Looking for meaningful ways to teach mental health without relying on dated textbooks or fact-heavy lectures? This Mental Health Unit for High School Health is a ready-to-use resource that focuses on real-world skills, not just definitions. Designed specifically for high school students, this unit teaches students how to understand, manage, and support their mental health with confidence and care.
From Project School Wellness, your go-to partner for skills-based health education, this unit helps students move beyond basic awareness and into action. Whether you’re planning for Mental Health Awareness Month or integrating social-emotional wellness into your year-round curriculum, this unit provides a practical and impactful learning experience that students will remember and actually use.
A Mental Health Curriculum Built on Real Skills, Not Just Facts
This isn’t just another unit that shares facts about mental health. Each lesson is designed to build student confidence, knowledge, and practical life skills. Students learn to recognize how their choices and routines impact their mental well-being, how to manage and cope with difficult things, and how to support themselves and others when challenges arise.
✔ Built around mental health activities that promote real-world skills
✔ Focused on daily health habits that improve mental well-being
✔ Includes regular mental health check-ins to foster self-awareness
✔ Designed for flexible use during Mental Health Awareness Month or any time of year
✔ Includes health and wellness worksheets that support skill development (and go far beyond worksheets)
Whether your students are just beginning to understand the concept of mental health or they need tools to manage stress, anxiety, and emotional overwhelm, this unit meets them where they are and gives them strategies to move forward.
What’s Included in This Unit
Every part of this Mental Health Unit is built for ease of use and deep impact. No filler. No fluff. Just practical, high-quality materials designed to make teaching about mental health stress-free and meaningful.
✅ Fully editable Google Slides presentation
✅ Digital and printable worksheets
✅ Step-by-step teaching guides
✅ Built-in student check-ins
✅ Application-focused activities
✅ Standards-aligned assessment tools
✅ Organized Google Drive folder
Whether you’re teaching in person, remotely, or a mix of both, this resource is built for flexibility. Just open the lesson, share the slides, and get started with no extra prep required.
Skills Students Will Build
This Mental Health Unit is designed to help students develop real-world, life-ready skills that support long-term wellness. It moves far beyond theory or vocabulary memorization. Instead, each lesson gives students practical tools they can use to reflect on their own experiences, care for their mental well-being, and support the people around them.
Throughout the unit, students will:
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Reflect on personal health habits and their impact on mental wellness
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Identify stressors and develop healthy coping mechanisms
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Practice emotional regulation and build greater self-awareness
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Strengthen interpersonal communication and support systems
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Learn when and how to access mental health support and services
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Gain confidence in self-advocating for their needs
This isn’t about filling out a worksheet and moving on. Every activity connects directly to students' lives. Lessons are structured to include meaningful mental health check-ins, authentic conversations, and reflection-based tasks that help students build their own mental health toolkits.
What’s in the Mental Health Unit? A Lesson-by-Lesson Breakdown
Here’s an overview of the 10 structured lessons included in this unit (with a summative project). Each one is designed to build foundational understanding, encourage personal reflection, and develop practical skills students can use for life.
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Intro to Mental Health Students explore what mental health really means. They build a foundational understanding of mental wellness and how it affects their everyday life.
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Cultural Perceptions and Personal Beliefs This lesson helps students unpack their personal relationship with mental health. It dives into stigma, cultural influences, and social messaging that shape how we talk about and respond to mental health issues.
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The Mental Health Bucket (Student Self-Evaluation + Check-In Tool) One of the core tools of the unit, this lesson introduces students to a simple yet powerful framework for understanding their current mental state. Students learn to identify what fills or empties their “bucket,” rate their well-being, and gain the language to self-advocate for their mental health needs.
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Managing Your Mental Health Students build a personalized approach to taking care of their mental wellness. This lesson guides them through developing routines, identifying strategies, and practicing consistency.
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When You're Not Okay This lesson normalizes emotional ups and downs. Students talk about how to acknowledge when they’re struggling, and they learn ways to ask for help. The goal is to break stigma and show students that it’s okay to not be okay.
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Accessing Valid Information Students learn how to recognize and evaluate credible mental health information. They gain experience practicing the skill of accessing valid health information, a core part of the National Health Education Standards.
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Finding Support and Services This lesson walks students through how to seek help, big or small. They learn how to identify trusted adults, school resources, community organizations, and mental health professionals.
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Understanding Mental Illness Students explore common mental health disorders to build awareness and compassion. The goal is to give students a baseline understanding without labeling or pathologizing.
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Supporting a Friend Here, students focus on how to be a safe, supportive friend. They learn what to say (and not say), how to check in with others, and how to connect peers to help when needed.
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Summative Project: Mental Health First Aid Kit Students wrap up the unit by creating their own toolkit of strategies for maintaining mental well-being. This project is focused on mental health self-advocacy and long-term self-care planning.
Mental Health Advocacy Bonus Unit Included
This resource also includes a bonus unit on mental health advocacy. Students learn what advocacy looks like, explore real-world examples, and create their own action plan around a mental health topic that matters to them. It’s an optional but powerful addition for students ready to speak up and make a difference in their school or community.
Built for Skills-Based Health Education
This Mental Health Unit follows the same philosophy used across all Project School Wellness materials. It’s built on the idea that students need to learn how to apply what they know. Each lesson supports the eight essential skills outlined in the National Health Education Standards:
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Develop and apply functional knowledge
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Analyze influences
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Access valid health resources and services
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Communicate effectively
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Practice responsible decision-making
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Set achievable wellness goals
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Build and maintain mental wellness routines
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Promote self-advocacy
Instead of rote memorization, this unit helps students think critically, explore their experiences, and build strategies they can use in their everyday lives.
Built for Today’s Classrooms
Whether you’re teaching in person or online, this Mental Health Unit is ready to go:
✔ Fully digital and printable
✔ Flexible for short units or full mental health weeks
✔ No textbook needed
✔ No prep required
✔ Performance-based assessments included
✔ Great for freshmen and up
This unit is also a perfect fit for highlighting wellness during Mental Health Awareness Month, whether used as a standalone module or as part of your full curriculum.
Your Students Deserve More Than Just Awareness
This isn’t a unit that teaches facts about anxiety or lists symptoms of depression. It’s a resource that helps your students build the confidence, knowledge, and skills to take charge of their mental health and support others.
✔ Use it to start powerful conversations
✔ Help students feel seen, heard, and prepared
✔ Foster a culture of wellness in your classroom
If you’re ready to teach mental health in a real, authentic way, this unit is your go-to resource.
Download the Mental Health Unit for High School Health today Support student wellness with confidence Perfect for Mental Health Awareness Month or year-round instruction Real strategies. Real reflection. Real results.
Health education should be simple and impactful. With this unit, it finally is.