A “Mental Health May” Success Story
Madison was referred to the CISNT Mental Health Coordinator this year after reporting depressive thoughts nearly every day to the CISNT Site Coordinator at her middle school. Madison felt her mental health was not as important as other issues at home and struggled on and off with self-harm and suicidal thoughts. She had difficulty opening up to anyone about her thoughts and emotions. The CISNT Mental Health Coordinator and Madison worked together every other week on building a trust-based relationship. Through this relationship, Madison learned coping skills for her depression and anxiety, as well as how to communicate her emotions with other trusted adults. She put in effort through each week to pay attention to self-harm triggers, depressive thoughts, and anxiety provoking events. Madison progressed from feeling her depression was at an “8 out of 10” during a week to a “1 out of 10” for the past few weeks. Madison has reported no self-harm or suicidal thoughts since beginning to work with the CISNT Mental Health Coordinator. Madison reported that being able to have the CISNT Site Coordinator at her campus and the CISNT Mental Health Coordinator to work with has made her feel supported and given her the skills she needs to work on her depression and anxiety. Madison reported feeling as though she has made a lot of progress on her mental health. She now feels that working on her mental health is a priority and that she deserves to live a full life.
CISNT is committed to creating a safe place for every student to learn and grow. The work of the CISNT Mental Health Coordinator is a critical part of this, as they empower students with the tools to overcome mental health challenges and equip them for success in and out of the classroom.
Find out more about what we believe at CISNT here.
