All the Skills that Matter: Student Voices Connect Mental Health Skills With Academic Performance
“I feel like in my generation, instant gratification is a very big thing.” Hemanth is participating in a virtual focus group with TRAILS, an organization that equips school staff with training and resources to provide evidence-based mental health programming to their students.
He and his peers feel that by developing mental health coping skills, they’re better able to meet academic and social challenges. He’s noticed that emotional regulation techniques help him “work with others, lead, and handle stress … all the skills that matter well beyond high school and college.” He thinks more young people should have the opportunity to learn these coping skills, because, ”recognizing what you're feeling and not letting it stop you from doing what you're supposed to do is the biggest skill that kids in my generation need to learn.”
A Set of Teachable Skills
The data backs up Hemanth’s observations. Numerous studies show that self-management interventions benefit academic learning. Over decades of study, researchers have identified a group of teachable skills that support mental health. These cognitive-behavioral coping skills, such as emotion regulation, problem-solving techniques, and methods for goal setting, significantly reduce the risk of depression and anxiety.
Through years of product and development work, TRAILS has synthesized this body of research into accessible, effective programming for the school setting. The TRAILS model includes three MTSS-aligned tiers, including general social and emotional skill development for all students, interventions for students struggling with symptoms of anxiety and depression, and a program dedicated to suicide awareness, risk
management, and crisis response. TRAILS then trains school staff to deliver these programs through role-appropriate avenues.
Show Up for Learning
Izzy, another student on the call, shares that while her school has a room they can go to if they’re stressed, mental health learning “built into classes is really helpful for me as someone who really needs to be in class full-time.” She feels like she can’t just leave class to seek help and would prefer to have such lessons part of her classroom time, so she won’t miss any academic instruction.
She adds that “managing emotions can change literally everything, even more than physical health, because if your mental health is bad and you don't know how to manage your stress or your sadness, you can't get out of bed. You can't do anything. You can't go to school. You can't learn.”
A Life-Long Toolkit
Another student, Lilly, shares that, “today, Thursday, wasn't my favorite day, but I still got through it, and there was a little bit of problem-solving I had to do with a substitute teacher, but I managed to think through it.” She says that learning specific coping skills helped, and that, “being able to calm yourself down and hold yourself together under pressure is really important.”
Anna has been listening to her peers with interest and is less talkative but pipes up. She has some of her art displayed behind her and says being creative can help her feel better sometimes when she’s struggling. But she adds that learning coping techniques provides a toolkit to bring out on any occasion, “like when thinking through how to handle a stressful situation, you can think, ‘Ohh, this is what I learned, another tool that I can use to make my life easier and help me get through tough situations. So there’s this practical edge, how you can apply it and make a difference.’”
Hemanth contributes a final thought, that emotional regulation skills keep on giving: “you get a lot of benefits, like how to work with other people. And that's a really important skill to have for your whole life.”
About TRAILS
Supported by funding from the State of Michigan, TRAILS is available to Michigan schools at no cost. With modular and flexible programming, TRAILS is able to meet students where they are. Visit their website to learn more about TRAILS.