Michigan’s mental health crisis extends beyond students: Teachers struggle too

Halamka decided to invest her time educating herself on how to help her students, graduating in 2013 from Western Michigan University with a master’s degree in education school counseling.

“I didn’t realize I spent more of my mental energy thinking about how to support these kids than I wanted to spend on planning my lessons or actual classroom work,” said Halamka.

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According to the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s 2021 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 22.8% of U.S. adults experienced mental illness in 2021.

“If teachers can be genuinely mentally and emotionally healthy, that trickles down to their students,” said Halamka. “If a teacher is feeling well, they can model that for their students.”

Following a student suicide in the Negaunee district, Halamka created the idea for Superior Educator Wellness Services. In April 2024, the school board approved $5,000 in funding for her to provide free teacher wellness services.

Based on feedback from patients and other staff, Halamka said she thinks her services are unique because of her previous classroom experience.

“A teacher reaches out to a professional and they’re in a counseling session with someone who has never been in education,” said Halamka. “Instead of being able to unload, they first need to set the scene and context. The counselor’s only experience in education may have only been when they went to school themselves.”

According to Don Wotruba, the executive director of the Michigan Association of School Boards, two challenges districts face in retaining their educators are mental health and staff shortages.

“There is a lack of mental health professionals in schools due to the private sector having more money to hire psychologists,” Wotruba said.

According to Wotruba, one way districts are combatting school psychologist shortages is by using telehealth services to communicate with medical service providers.

According to Lauren Mangus, the president of the Michigan Association of School Psychologists, districts are still struggling to help manage their personnel despite efforts to solve the problems of too-small staffs and too-high counselor-student ratios.

“Because of the school psychologist shortage in Michigan, we are often relegated to use only certain skill sets for testing,” said Mangus.

According to the association, the ratio between school psychologists to students in the state is about 1:1,500, three times the recommended amount.