Behavioral Health Student Resources

They help people who are going through tough times like:

• family problems
• school problems
• dealing with a health condition

They help people who have been through things like:

• trauma
• abuse
• bullying and peer pressure

They help people work out difficult feelings like:

• sadness, depression, or grief
• anger
• stress, anxiety, or worry
• low self-esteem

They help people with conditions like:

• ADHD
• depression
• OCD
• anxiety disorders
• eating disorders
• self-harm behaviors
• autism
• learning disorders
• sleep problems

At the beginning, the therapist asks questions about what you are struggling with. They also ask about other things in your life, such as family, school, and health. They listen to what it’s like for you so they can understand you. They talk with you and with your parent or guardian — sometimes together, sometimes separately. They explain how they can help you. Together you decide on goals for your therapy.

You have more visits with your therapist to work on your goals. In therapy visits, you might:

• Talk. Therapists have people talk about their feelings. When you put your feelings into words, you learn more about yourself. When you talk through your difficult feelings, it helps you deal with them. It helps you pause instead of act on upset feelings. When you talk about your good feelings, and what’s going well for you, it builds more good feelings. Therapists guide you to see how your feelings, thoughts, choices, and actions affect each other.
• Learn things. Therapists teach lessons about emotions, thoughts, coping skills, facing fears, and more. Parents and caregivers may learn ways to help you too. What each person learns about in therapy depends on what they need help with.
• Practice new skills. A therapist might teach skills like mindfulness, positive self-talk, and calm breathing. In your therapy visits, you’ll practice the skills you learn.
• Work out problems. Your therapist will ask how problems affect you at home and at school. You’ll talk this through. You’ll use the skills you’re learning to work out problems.
• Find your strengths. Therapy helps you build inner strengths like courage and confidence. It helps you see how capable you are. And that helps you feel happier in your life.

• Be ready to grow. Have a positive mindset. Believe in yourself. Tell yourself, “I can” instead of, “I can’t.”
• Practice skills you’re learning in therapy. The more you practice, the more skillful you become. The skills you learn in therapy are tools for your everyday life. With practice, these skills start to come naturally to you. They’re there for you when you need them.
• Ask parents, teachers, and friends for support. Spend time with people you feel good around, and who bring out your best. Let them help and show they care.
• Work on your strengths. Spend time doing the things you are good at. This helps you build your confidence. It helps your strengths keep growing.
• Take care of your body. Get exercise every day. Eat healthy foods and drink lots of water. Get plenty of sleep. Take time to relax. These things boost your mood and your mental well-being.
• Take care of your mind. Practice mindful breathing to help you be calm and focused. Practice self-talk that is positive, kind, and hopeful. The more you do this, the more it helps.

1. Exercise-a study by Harvard School of Public Health showed that just 15 minutes a day of movement can have a dramatic impact on your mood! And it doesn’t have to be intense workouts-just making small changes to your routine, like choosing the stairs over the elevator, parking a few spots farther away from the door, or walking around the block a few times can be all it takes. Dance party, anyone?
2. Sleep– Did you know The American Academy of Sleep Medicine has recommended that children aged 6–12 years should regularly sleep 9–12 hours per 24 hours and teenagers aged 13–18 years should sleep 8–10 hours per 24 hours? Did you also know that not getting enough sleep can cause things like an inability to control your emotions or mood, difficulty concentrating, irritability, accidents, to name just a few? So, when your parents or guardians tell you it’s time for bed, they really are just trying to help you in your self care journey!
3. Mindfulness-Mindfulness has gotten a lot of attention lately and a lot of people usually picture a person sitting cross legged chanting “om” when they think of it. But really, mindfulness just means being aware of the present moment. Not dwelling on something that might have already happened, or worrying about something that is coming up in the future but focusing on what is happening right here, right now. Sounds easy, right? Not so much… This is why you have to practice mindfulness. We’ve created a “virtual mindfulness room” with some tools throughout it that might help you focus your attention on the here and now. Check out the virtual mindfulness room! (click “present” so you can click around easily between all of the tools in the room)
4.  Eat mostly healthy foods-we know that it is not realistic to expect everyone to eat only healthy foods, all the time (unless you’re into that, then go for it!!).  But, there is some pretty strong evidence to show that getting a balanced diet with lots of nutrients actually does play a role in your positive mental health.  So, remember, everything in moderation.  A good rule of thumb is to try to get a full rainbow of natural colors of foods in your body throughout the day.
5. Try new things-one thing we do know is that not every self care trick will work for everyone.  Your friend might really like doing some yoga poses to center themselves after a stressful day, while the thought of striking a warrior pose makes your skin crawl.  That is totally fine!  But, it is important to try things that you think you might not like a few times before discounting them altogether.  You might find that warrior pose actually does make you feel a bit warrior-like after all…or not…and that’s ok too.

We’ve collected a few additional positive self care tools and ideas here for you to try!