Building Resiliency and Promoting

Early Intervention for a Positive

Mental Health in Schools

Ethel Maureen Biscaro-Pagaddu, MD, MHA, DPCAM

Wellbeing and resilience
 both are important in preventing the onset of mental health
problems as well as potentially lessening the severity of
existing mental health problems

 vital to developing efficient problem-solving skills,

building and maintaining interpersonal relationships and
realistic goal setting
What is wellbeing and resilience?

 WHO : defines wellbeing as “the state in

which an individual realizes his or her own
abilities, can cope with normal stresses of
life, can work productively, and is able to
make a contribution to his or her own
community”.
 Resilience : having the ability to cope with
and adapt to new situations

 Having a sense of resilience and positive

wellbeing enables a person to approach other
people and situations with confidence and
optimism
Signs of resilience and wellbeing

• confidence to approach new situations and

approach new people
• realistic optimism
• avoiding constant self-blame
• ability to set goals
• positive self image and self esteem
When to focus on wellbeing and resilience

 Resilience is always important, but it can particularly

equip people for times of change and stress such as:
• life transitions and changes (such as starting at a new
school)
• after the breakdown of a relationship, or a family
• if diagnosed with, or worried about a mental health
problem (such as anxiety, or an eating disorder)
How to focus on wellbeing and
resilience?
 Setting realistic, achievable and
measurable goals is a great way to promote
self-efficacy.
 One way to increase motivation (and
minimize feeling pressure or ‘failure’) is to
set sub-goals, smaller and achievable related
targets.
 Understanding and avoiding negative self-
talk as well as actively practicing positive
self-talk, is an important tool for building
self-esteem.
 Self-talk, which is essentially internal
reflections on personal ability and/or image,
can greatly influence self esteem and
perceptions about personal ability.
 Self-talk is basically your inner voice, the
voice in your mind that says the things you
don’t necessarily say out loud.
 Positive self-talk makes you feel good about
yourself and the things that are going on in your life.
 Examples: ‘I am doing the best I can’, ‘I don’t feel
great right now, but things could be worse’

 Negative self-talk makes you feel pretty crappy

about yourself and the things that are going on.
 Examples: ‘I should be doing better’, ‘Everyone
thinks I’m an idiot’, ‘Everything’s crap’,
‘Nothing’s ever going to get better.’
 Developing and focusing on interpersonal
skills, especially learning how to engage with
people from different backgrounds
 a valuable tool for people that will enhance
self esteem and ability to maintain personal
and fulfilling relationships
 Communicating well can help you to
maintain good relationships, avoid conflict
and even increase your likelihood of getting
what you want.

 Learn how active listening, assertive

communication and body language all add up
to awesome communication skills.
Be an active listener
 Let others talk. If someone talks to you about something difficult or important, don't
interrupt them with a story about yourself, even if it's relevant.
• Don't judge others. If someone comes to you with a problem, help them work through
whatever they're dealing with and suggest options rather than pass judgement.
• Accept that they may disagree with you. If someone comes to you for help or advice,
don’t expect them to do exactly what you say. Let them choose their own path.
• Ask open questions. Instead of asking ‘yes/no’ questions, use open questions that let the
speaker take the discussion in the direction they want. For example: ‘Can you tell me
about...?’
• Show them you're listening. Ask questions about what they tell you, and recap what
they’ve said in different words to see if you've got it right. People will trust you more if
they know you're really listening to them. 
Be an assertive communicator
• clearly expressing what you think, how you feel and what you want, without
demanding that you must have things your way.

 When you are assertive, you can:

• express your own thoughts, feelings and needs
• make reasonable requests of other people (while respecting their right to say
‘no’)
• stand up for your own rights
• say ‘no’ to requests from others, without feeling guilty
Mind your body language
 an acronym that might help you remember good body language:

R – Be relaxed and comfortable, and don't fidget

O – Adopt an open posture (no crossed arms)
L – Lean towards the person – not too much, but just enough
to show interest
E – Maintain eye contact, without staring
S – Face the person squarely
Mental health promotion in schools

 The promotion of mental health consists of any action

taken to create living conditions and environments that
support mental wellness and allow individuals, families,
groups or communities to adopt and maintain healthy
lifestyles fostering optimal emotional functioning and
social inclusion (O’Reilly et al., 2018).
 WHO: mental health difficulties among children and adolescents have been on the increase
worldwide, becoming a leading cause of disability (2003)
 Mental health difficulties can manifest as either externalizing or internalizing problems
(Boylan et al., 2012; Stone et al., 2015).
 most common externalizing problems, from preschool age onwards, include disruptive behavior
issues, attention deficit hyperactivity disorders (ADHD), oppositional defiant disorders, and
conduct disorders (Tremblay et al., 2004)
 predominant internalizing disorders include depression, anxiety, panic disorder, mood disorders,
social phobia, specific phobias, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (Baranne & Falissard, 2018;
Ogundele, 2018).
 Data collected over the last decade indicate that self-harm, suicidal attempts, eating
disorders, depression, and addictive disorders are growing problems among young people
(Burstein et al., 2019; Keyes et al., 2019; Twenge, 2020; Twenge et al., 2018).

 Depression is the third leading cause of death among adolescents in the USA and Europe
(WHO, 2018).

 The Philippines has one of the highest cases of depression in Southeast Asia, affecting
more than three million Filipinos

 Citing a 2017 World Health Organization report, Rep. Rida Robes said eight in every
100,000 Filipinos commit suicide. Of this figure, six are males, while two are females,
aged 15 to 29 years old.
Red Flags….
• Feeling very sad or withdrawn for more than two weeks
• Seriously trying to harm or kill himself or herself, or making plans to do so
• Experiencing sudden overwhelming fear for no reason, sometimes with a racing heart
or fast breathing
• Getting in many fights or wanting to hurt others
• Showing severe out-of-control behavior that can hurt oneself or others
• Not eating, throwing up, or using laxatives to make himself or herself lose weight
• Having intense worries or fears that get in the way of daily activities
• Experiencing extreme difficulty controlling behavior, putting himself or herself in
physical danger or causing problems in school
• Using drugs or alcohol repeatedly
• Having severe mood swings that cause problems in relationships
• Showing drastic changes in behavior or personality
 Because children often can't understand difficult situations on
their own, you should pay particular attention if they
experience:
• Loss of a loved one
• Divorce or separation of their parents
• Any major transition—new home, new school, etc.
• Traumatic life experiences, like living through a natural
disaster
• Teasing or bullying
• Difficulties in school or with classmates
How to Talk About Mental Health

 Try leading with these questions. Make sure you actively

listen to your child's response.
• Can you tell me more about what is happening? How you
are feeling?
• Have you had feelings like this in the past?
• Sometimes you need to talk to an adult about your
feelings. I'm here to listen. How can I help you feel better?
• Do you feel like you want to talk to someone else about
your problem?
• I'm worried about your safety. Can you tell me if you have
thoughts about harming yourself or others?
In school, What can we do?
• create safe and supportive learning environments
• mental health literacy
• reducing isolation
• providing a support network

• provide consistent guidelines for behavior

• recognition of signs and symptoms
• proper networking

• model appropriate responses and behaviors

• coping skills and resilience

• provide opportunities for goal setting, success, failure and reflection

• Coaching/mentoring
• Personality development