MEA member Michele Morgan, an occupational therapist from Warren Woods Public Schools who was featured in the February-March MEA Voice magazine, shared the success of her innovative mental health program in a first-person piece published by Chalkbeat Detroit on Tuesday.

With the help of colleagues, six years ago Morgan launched a new approach to student mental health and wellness that paired it with an existing career and technical education program aimed at building vocational skills.

Morgan hoped to address skyrocketing rates of anxiety and depression among young people which were affecting students’ work readiness after graduation.

“I’m not a psychotherapist,” she writes in the piece. “The good news is that occupational therapists, too, can have a long-lasting impact on student well-being. The key to our success has been making a personal investment in their health, welfare, and happiness — not just one focused on grades or performance.”

Read Morgan’s essay – “Career and technical education needs a mental health revolution” – in Chalkbeat.