Abstract
<jats:p>The article addresses the issue of teachers’ mental health, exacerbated by negative factors of the present day, including the consequences of the pandemic and the full-scale war, as well as a range of contemporary socio-educational challenges and transformations in teachers’ professional activity. The author examines the key concepts of the study: «health», «mental health», and «teachers’ professional health», and establishes their interdependence. The phenomenon of the «culture of mental health of the future teacher» is also elucidated. The culture of mental health of the future teacher is interpreted as an integrative characteristic of personality that reflects the formation of knowledge about psychological well-being, value-based orientations towards its preservation and development, as well as self-regulation skills of psycho-emotional states and professional behavior, which ensure resilience, adaptability, and constructive interaction in the context of pedagogical activity. Its structural components are affective-value, cognitive, and activity-based. The culture of mental health of higher pedagogical education students should be formed as a unity of emotional-value attitudes, scientific and practice-oriented knowledge, and behavioral practices. It is ensured by the system of professional pedagogical training in higher education institutions, which includes academic classes, research work, teaching practice, and extracurricular activities. The potential of psychological and pedagogical disciplines, as well as research work, in forming the culture of mental health of the future teacher is revealed. It is emphasized that the formation of this culture in the process of teaching practice should be ensured through a combination of reflective-analytical, activity-based, and supportive components. Specially organized extracurricular activities also have a significant impact and should be implemented through various organizational forms that combine educational, practical, and socially active components. It is also advisable to involve students in volunteer activities, physical education and wellness, as well as cultural and artistic events.</jats:p>