How You Doin’? Addressing Schools’ Need for a Common Language Emotional Health Check-In

As educators we face a critical challenge: the term "mental health" often triggers discomfort among many parents, teachers, and administrators, evoking fears of labels and diagnoses. This fear, combined with worsening behavioral health trends and the lack of a shared language for check-ins, hinders schools’ ability to implement proactive, upstream well-being programs. The SameHere Scale app offers a transformative solution, enabling educators to foster open, non-diagnostic behavioral health monitoring and conversations. This session explores how technology can provide a simple, effective way to track students’ behavioral health on a linear nervous system plane, monitoring trends over time without clinical labels. Attendees will learn how this proprietary common language empowers schools to create supportive environments where stakeholders feel safe discussing emotional well-being. By leveraging technology, we can reduce educators’ burden, making check-ins intuitive and efficient. Eric Kussin, founder of #SameHere - The Global Mental Health Movement, and Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Andrew Pleener, MD, will share insights from their personal journeys and demonstrate a tool that is transforming dialogue in schools worldwide, ensuring students and staff engage comfortably in behavioral health conversations, fostering resilience and connection without judgment.