The Insights series aims to provide an interesting and relevant topic and a special guest who can shine some expert knowledge onto the subject, so we can all learn something new! 

In this episode of Insights, we were delighted to welcome recognised author, speaker and mental health advocate, Tom Thelen to the show. 

Tom has spoken at over 800 schools and conferences and has been interviewed on NBC, CBS, FOX, and PBS. His new book, Mental Health 101 For Teens, is an Amazon #1 New Release. 

In this episode, we explored how Tom became a go-to speaker for bullying and mental health, talked about the cracks within our education systems and much more. 

Tom responded to the following questions we asked: 

• How did you become a go-to speaker for bullying and mental health?
• What are some common concerns you’re hearing about from schools?
• What challenges are students facing that were different from pre-COVID or perhaps just not as evident before?
• Social-emotional learning (SEL) and student well-being are becoming much more commonplace terms in schools, even “trendy”. For schools to get it right, what do you think needs to happen?
• We believe it’s better for schools to be proactive instead of reactive – are there things they can be doing now to get ahead of potential problems students face online, such as cyberbullying?
• You talk about becoming a “no bullying school.” What does that mean and how can schools aim to meet that objective?
• Where can people go to learn more about the resources you provide?

 
As you might expect, there are lots of great pieces of advice and ideas that Tom shares.

You can also watch back this episode on YouTube: