AY Honors/Adolescent Mental Health Response/Lesson Plans

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1. Teacher Tips

Start with an icebreaker: Ask students, “What makes you feel calm and strong inside? What makes you feel upset or worried?”

Affirm that mental health ≠ weakness. Just like physical health, mental health needs care.

Use Bible connections:

  • Philippians 4:6–7 — God gives peace of mind.
  • 1 Kings 19 — Even Elijah, a prophet, struggled with discouragement. God cared for him with rest, food, and reassurance.

Reinforce the Adventist holistic view: Physical, mental, spiritual, and social health are all connected. (See Ministry of Healing, "Mind Cure" chp 18 - teacher resource).

Keep it open-ended: Let kids share examples of how they stay healthy emotionally (friends, prayer, music, exercise).

2. Teacher Tips

  • Use sensitive language: say “struggles” or “challenges” rather than labeling people.
  • Emphasize hope: With help, prayer, community, and sometimes professional care, people can heal.

Give short, clear explanations:

  • Anxiety = constant worry or fear.
  • Depression = deep sadness, loss of interest, feeling hopeless.
  • Stress = pressure from school, family, or peers.
  • Loneliness = feeling isolated even around others.
  • Identity struggles = questions about “Who am I?” “Do I belong?”

Provide Biblical encouragement:

  • Psalm 34:18 — God is close to the brokenhearted.
  • Matthew 11:28 — Jesus invites the weary to rest in Him.

Share Ellen White's perspective: She recognized mental struggles, writing that “disease of the mind prevails everywhere” and that “courage, hope, faith, sympathy, and love” bring healing (Ministry of Healing, chp 18, p. 241).

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