Other Internal Program Supports for Adult Mental Health

In addition to reflective supervision and the mental health consultant, programs can provide other supports to help staff manage and reduce stress. For example:¹

• Offer stress reduction workshops, like this one from the Center for Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation
• Organize regular exercise breaks for staff, including walking meetings
• Create a comfortable space for staff breaks
• Use stress management techniques with staff before starting meetings and trainings, before children arrive or leave for the day, and other times when staff are available
• Schedule time when staff are available to offer breaks to others
• Provide additional staff in classrooms to care for other children while the teacher helps a child regulate intense emotions and behaviors

^{1 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Head Start, National Center on Health, Staff Wellness—Managing Stress, (Washington, DC, 2014).}