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Encouraging Exhausted Educators: Caring for the Caretakers
There is no greater agent of change than an educator. The educator is on the front lines of children’s lives, day in and day out, 35 hours a week, roughly 170 days a year! Through snow storms, earthquakes, bad-parenting days, tantrums, and….a pandemic. And…the educators are exhausted.
As we move into the second year of the pandemic and look at the aftermath of post-pandemic life, one of the primary focal points for mental health practitioners is the mental well being of the population. A focus on educators and children is at the forefront of discussions.
With regard to mental health, it’s important to situate the topic within well grounded, well established, evidence-based ideology. Clearly defining what constitutes “mental health,” “mind” and “wellbeing,” is the clear starting point, followed by pointed interventions and supports that will aid with well-being in the coming months and years.
First, its important to explain that the field of psychotherapy has shifted. Rather than a focus on symptomology and illness, brain research has changed the premise of mental health treatment in the direction of “how to best promote health”…
