Finding the Right Fit: School Mental Health Programs

Implementing a mental health program requires significant time, training, and resources. It's important to choose a program that is a good fit for your school community in order to benefit the mental health and well-being of students and staff. To assist schools in the decision-making process, the BC Children’s Health Promotion and Schools team, in collaboration with researchers and educators, has developed a set of 15 guiding questions. The questions are available for download as a two-page PDF. 

In this video, Drs. Jacquie Maloney and Alex Gist walk through and discuss 15 questions to consider when choosing a mental health program.  

 

The Ministry of Education and Child Care has also developed a Decision-Making Tool as an optional toolkit to support educators in identifying appropriate, effective mental health and substance use resources (e.g. lessons, videos, websites and presenters) for their learners. The Decision-Making Tool is also available in French. Boards of Education are responsible for setting policies regarding learning resources. Mental health and substance use learning resources must align with local policies and the B.C. curriculum, be age-appropriate, and selected for use to support the delivery of a specific lesson, activity, or topic.

Dr. Jacquie Maloney - Jacquie is a Health Promotion Specialist with the BC Children’s Hospital Health Bridge Program. Jacquie completed their doctoral studies in Human Development, Learning and Culture at UBC, where they conducted program evaluation and implementation research with Dr. Kimberly Schonert-Reichl for more than a decade. 

Dr. Alex Gist - Alex is a Health Promotion Specialist with the BC Children’s Hospital Health Promotion and Schools team. He has worked in education for over 20 years in a variety of roles from teaching English Language Arts, to teaching English and skills to immigrant and refugee youth, managing SEL-based out-of-school time programs, and supporting schools to support the mental well-being of their students. Alex holds a PhD in Human Development, Learning and Culture from the University of British Columbia. 

Where You Are Podcast

Through real stories, expertise, and practical tips, this podcast helps families promote their mental health and wellness, navigating important topics to meet you where you are in your journey.

Listen Now

Kelty Mental Health Resource Centre

BC Children's Hospital 
Healthy Minds Centre, Building #85, Room P3-302, 3rd floor,
4555 Heather Street, Vancouver, BC V6H 3N1

Opening Hours:
Monday to Friday 9:30am - 5:00pm

Local Phone: 604 875 2084
Toll-Free: 1 800 665 1822
keltycentre@cw.bc.ca

The BC Children’s Kelty Mental Health Resource Centre is located on the unceded, traditional and ancestral territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaʔ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.

Follow us

BC Provincial Health British Columbia RBCBC Children's Hospital Foundation

Copyright © Kelty Mental Health Resource Centre

Need urgent help?

Call 911 or go to your local hospital’s emergency room if you or anyone else’s safety is at risk and immediate help is needed.

If you or someone you know is thinking about ending their own life, or needs someone to talk to about suicidal thoughts or ideas:

  • Call 1-800-SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433) for the BC Suicide Prevention and Intervention Line. Available in over 140 languages using a language service.
  • Call 1-800-588-8717 for the BC KUU-US Indigenous Crisis and Support Line.  
  • Call or text 988 for the National Suicide Crisis Helpline. Available in English and French.

For mental health or substance use crisis support:

  • Call 310-6789 for the BC Mental Health Support Line anytime for emotional support, information and resources. Available in over 140 languages using a language service.

 For commonly asked questions about supports and services in BC, explore our Ask Kelty Mental Health tool.