Emotional Health and Well-Being

Secondary school is the place where young people are most constrained, observed and challenged to develop.

This is not necessarily a stress free process, either for the young person, or for teachers and parents. This book describes behaviours, both disruptive and secretive, which indicates emotional distress. It looks at both the risk factors and the protective factors involved in emotional health, and addresses the impact of issues such as bullying, social exclusion, loss and bereavement.

The authors show what schools can do to develop practices grounded in knowledge about the mental health issues which relate to young people. In an accessible way, they present a range of strategies which practitioners have shown to be effective. They focus especially on methods and policies, which have been scientifically evaluated, or which are considered best practice.

Issues and interventions are illustrated throughout with case studies drawn from the authors' own practice and experience. Each of the authors has a long-standing interest in ways of creating supportive environments to prevent distress and to facilitate resilience in the young.

This book is essential reading for secondary school teachers, educational psychologists, education welfare officers and all those with pastoral care responsibilities.

“This publication is a valuable and timely contribution to the current investigations into the behaviours of children and young people that impact on their emotional health. The book will serve as a practical guide for schools addressing the problem as they see it, the case studies vividly illustrating situations and behaviours that teachers will readily recognise. This is a well structured book. [It] deserves to be read and can serve as a source of information on how various behaviours have been defined, investigated and addressed. It will be of value to any school, much more than a topical or interesting read but as the basis of an institutional response to a problem seriously affecting educational achievement for individuals and schools. It would particularly serve as a stimulus to in-service training for teachers and support staff.”
– George Varnava, Young Minds Magazine