The role of teachers in the mental health of their students

Dance teachers play an enormously important role in the lives of their students: like teachers at school, they often carry a student’s deep respect, and may serve as critically important role-models. At times students may find themselves struggling in a wider personal environment where there are other problems, sometimes within the family, sometimes at school, sometimes with friends, sometimes with other personal battles. Dance can easily provide an escape from these other difficulties, and can represent a critical foundation to a shaky self-esteem. A very important role that a dance teacher has, often without this role being recognised, is hidden within the relationship between teacher and student. You, the teacher, can see yourself as concerned with your dancer’s personal development, as a thoughtful and caring adult. For example, you could ask a student to stay after class for a few minutes, and ask them how life is treating them. Are things okay with their friends and family; are they facing any problems in their lives outside of the studio; any personal difficulties they are battling with. It is important to see this as not being nosy or invasive: if they don’t want to tell you they won’t. Nonetheless, it is important to realise that you are asking for potentially confidential information that you have to treat with respect. If things are fine, you will have earned respect from your dancers, that you show concern for them as whole people. If they do raise a concern, remain thoughtful on the one hand; and remain self-aware and mindful of your own reactions on the other. Above all else, your dancer is hoping for a measured and helpful response, without blame or distaste or overreaction. They badly need you to be a thoughtful adult.

What to look out for?

• Drop in motivation, lethargy, lack of interest
• Sudden changes in weight
• Dropping performance
• Unexplained absences
• Signs of injury: bruising; disguised self-injury (clothing, sweatbands, etc)
• Lots of minor niggles or vague complaints
• Unusual behaviour (moving from centre to back of class; moving away from friends)
• Unusual emotions: tearfulness, anger
• Also be aware of group dynamics: vying for attention, ostracism, unhealthy competition. A dance class is much more than a bunch of independent, disconnected individuals: it is a mini General Assembly of the United Nations, with alliances, power struggles, in- and out-groups.

How to respond?

• There are grades of response, depending on a number of factors, including:
• How comfortable am I with this? Is it a bit too upsetting? Am I able to resolve this myself?
• Am I seeking to get involved because I want to feel important (or for some other personal reason) rather than because I am the best person to do so?
• Am I aware of what I may be letting myself in for; do I know how to deal with this if it suddenly becomes too big for me to handle?
• Would I be comfortable with my colleagues knowing about what I’m doing, or would I feel awkward or embarrassed if they knew? Would they view me as acting within my competence, or as getting out of my depth?
• Can I discriminate between the normal ups and downs of life, magnified by adolescence, and more serious problems? Am I sufficiently trained to do this, or am I responding from a belief that I just know?

Many errors in tackling something for which we may not be qualified stem from being well-meaning or well-intentioned: but once a problem escalates, this counts for nothing and the focus shifts to being seen as incompetent. Not a good outcome for someone who starts from a place of concern, seeking to help, and being well-meaning.

When in doubt, speak to a colleague. When not in doubt, speak to a colleague anyway, just to be sure. Remember the issue is not a typical dance problem, relating to technique or something you are trained for, but something for which others may be more suitably qualified.

Some criteria to discriminate between more and less serious mental health concerns:

Duration / frequency: for how long and how often

Intensity / severity: how bad

Impact / risk: potential for harm, short-term and long-term

Levels of response:

Help for these sorts of difficulty can take various forms. Time is a great healer, and often someone’s coping skills kick in after an initial delay and the problem becomes resolved. However, if a problem persists, it is usually advisable to take it further.

• Monitor? (eg, check-in in a week)
• Deal with it?
• Discuss confidentially with a colleague?
• Speak to parents?
• Speak / refer to a professional?

Thoughts posted by Henk Eichhorn