GURUGRAM: On World Mental Health Day, schools across the city spoke of the need to integrate counselling and psychoanalysis in students’ curriculum to equip them for dealing with issues such as body-shaming, bullying, low self-confidence and negative social conditioning.
Several schools on Monday launched special campaigns on mental health, holding discussions about the problems that are often seen among youngsters.
The pandemic years, for instance, triggered not just learning gaps, but also anxiety and depression among children as classes went online, the teachers and experts said. Still, they added, Covid-19 pushed the topic of mental health out of the closet.
“We believe that before coming to the students, we need to focus on parents and teachers as they directly influence the psyche of the students. So, conversations around compassion, empathy, love, gratitude, social accountability and self-awareness are among a range of topics that have become part of the daily curriculum,” said Manika Sharma, director of Shri Ram schools.
Some schools in the city said they had set aside this week to discuss mental health.
“On the first day, we had discussions on how unregulated exposure to social media impacts psychological and physical development. Going ahead, we’ll be having discussions on a host of issues such as body shaming, bullying, and negative competition among the peers,” said Rashmi Malik, principal of Salwan Public School.
The World Mental Health Survey-2022 by NCERT had highlighted that a range of issues such as academics, personal independence, career concerns and social interactions have a bearing on the mental well-being of students.
“Schools need to understand that while it is important to build children's knowledge in various areas, it is equally important to build their psycho-social skills,” said Gracy Andrew, clinical psychologist and adviser to CorStone, an NGO that develops resilience skills-building programmes.
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