Conversations About Student Mental Health Christopher J. Leonard, MSW, LCSW, M.ED

In this episode Chris Leonard, Thrive’s Chief Learning Officer, spoke with Alina Liao, the founder and CEO of Zenit, a ”radical wellness” company whose philosophy is that everything we do must advance the wellness of all our stakeholders.
Highlights include:
How journaling can be an extremely powerful mental health toolLeaning into tradeoffs and why this is so important in cultivating wellnessThe importance of coming back to pride and joy

In this episode Chris Leonard, Thrive’s Chief Learning Officer, recently spoke with power couple, Michael and Nita Creekmore about their firsthand knowledge of the current challenges that students, teachers, and parents are facing and clear ideas of how to support ourselves, our children, our students and our colleagues. 
Highlights include:
Challenges among students and staff right now and what to expect as we move into 2023Supports  teachers are not getting that they need more ofSchool-based interventions and the importance of tier 1 supportSupports for parents 

In this episode Chris Leonard, Thrive’s Chief Learning Officer, recently spoke with Dr. Michael J. Hynes, Superintendent of the Port Washington School District in New York and an award-winning educator who advocates for a holistic approach to educating children. Dr. Hynes shared strategies for helping staff navigate the challenges ahead, along with his secret sauce for helping students get the most out of school. 
Highlights include:
The importance of building relationships and knocking down silosIdeas for self-care that help you become the best version of yourselfWhat it takes to adjust attitudes and create a healthy school climate & cultureStrategies for restoring the balance between the physical, emotional, academic, and social at school

In this episode of Conversations About Student Mental Health, Chris Leonard tackles the question of how to prepare teachers to support the growing social and emotional needs of students. Chris talks with Steven Cates, an interventionist at Southside Community School in Tucson, Arizona, and a participant in Thrive Alliance Group’s Coaching, Training, and Certification program. Chris and Steven discuss a new approach to mental wellness support: raising the capacity of the entire staff to improve school climate & culture.
Highlights include:
How mental wellness training and coaching for school staff improves school climate and culture, which in turn improves student outcomes Self-paced training provides flexibility and better retention of learningTeachers learn psychological principles around student mental health and trauma, and how these impact behavior and create barriers to learningCoaching sessions give staff the chance to share experiences and learn intervention strategies Participants gain a set of tools and strategies to support both students & staff membersHow the program builds a sense of community

This episode of Conversations About Student Mental Health explores the mindset shift that is necessary to create a culture and climate of mental health and wellness in your school. Making this shift is one of three critical facets of maximizing the mental health and wellness of students. 


Chris Leonard talks with Dr. Ricki Gibbs, Principal of Warner Arts Magnet Elementary in Nashville, who has assumed stewardship of the climate and culture of mental wellness in his school and is seeing meaningful results. Under Dr. Gibbs’ leadership, Warner transformed from one of the lowest performing schools in the Metro Nashville Public Schools to being the first and only Metro Nashville Public School to be recognized as a Blue Ribbon Beacon School in 2021. 


Highlights include:


Why schools must support students’ emotional wellbeing along with academicsThe three facets of maximizing mental wellness, and why proactive school leaders need to shift the focus to improve climate and culture How trauma-informed practices, including mindfulness, movement, and breathing, can help students develop self-regulating strategiesHow to avoid power struggles and fear tactics that harm everyoneGiving school staff the tools and training they need for classroom management also helps to build morale and retain staff

It’s no secret that the mental health needs of youth have been intensifying. Getting young people the treatment they need in a crisis has become a greater challenge because of the length of time they must spend in the emergency room (often more than 12 hours) waiting for risk assessments and acute follow up care.
In this episode, Chris Leonard talks with Shana Palmieri, the co-founder and Chief Clinical Officer of XFERALL, an innovative mobile technology platform that can help schools (and healthcare and community professionals) get faster access to best-fit acute care, as well as other treatment resources, for young people experiencing a mental health crisis. 
Highlights include:
The devastating outcomes that happen with delayed and denied access to acute mental health care.How schools can use XFERALL to quickly find access to inpatient care for students, with the chance to avoid the emergency department and associated costs.How the system takes the burden off school professionals to judge a student’s risk level. Additional proactive interventions schools can put in place to reduce the incidents of mental health crises among students and prevent the worst outcomes.