ERIC Number: EJ1189596
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015-Nov
Pages: 1
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0164-775X
EISSN: N/A
Text, Talk, Act to Improve Mental Health in Your School
Goodrich, Raquel
Communique, v44 n3 p8 Nov 2015
Schools and communities continually strive to develop more effective methods of educating children and youth about mental health and how to access available resources. Despite this apparent need, several barriers prevent youth from engaging in discussion and taking action. Young people are of special concern since three fourths of all mental health disorders begin before age 24. This article describes Test, Talk, Act (TTA), a program of the National Institute for Civil Discourse, and a result of President Obama's call for a national dialogue on mental health. TTA is an innovative discussion platform that uses text messaging to facilitate face-to-face conversations on mental health. Participants gather in small groups of approximately three to four people with one cell phone per group. After texting START to the number 89800, the group will begin to receive a series of text messages that guides them through a conversation on mental health. TTA facilitates discussion around why maintaining mental health is important, how to maintain it, and how to identify and help a friend in need. Since it's inception, TTA has been used by educators, students, mental health organizations, and others to get people talking about mental health using an accessible, unique, and interactive format. Helpful tips for bringing TTA to your own school are discussed and provided.
Descriptors: School Psychology, Mental Health, Computer Mediated Communication, Interpersonal Communication, Group Discussion, Handheld Devices, Prompting, Program Effectiveness, Outcomes of Education, Mental Health Programs, Telecommunications
National Association of School Psychologists. 4340 East West Highway Suite 402, Bethesda, MD 20814. Tel: 301-657-0270; Fax: 301-657-0275; e-mail: publications@naspweb.org; Web site: http://www.nasponline.org/publications/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A