School Social Workers
Access Social Worker/Counsellor Services
Diversity and Belongingness:
- Includes a variety of activities for kids to celebrate and learn about various aspects of diversity including ability, gender, culture, race and social justice
- Resources for supporting and celebrating the unique diversity within families
- A great resource for kids that helps support them through a variety of diverse issue including bullying, LGBTQ, racism, multiculturalism etc.
GLSEN works to ensure that LGBTQ students are able to learn and grow in a school environment free from bullying and harassment. Together, we can transform our nation's K-12 schools into the safe and affirming environment all youth deserve.
Anxiety:
Does your child need help identifying the signs, symptoms and coping strategies for anxiety? This interactive site is an excellent resource if your child is looking for tools and strategies to help manage anxious thoughts and behaviours.
Looking for practical skills to manage stress, anxiety and depressive thoughts? This link will teach your youth ways to use their skills to calm themselves down. The skills mentioned include: calm breathing, a tense and release strategy, visualization activities, mindfulness exercises, and other helpful ways to stay balanced.
This Kids Help Phone resource provides additional interactive coping activities, as well as articles on how to help friends cope with anxiety, study-habit tips to reduce school anxiety, sleeping tips, and more.
Depression:
Are you noticing some signs or symptoms of depression in your child or teen? The links below are a great resource to go through with your child if you are questioning their mental health. It describes what depression is, as well as signs, types, and treatments for depression, and what a child can do to start feeling better.
Not sure how to help your friend or another family member with their depression? This next link provides detailed tools to use, such as, listening without judgement, learning about depression, encouraging them seek help, staying alert for warning signs of suicide, and remembering to take care of yourself.
Apps:
The following is a list of apps that can be added to your electronic device to help you manage your mood and relax. Give them a try!
Mindshift
Breathe2relax
Smiling minds
Fear tools
Always there
Drugs and Alcohol
Social Media:
MINDFULLNESS:
This Link has sections on how to be mindful at work, at school, at home, and in life. It has wonderful how-to's on mindfulness practice and articles from the thought leaders in the field.
Freemindfulness is a website which gathers resources from a community of mindfulness practitioners. There is a 'free resources' section with mindfulness practices to download.
For those interested in the research and science behind Mindfulness, The American Mindfulness Research Association was founded in 2013 and is a website that brings together the latest research in Mindfulness. The have a monthly research letter that you can subscribe to.
Pocketmindfulness is a perfect starting place for people who want to try mindfulness but don't know where to start. Alfred James has created a website which is easily accessible and makes starting easy and fun.
The UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center has a web page of free mindfulness mediations to download and try. A great place to start or try new things!!!