) or have been the target of physical threats online (16%).

While texting and digital messaging are a central way teens build and maintain relationships, this level of connectivity may lead to potentially troubling and nonconsensual exchanges. One-quarter of teens say they have been sent explicit images they didn’t ask for, while 7% say someone has shared explicit images of them without their consent. These experiences are particularly concerning to parents. Fully 57% of parents of teens say they worry about their teen receiving or sending explicit images, including about one-quarter who say this worries them a lot, according to a separate Center survey of parents.

The vast majority of teens (90% in this case) believe online harassment is a problem that affects people their age, and 63% say this is a major problem. But majorities of young people think key groups, such as teachers, social media companies and politicians are failing at tackling this issue. By contrast, teens have a more positive assessment of the way parents are addressing cyberbullying.

These are some of the key findings from the Center’s surveys of 743 teens and 1,058 parents living in the U.S. conducted March 7 to April 10, 2018. Throughout the report, “teens” refers to those ages 13 to 17, and “parents of teens” are those who are the parent or guardian of someone in that age range.

Sure, you love your pet.  What may surprise you is how your pet loves you back.

A survey found 97 percent of physicians believe there are health benefits to having a pet, mental as well as physical. Check out this video — created in partnership with Mason Turner, MD, psychiatrist and director, Outpatient Mental Health and Addiction Medicine, Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, California — about what powerful medicine our pets can provide.

Not ready to commit to a pet?  Humans are good for you, too.

 Your mind and body are connected. You deserve care that supports your total health — mind, body, and spirit. If you struggle with depression, anxiety, addiction, or other mental or emotional issues that interfere with your daily life, we’re here to help. 

When Kaiser Permanente’s Arts Integrated Resources, based in Colorado, started youth engagement programs in 2007, the team wanted to develop young leaders who would serve as catalysts for change and as allies for Kaiser Permanente’s community health work.

These programs helped create a partnership in which young leaders and experts from schools, cities and state organizations are working side by side to create educational resources and pioneer programs that promote community health.

One of the many successful youth engagement programs is the Student Youth Advisory Council — a district-wide council made up of high school students who create health resources and design campaigns for students of the entire district.

by Analeeza Sanchez, Communications Intern, Kaiser Permanente

“I think that when young people are involved in current, real-world situations, it enables us to passionately interact with the world and create a better future,” said Vanessa, a high school senior and Student Youth Advisory Council member.

When Kaiser Permanente’s Arts Integrated Resources, based in Colorado, started youth engagement programs in 2007, the team wanted to develop young leaders who would serve as catalysts for change and as allies for Kaiser Permanente’s community health work.

These programs helped create a partnership in which young leaders and experts from schools, cities and state organizations are working side by side to create educational resources and pioneer programs that promote community health.

One of the many successful youth engagement programs is the Student Youth Advisory Council — a district-wide council made up of high school students who create health resources and design campaigns for students of the entire district.

• January 22, 2019
• Kaiser Permanente

Safety protocols and active-shooter drills are becoming more and more common in today’s school environments. Sometimes, these drills can be emotionally tough or even triggering for students and staff.

McFadden Intermediate School in Santa Ana, California, has been part of a 2-year program focused on building a resilient school environment for students and staff at its campus. RISE — short for Resilience In Schools Environments — implements policies, practices and trainings to help the school students and staff adapt to and deal with challenges, trauma and emotionally charged experiences.

RISE is an initiative of Los Angeles Education Partners funded by Kaiser Permanente.

During the first year of the program, McFadden’s staff were trained to approach daily school life with greater sensitivity to trauma and its effects on social and emotional health. They worked at developing a community culture by coming together as colleagues to connect, learn and share. Together, they created a resource guide to support students and staff as they worked to build up resilience.

A wellness strategy helps ensure the highest possible health, academic and school climate outcomes for everyone in a school — students, staff and teachers.

To support the idea of creating a culture of wellness, Kaiser Permanente partner School-Based Health Alliance fashioned an innovative resource to guide health advocates as they create, implement and sustain schoolwide wellness efforts.

The nationwide Hallways to Health project brought together 13 school-based health care programs to explore the potential of school-health partnerships by setting up collaborations, programs and policies that enabled students and school employees to thrive in the school environment.

Check out the new online toolkit with best practices, tools and case studies. Also, learn more about the Hallways to Health initiative.

In this episode of Kim Komando’s podcast, Dr. Strohman discusses the threats and dangers of sexting, while sharing how can you keep your kids from being exposed to obscene material and sharing it with others.

ST. GEORGE — For anyone who thought that maple leaf emoji was just a maple leaf – think again. It’s actually the universal code for marijuana, alongside a whole host of other emoji symbols used by teens to buy and sell drugs online.

Long gone are the days when the only source of drugs was a shady-looking character in an even shadier part of town. With the rise of social media and the internet, teens have access to a new generation of digital dealers who are little more than a click away.

According to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, 95 percent of teens have access to a smartphone, and 45 percent say they are online “almost constantly.”

A study published in January by the National Institutes of Health reported more than three-quarters of those interviewed said they’d used Snapchat to buy drugs. Instagram was the next most popular, with around one in five saying they’d used it to arrange deals. WhatsApp, Kik and Wickr were all also frequently cited, with Tinder and Grindr also among the apps used to buy and sell drugs.

