Florida ‘First in the Nation’ to Reframe the Way It Handles Children’s Mental Health

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Hannah Knudsen

Florida is the “first in the nation” in reframing the way it addresses children’s mental health, the Sunshine State’s first lady Casey DeSantis said during a state Board of Education meeting on Thursday.

DeSantis praised the state for leading the nation on the issue of education in a variety of ways — from teacher pay increases to the “largest expansion of school choice in the history of our state.”

“I think it’s safe to say that Florida is the Education State. We are a shining example of what is possible when you have strong leadership,” she said, explaining that the state’s approach to children’s mental health in schools is changing.

“Because with the passing of today’s mental health rule, we cement our first-in-the-nation approach to reframe and rethink the way we are teaching mental health in schools. With this rule change, we are no longer teaching to a disorder. We are teaching kids skills like critical thinking, problem solving, coping, compassion, and grit so that they can learn how to persevere and overcome life’s inevitable challenges,” she said, explaining that everyone will eventually encounter a challenge, and children need to be prepared for how to handle them rather than being dismissed as having a disorder.

“No one is immune from hardship. It’s how you learn to navigate and overcome that counts,” she said, explaining that the state is rejecting the “stigma-laden” term “mental health” and replacing it with “resiliency.”

First lady Casey DeSantis, who recently survived breast cancer, listens as her husband Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a press conference at the University of Miami Health System Don Soffer Clinical Research Center on May 17, 2022 in Miami, Florida. The governor held the press conference to announce that the state of Florida would be supplying $100 million for Florida's cancer research centers, after he signs the state budget into law. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

First lady Casey DeSantis, who recently survived breast cancer, listens as her husband Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a press conference at the University of Miami Health System Don Soffer Clinical Research Center on May 17, 2022, in Miami, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

“I’ve spoken with students across the state who admit that if they have a quote, ‘mental health concern,’ they are essentially conceding that they are damaged goods or that they have an inherent or irrevocable problem and that they are a victim. And of course, that is false,” DeSantis continued, explaining that this reframing will help empower children rather than bring them down.

“But when we reframe mental health to say resilience, you take a negative and you turn it into a positive by empowering kids to strive to overcome challenges, while recognizing and celebrating the success in doing so,” she said, adding that they have partnered with “nearly every professional sports team across the state of Florida,” including athletes such as Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.

DeSantis also said she supports the rule to “incentivize public service” among children, as helping others helps them gain “essential context and perspective on life and feel good about the good they are doing in their communities.”

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