The COVID-19 pandemic wreaked degrees of havoc on everyone’s lives, with parents and students especially hard hit as they navigated changing dynamics at work, home and school. However, a group often overlooked were the educators on the front lines: Teachers reported feeling burned out and overwhelmed.
In 2020, the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus was quick to respond to this secondary crisis by launching Colorado Educator Support. The platform is dedicated to supporting Colorado's educational workforce with free mental health resources, including a Wellbeing Support Line for confidential venting, validation, problem-solving and resources. These services expanded in 2021 to also include individual support sessions, an online self-paced program and groups and workshops.
Amy Lopez, PhD, LCSW, and Merlin Ariefdjohan, PhD, MPH, assistant professors in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, discuss their study results based on data collected from 2020-2021 and illustrate how deeply the pandemic impacted K-12 educators in Colorado. The interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.