  Child abuse is when a child is intentionally harmed by an adult or another child – it can be over a period of time but can also be a one-off action. It can be physical, sexual or emotional and it can happen in person or online. It can also be a lack of love, care and attention – this is neglect. 

Running a holiday sale or weekly special? Definitely promote it here to get customers excited about getting a sweet deal.

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 Santa Ana, Calif. (March 13, 2018) – The Orange County Board of Supervisors announced that it has committed $600,000 of Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) Prevention and Early Intervention (PEI) monies for the creation of a countywide suicide prevention program. This funding will be given to MindOC, the fiscal entity of Be Well Orange County, an initiative bringing together public, private, academic and faith-based organizations, as well as others, to create a coordinated system of mental healthcare and support for all Orange County residents. 

“Why are we ignoring our college students?” a frustrated colleague asked me last week. With so much focus on social-emotional learning, trauma-sensitive classrooms, and student well-being in K-12 schools, my friend argued passionately that young adults need our attention, too.

The challenge is clear. In 2018, researchers who surveyed almost 14,000 first-year college students (in eight countries) found that 35 percent struggled with a mental illness, particularly depression or anxiety. Here in the U.S., college students seeking mental health services report that anxiety is their #1 concern—and it is on the rise.

 POINTS

• For the first time, the World Health Organization classifies workplace burnout as an occupational phenomenon. 

If you often feel exhausted or mentally distant at work, the World Health Organization may have a diagnosis for you: Burnout.

For the first time, the WHO has officially classified workplace burnout as an occupational phenomenon in its latest revision of the International Classification of Diseases. The agency previously defined burnout as a “state of vital exhaustion,” but this is the first time it’s being directly linked in its classification of diseases as a work hazard.

• The WHO says it is a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.
• Burnout is not classified as a medical condition.

Gaming disorder, which essentially means addiction to video games, has been officially recognised by the UN's World Health Organisation a modern disease.

The organisation in June 2018 decided to add gaming disorder addiction under its section of potentially harmful technology-related behaviors, including too much use of "the internet, computers, smartphones" and more.

Now, after a year and a half of deliberation on the new revision, all 194 member states of the WHO have agreed to adopt the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-11), which included gaming disorder in its 2017 draft. The new revision goes into effect on 1 January 2022 

The mention of gaming disorder sits in a subcategory in ICD-11 called "Disorders due to substance use or addictive behaviors" alongside alcoholism, gambling addiction, and, strangely, a section devoted to harmful cannabis use dependence.

The so-called, disorder has been described as "a pattern of persistent or recurrent gaming behavior, which may be online or offline, manifested by impaired control over gaming, increasing priority given to gaming to the extent that gaming takes precedence over other life interests and daily activities and continuation or escalation of gaming despite the occurrence of negative consequences."

The global video game industry which includes representatives from across Europe, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, South Africa, and Brazil have called on the WHO member states to rethink their decision.

 The WHO calls gaming addiction "a pattern of persistent or recurrent gaming behavior" so severe it "takes precedence over other life interests".  

LONDON, June 18 - Many parents already have concerns, but some may now have a new argument for limiting their children's 'screen time' — addiction to video games has been recognized by World Health Organization (WHO) as a mental health disorder.

The WHO's International Classification of Diseases (ICD), a reference bible of recognized and diagnosable diseases, describes addiction to digital and video gaming as "a pattern of persistent or recurrent gaming behavior" that becomes so extensive it "takes precedence over other life interests".

The WHO's expert on mental health and substance abuse, Shekhar Saxena, said some of the worst cases seen in global research were of gamers playing for up to 20 hours a day, forgoing sleep, meals, work or school and other daily activities.

He stressed that only a small minority of people who play digital and video games would develop a problem, but said recognition of early warning signs may help prevent it.

"This is an occasional or transitory behavior," he said, adding that only if such behavior persists for around a year could a potential diagnosis of a disorder be made.

Responding to the decision to including gaming addiction, the Video Games Coalition — an industry lobby group — said their products were "enjoyed safely and sensibly by more than 2 billion people worldwide" across all kinds of genres, devices and platforms.

It added that the "educational, therapeutic, and recreational value" of games was well-founded and widely recognized and urged the WHO to reconsider.

The ICD, which has been updated over the past 10 years, covers 55,000 injuries, diseases and causes of death. It forms a basis for the WHO and other experts to see and respond to trends in health.

"It enables us to understand so much about what makes people get sick and die, and to take action to prevent suffering and save lives," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement as the ICD was published.

The ICD is also used by health insurers whose reimbursements depend on ICD classifications.

This latest version — known as ICD-11 — is completely electronic for the first time, in an effort to make it more accessible to doctors and other health workers around the world.

ICD-11 also includes changes to sexual health classifications. Previous editions had categorized sexual dysfunction and gender incongruence, for example, under mental health conditions, while in ICD-11 these move to the sexual health section. The latest edition also has a new chapter on traditional medicine.

The updated ICD is scheduled to be presented to WHO member states at their annual World Health Assembly in May 2019 for adoption in January 2022, the WHO said in a statement.

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