24-hour help line coming for stressed-out teachers

Stress and mental health concerns are affecting Saskatchewan teachers so severely their union has brought in a 24-hour counselling service to help.

Previously, members of the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation (STF) and their families had access to a service that allowed them to book appointments with a counsellor. But STF President Patrick Maze said that, after consulting with teachers, the federation realized this was no longer enough.

“We were hearing from members that they would better use a service that allowed them to talk to someone immediately,” he said.

The new assistance plan will allow teachers and their family members to phone at any time of day and connect with a counsellor.

Maze said teaching has become a more difficult profession over the years as classroom demands have changed.

In particular, he said teachers are increasingly asked to work with students who may have language or mental health challenges, or sometimes both.

“You might be a really excellent math teacher, but if you can’t communicate in English with that student then it doesn’t matter how good of a teacher you are, you’ve got to start from Square 1 with basics of English.”

Maze said all that extra time, effort and attention on top of the regular workload translates into more stress.

Maze said that anecdotally he’s heard from 30-year veteran teachers who say the last few years have been the hardest of their careers.

“Usually, you would think that the more experience you get in your career, the easier it gets ... but that’s not the case. New teachers are saying they don’t know how they’re going to last 30 years or 35 years in this profession.”

Counsellors answering calls for the STF’S new assistance plan will be able to provide on-the-spot advice and also link callers with further help in areas like mental health, financial planning and wellness.

The new program is being paid for through the STF members’ health plan.