Back-to-School Resources for Youth
Going back to school can be stressful. Learn how to get help when you need it.
Returning to school can feel overwhelming. It’s OK to feel this way. Here are resources to support you, your family or friends.Together for Wellness: Kids & Teens
Find videos and resources for kids and teens to help support your mental and emotional well-being.
Child Mind Institute Videos for Students
These evidence-based resources teach a set of mental health skills that can help now and for the rest of your life.
Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
Operating Hours: 24/7
If you or someone you know is experiencing mental health or substance use-related crisis, the Lifeline network is available 24/7.
Call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org.
CalHOPE
Operating Hours: 24/7
CalHope offers safe, secure, and culturally sensitive emotional support for all Californians who have experienced emotional challenges triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Call or chat: 1-833-317-4673
Local Help & Support
If you want help connecting to a mental health professional, you can find resources based in the county where you live.
Wellness Education Lab
WEL guides students (13+) through evidence-based content offering practical skills to improve mental health and resilience.
Gritx
Developed by UC San Francisco, GritX is your judgment free guide to facing life challenges and personal growth.
Back to School Resources for Parents, Family and Friends
Want to support your child’s mental health as they return to school? Check out these resources.
Going back to school can be challenging for many kids. Learn how you can support your child or loved one during this time, and discover strategies to help you break the cycle of toxic stress.
Stress Relief for Kids
You can help your child be healthier by managing your own stress response and helping your child do the same. CA Surgeon General’s Playbook: Stress Relief for Caregivers and Kids, now available in eight languages.
Strategies to Help Caregivers Stay Calm in Difficult Moments
Staying calm in stressful moments can help build your bond with your child and keep your relationship strong.
Toxic Stress Video
By recognizing and taking steps to treat toxic stress, you can break the cycle for yourself and for your kids, so they grow up to be successful, healthy and strong.
Learn About Your Preschooler’s Social and Emotional Development
Social and emotional development shapes how your child interacts with the world.
Parenting and Behavior Management Strategies (Preschooler)
Being exposed to more environments (like daycare or preschool) and people (like teachers and new friends) helps your child learn how to act and respond in different situations.
Child Mind Institute Videos for Parents
Use these evidence-based resources to spark important conversations and teach your kids a set of essential mental health skills.
Care, Cope, Connect
Access a guide to support families of young students who may be feeling fear, anxiety or loss.
Wellness Education Lab
WEL empowers parents and guardians with knowledge and tools to support youth and strengthen their own mental health. Trainings are also available in Spanish. Los entrenamientos también están disponibles en español.
Impact of Technology and Digital Media on Mental Health
Tips for Parents | Children and Screens
Resources and information to help parents and guardians help children lead healthy lives in a digital world.
California Partners Project Responsive Toolkits
Tools for parents to help children maintain healthy digital practices.
Child Mind Institute | Screen Time & Technology
Provides guides and information on setting limits for kids and teaching them to use screens in a healthy way.
First 5 California | Children & Technology
Tips on how you can help protect babies and toddlers from screen time.
Common Sense Media | Parent Tips
Resources, tips and guides to help parents and caregivers support their kids’ mental health and well-being when engaging on social media.
Back-to-School Resources for Schools & Teachers
We all need help sometimes. Learn how you can support the mental health of your students this back-to-school season.
Find tools and resources for schools and teachers to support students who may be struggling with mental health issues.
Angst | Building Resilience
A film-based mental health support program, endorsed by educators, psychiatrists and mental health advocates. Tools and information for parents and educators available on the website.
Redirecting Grief to Growth | A Trusted Space
Listen to teachers, parents, students, and experts discuss how to mitigate the effects of anxiety and trauma. The film is accompanied by a curriculum that provides a practical and empathetic understanding of how trauma impacts behavior and learning, and how to manage it within any classroom setting.
Together for Wellness: Back-to-School for Teachers
Explore tools to help you talk to and support your students as well as resources to practice self-care.
Trauma Informed Schools: An Educator’s Story
Watch how one Sonoma County school is using trauma-informed practices to empower educators and help students thrive. Part of the California Surgeon General’s ACEs storytelling series, this one is especially for our educators!
Healthy Minds, Thriving Kids
These resources can help you teach your students the mental health skills they need to be ready to learn.
Greater Good Education Program
Provides educators with resources and methods to successfully implement social and emotional learning (SEL) programs in schools and classrooms.
Youth Mental Health First Aid Trainings
Participate in an important training on how to best help young people experiencing both crisis and non-crisis mental health challenges and how to recognize warning signs of mental health concerns.
How Educators Can Address Childhood Adversity and Toxic Stress
California’s Acting Surgeon General Dr. Devika Bhushan discusses childhood adversity and the impact of toxic stress on learning in this article for Kaiser Permanente.
Child Mind Institute Videos for Educators
These evidence-based resources can help you teach your students the mental health skills they need to be more ready to learn.
Safe Spaces: Foundations of Trauma-Informed Practice for Educational and Care Settings
Safe spaces is a free online training designed to help early care providers, TK-12 educators and other school personnel recognize and respond to trauma and stress in children.
Dear Stress, I’m over you. Stress Management Toolkit
Dear Stress is a new resource to help young people manage stress with three easy strategies. It’s available in English and Spanish in two sizes for sharing as a handout or small poster and includes a slide deck that can be used as a companion classroom activity.
Center for Resiliency, Hope and Wellness in Schools
The Center partners with schools to increase access to evidence-based trauma and early intervention strategies to create nurturing school environments.
Teachers and Staff School Wellbeing Toolkit
For teachers and school staff to practice self-care and support the wellbeing of their school community.
How Educators Can Address Childhood Adversity and Toxic Stress
California’s Acting Surgeon General Dr. Devika Bhushan discusses childhood adversity and the impact of toxic stress on learning in this article for Kaiser Permanente.
Wellness Education Lab
WEL equips educators/school staff with practical mental health training to support students and strengthen their own mental health.