What’s this site about?

Until now, Canada has not had a comprehensive, expert-reviewed secondary-school-based mental health and illness curriculum program. This site provides educators across the country with free access to a comprehensive resource that incorporates the most current approaches in mental health and education. By combining collaborative learning strategies and interactive, multimedia tools to engage students in active learning, the Mental Health and High School Curriculum Guide aims to increase students’ understanding of both mental health and mental illness, and improve attitudes about mental illness.

The guide is presented in the form of lesson plans with accompanying audiovisual resources, and can be easily implemented by teachers without special training.

The goals of the curriculum guide are:

To provide secondary school staff across Canada with consistent, reliable and easy-to-use information to help address fundamental issues of mental health and mental illness in the classroom;
To equip teenagers with the knowledge they need in order to identify when they or a friend or a family member is experiencing mental health problems;
To reduce the stigma associated with mental illness by providing clear, factual information about mental illness, causes, treatments and recovery;
To help young people understand that seeking help for mental health problems is very important, and to explore avenues for seeking help;
To reinforce the importance of positive mental health and effective ways of coping with stress;
To provide information about recovery from mental illness, and the factors which help keep people well.