Educators as First Responders

A Teacher’s Guide To Adolescent Development and Mental Health, Grade 6-12

Educators as First Responders is a comprehensive, hands-on guide to understanding and supporting adolescents in today’s schools.

Students often first turn to a trusted teacher, coach, or advisor when facing emotional challenges. This accessible, evidence-based book gives educators the tools to respond effectively—offering practical strategies, real-world examples, and a deeper understanding of the “whole student”.

Readers will learn to recognize and support students struggling with stress, identity, relationships, and systemic pressures, helping to create emotionally healthy schools where both students and educators can thrive.

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Praise

  • "This is a relevant, current, and timely resource for educators at a moment when supporting the mental and emotional health of adolescents is increasingly and critically urgent! Dr. Offner shares her deep understanding of adolescents and of schools with a distinctly engaging book that provides essential insights, compelling stories, provocative questions, and practical advice for teachers to develop their skills for supporting students and to advocate for improved school culture and policy. A must-read."

    Karen Lassey, EdD., Phillips Exeter Academy

  • "Deborah Offner has written an important, useful book to help every teacher deal with the psychological storms that sweep through their classrooms. Her clinical wisdom and practical guidance are developmentally sound and totally on target, and her clear writing and vivid examples will be recognized by every teacher. If educators only read one book to help prepare them to aid struggling adolescents, it should be Educators as First Responders."

    Michael Thompson, PhD, New York Times Bestselling Author, International Speaker, and School Consultant

  • "Educators as First Responders provides us with keen insights and practical ways to navigate and address the conflicting currents evident among adolescents today. Dr. Offner’s years of clinical and hands-on experience shines as she guides the reader through topics such as the development of students’ identities, the effects of stress, academic rigor, and technology-influenced social relationships. Dr. Offner’s care and commitment to supporting educators is demonstrated through her masterful yet easy-to-read use of language and anecdotes that engage our minds and speak to our hearts."

    Jennifer Peck-Nolte, Princeton Day School

  •  "From the outset, Deborah Offner centers her work around the most overlooked and critical parts of our jobs as educators: our relationships with and responses to our students’ social and emotional needs. While we educators know that our students’ well-being is in our hands, we also know that our ability to help a student who reaches out to us in crisis depends on the effectiveness of our response. This is what causes many educators the greatest amount of angst and handwringing, because, as Dr. Offner asserts, we ‘are not trained for this!’

  • "Finally, we have a book from a renowned clinical psychologist and school consultant with over twenty years of experience who provides educators with an accessible guide to adolescent development and mental health. Not only does Dr. Offner offer a solid foundation for understanding the adolescent brain, but she also includes scenarios between teachers and students that play out in classrooms every day in order to provide tips and skills that will build teacher confidence and competence and ensure positive outcomes for our students."

  • "Now, more than ever, this book fills a void and provides much-needed guidance for educators to respond effectively to students’ myriad social and emotional needs. In acknowledging educators as first responders, Dr. Offner’s book directly addresses the adolescent mental health crisis by equipping school staff with the necessary toolkit to help our students thrive."

    Jenny Robertson, Newton South High School

Work with Dr. Offner

Interested in collaborating or learning more? 

  • Explore her private practice

  • Invite her to speak at your school or organization

  • Listen to recent interviews and podcasts

  • Read her articles on student mental health and educator well-being

LET'S CONNECT