Recognizing the importance of taking care of the mental of students, teachers and non-teaching personnel, the Department of Education (DepEd) conducted a series of activities in line with 2021 National Mental Health Week.
DepEd started conducting various virtual initiatives and activities in celebration of the 2021 National Mental Health Week which started on Oct. 11 and will run until Oct 16.
Education Secretary Leonor Briones said that DepEd wants to ensure that the mental health of teaching and non-teaching personnel as well as the students are paid attention to.
“While we have consistently conducted Mental Health and Psychosocial Services for our stakeholders during this pandemic, we recognize that looking out for everyone’s mental state is a continuous process,” Briones explained.
With the theme “Mental Health Care for All: Let’s Make it a Reality,” the agency encouraged the field offices to participate in the Central Office-based events and conduct localized programs supporting the celebration.
Throughout the week, the Department began releasing series of DepEd Mental Health Care Videos to amplify the messaging and purpose of the celebration’s theme.
DepEd also published social media content series featuring the mental health journey of selected DepEd Personnel during this pandemic through “Kwento ng Katatagan” from Oct. 11 onwards.
Interested DepEd personnel can submit their stories and experiences through https://bit.ly/DepEdKatatagan.
The agency also conducted the Coordinators’ Meeting on the Implementation of the School Mental Health Program on Oct. 14 while the official closing program of the Mental Health Week happened on Wednesday, Oct. 15.
In line with this, DepEd Undersecretary for Administration Alain Del Pascua urged the personnel to celebrate World Mental Health Day on Oct. 10 with their families to strengthen the ties among their relatives as most of the employees are on a work-from-home setup.
“As the 2021 World Mental Health Day falls on a Sunday, it is best celebrated through rest and spending quality time with family and loved ones,” Pascua said.
“We also hope that our field offices will focus on taking care of the mental health of their personnel because the difficulties brought by the health crisis in mentally exhausting, especially for the teachers,” Pascua added.
Through their respective School Mental Health Program Coordinators, the field offices were also enjoined to conduct webinars, online conversations and consultations, or virtual training.
Mental health breaks were encouraged in conducting these activities.
The said celebration is according to Presidential Proclamation No. 452, s. 1994, titled declaring the Second Week of October of Every Year as National Mental Health Week.