Workshop One: Mental Distress, Awareness and Attitudes

• Awareness of mental health related issues and mental distress.
• Attitudes and assumptions towards people with mental health conditions.
• Social inclusion and the role as an educator.
• Responding to students experiencing mental distress.

Workshop Two: Mental Distress, Resources and Practice

• (Held two to three weeks after Workshop One)
• Building confidence in responding to students experiencing mental distress.
• Making a connection with students through acknowledgement and acceptance.
• Identifying resources to support educators.
• Recognising areas for further development within a school/campus setting.

Resources and Support:

• Follow-up support over six months.
• Support for school initiatives.
• Online resources.
• Professional practice resource.

This programme is completely free, and is funded by the Like Minds, Like Mine programme under the Health Promotion Agency. Educational organisations working in secondary, tertiary and alternative education in Wellington, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Auckland and Northland regions are eligible.

Rethink is the brand under which Mind and Body have been providing Like Minds, Like Mine projects, alongside other work, for about a decade. The name describes the intention of rethink to support people and initiatives that encourage people to “think again” about assumptions and attitudes they might have toward the experience of mental distress. The Two+ Rehtink programme (our three-part educational programme for schools, tertiary and housing ) has support from kaupapa Maori provider Mahitahi Trust and Pasifika community provider Vaka Tautua.

The workshops are for teaching staff, although other staff will find them of use. Through the attendance of your staff and the investment of leadership, the programme aims to have a positive impact for your students.

Alongside the learning outcomes listed below, getting involved with this programme will support your school/campus in putting a spotlight on the issue of how your staff respond to student’s mental distress. Organisational engagement will also encourage you to take action in your identified priority areas.

Participants have also let us know that the workshops are enjoyable and the process of having this learning with colleagues helps support a team culture where everyone is on the same page about the effective ways to respond to mental distress and being open and supportive of each other.

If you are outside our area but have the support of senior leadership for staff development in this area, please get in touch as we have some limited flexibility for special cases. (Our ability to provide our programme to those outside of the geographic areas stated is more likely if you are a school or tertiary organisation already collecting data related to the wellbeing and perspectives of your students).

Although we are aware that primary and intermediate schools also need resource, training and information about supporting people with mental distress, we are currently funded to work with high schools and above. This is due to the high priority placed on the mental wellbeing of young people aged 15-24 who are a priority group for Like Minds, Like Mine projects for a range of reasons. Feedback we receive about the needs in primary and intermediate schools is passed on to those who make decisions in this area.

–        Government funded project , aligning with recommendations in Mental Health Review He Oranga Ara which encourages a focus on addressing stigma and discrimination

–        Aligns with expectations for teachers in Code of Professional Responsibility/ Tertiary version available.

–        Professional facilitators

–        Engagement beyond workshop delivery to contribute to an organisation’s development.

Within the workshops

Participants will:

1. Gain greater awareness of the area of mental distress and stigma and discrimination related to this.
2. Explore attitudes and assumptions about mental distress and the impact these can have for students
3. Understand links between social inclusion for mental distress and their role as educators
4. Be introduced to a framework to support them in responding to students experiencing distress
5. Self-review to identify areas for development.
6. Examine their own assumptions and practice related to mental distress, (understand the basics of responding and know where to find more information or support.)
7. Work with scenarios to develop confidence in responding to students experiencing distress
8. Reflect on progress toward goals
9. Identify organisational areas for development.

We’re passionate about making change in our community, and to contribute to lasting change we want to be engaging with your leadership first to get commitment for the programme so that we’re not just another workshop that comes, is appreciated and then forgotten about.

For this reason we ask school or campus leadership to engage with us in a process of identifying where they would like to see change and give commitment to develop steps addressing this. You can download our joint expectations document here.

Read the high school Rethink Flyer or tertiary flyer (coming soon) here. Or just call or email us and one of our team will get back to you.