How state funding made teen mental health first aid training possible
Editor’s Note: About 40% of U.S. students had persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness and 9% attempted suicide, according to a report by the Atlanta-based U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The number of adolescents reporting poor mental health is increasing, according to the CDC.
As part of Mental Health Awareness Month, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is running a series of guest essays this week about mental health in schools.
This is the fourth of these essays:
Before becoming the Social-Emotional Learning coordinator for Troup County Schools, I worked closely with secondary students in both traditional and alternative school settings as a school counselor.
This experience gave me the opportunity to engage with high schoolers daily, where I observed many lacked a strong understanding of emotional well-being. While teachers were meeting the requirements of the health curriculum, particularly during chapters on mental health awareness, the challenges I witnessed made it clear that a more comprehensive and consistent approach was needed.
After stepping into this role, I developed a broader understanding of our system’s mental health needs by coordinating services across the entire school district. I regularly analyzed data from the Georgia School Climate Survey and compared it with the number of students referred for school-based counseling services. I also incorporated data from our Handle with Care program, along with reports of suicidal ideations and discipline data, to examine potential correlations and better identify schools with higher rates of trauma exposure among students.
After receiving the Secondary Mental Health Grant from the state of Georgia in 2025 and reviewing how the needs of our students had shifted over the last three years, we carefully considered how to use the funds most effectively. Our primary goal was to strengthen our school-based counseling program by ensuring that all students could access services, regardless of insurance status. To achieve this, we contracted counseling services from three trauma-trained counselors to expand support for students in need. One of the counselors was intentionally assigned to both of our alternative programs to ensure that those students were also included in the initiative.
Recognizing that not all students require Tier 3 — the most intensive interventions — we also explored ways to enhance Tier 1 supports, which are available to all students. This led us to focus on prevention and student empowerment by implementing Teen Mental Health First Aid training.
This program equips students with the knowledge and skills needed to recognize the early signs of mental health challenges in themselves and their peers. It also teaches them the verbiage to use when aiding a peer and identifies key people in our schools and community who are trained to support them during a crisis.
We partnered with the founder of Joy Inside Tears, Tracie Halcrombie, to deliver this training to our students. Understanding that ninth grade is a critical transition period — when students are adjusting to new academic expectations, forming new relationships, and navigating a range of social and personal changes — we saw an important opportunity to provide targeted mental health education for that population. We also felt that offering this training at such a pivotal point helps normalize conversations around mental health and helps reduce the stigma often associated with seeking support.
To implement the program, I collaborated with building principals and school counselors to develop a schedule that allowed the training team the flexibility to deliver sessions within ninth grade health classes. I also communicated with health teachers to coordinate the logistics of the sessions.
At the end of each session, students complete an exit ticket that assesses their current emotional state. The form also allows them to indicate whether they would like a follow-up meeting with a school counselor, as the content may prompt reflection on past experiences or trauma. School counselors remained available to provide immediate and ongoing support as needed.
The Teen Mental Health First Aid curriculum provides participants with a three-year certification upon completion. Since implementing this program last year, we have seen growing interest from students in upper grade levels who would also like the opportunity to participate. In response, I hope to offer summer sessions for rising juniors and seniors.
Our goal is to encourage students to be more proactive in utilizing the mental health resources available to them at school while also helping to reduce suicide attempts among this age group.
We will continue targeting ninth-grade students during the 2026–2027 school year, with the hope that the knowledge and skills gained through this training will support them throughout high school and prepare them for life beyond graduation.
Tiffany Gibson serves as the Social and Emotional Learning Coordinator for Troup County Schools, where she leads initiatives that support students’ emotional well-being and development.
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