Childhood Mental Health Conference

The Michigan State Medical Society Alliance will hold the fourth Fall Focus in September 2022. This event is not a fundraiser but is rather an educational opportunity for our Alliance members and the community to learn about an important topic that impacts the health and well-being of our state. This year, the Fall Focus will raise awareness about mental health in school aged children, a topic that is unfortunately very timely. Throughout the United States, children are experiencing rising rates of stress, depression and anxiety. In 2021, Michigan children and families suffered from yet another school shooting at Oxford High School. This occurred as children were beginning to go back to in-school learning in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. There were stresses on school boards, school administrators, teachers and support staff, parents and, certainly, students of all ages. MSMSA determined that the mental health of our children should be at the forefront of our discussion and sought out an expert who deals with the mental health of school-age children. Our speaker will be Christy Buck who is the Executive Director of the Mental Health Foundation of West Michigan and founder of the Be Nice program. Be Nice is an evidence-based, systematic approach to behavioral and mental health education and awareness for K-12 children. Evidence has shown that implementation of the Be Nice program increases mental health awareness and resources available among school staff, students and parents; decreases the number of behavioral referrals and bullying incidents; increases suicide prevention behaviors; increases a sense of school connectedness; and demonstrates a movement of school district towards a more positive school climate. Nice isn’t just a way to behave, it’s an acronym to help understand what the program does: Notice, Invite, Challenge and Empower. By noticing changes in someone’s behavior one can reach out to that person to let them know that they are concerned about them and challenge them to discuss their feelings. This helps reduce the stigma surrounding mental health and empowers the individual in the knowledge that others care.

The objectives of the MSMSA Fall Focus are to offer an informative program that highlights an important health-related issue for our state. Our next program will focus on the health status of our Michigan children in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Oxford High School shooting. The program will offer tools to help Alliance members, teachers, school counselors, administrators and board members as well as interested parents and community members recognize signs in children who may be struggling with depression, suicidal thoughts or thoughts of harming others. The Be Nice program brings emotional and mental health awareness training to schools. Social and emotional learning has been shown to be effective in preventing violence, suicide, substance abuse and mental health issues.

Funds from AHEI will be used for marketing the conference to teachers, school counselors, and other community members.