Tag Archives: mental health

Mindfulness

Within the TDT Task booklet there was an activity on Mindfulness. I decided not to complete this task as others were of more interest and I had already completed a number of tasks to make headsp up the 30hrs. However, throughout the module I have been interested in what mindfulness is and thought I would give it a go. I had already downloaded an app ‘Headspace’ ages ago but never actually used so this is the app I decided to try out.

After signing up and creating an account, I began the free trial activities available. It is a set of 10 which you’re encouraged to do on a daily basis. This however proved to be quite challenging to actually do. I felt that when I did it in the morning, it made me more tired and wanting to have a nap so I decided to use it at night, as a wind down from the day. I found this actually helped me drop off to sleep a bit easier, especially as some days were quite busy and stressful & it can take a wee while to switch off! MBSR

This is however something I would like to give another go and try to do it everyday as sometimes I would forget. I would also like to read up about it and if possible see/implement it in practice as I have heard a lot of positive things about doing Mindfulness within the classroom and the benefits it has on children and young people.

🙂

What Causes Wellness?

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Watch video of Harry Burns – write a reflection (1 hour)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEh3JG74C6s

Evidence: Write a reflection about your thoughts on wellness and wellbeing in children.

Personal Thoughts:

I recently watched the above clip of Harry Burns giving a talk on wellness & wellbeing. This was an interesting video which gave a lot of information which I had not thought of before.

He began by discussing why he started to look into the reasons behind those in the poorest areas taking longer to recover whilst in hospital. Throughout the talk he highlights many issues such as smoking and poor diets however recognises these alone cannot explain the persistent gap between rich and poor over some 25 years of study. Burns then looked at the work of other psychologists and came to an understanding that it is the early life of individuals which has the greatest impact on adulthood experiences. For example, growing up in chaotic environments has a negative influence however those young people who develop resilience have done so as a result of having a close bond with a caregiver/mentor, positive personal attributes and good support systems from peers and the community they live in. He then goes on to highlight the changes which occur in the brain due to stress in an individual’s life. It becomes apparent that these chaotic circumstances can have a detrimental impact on children and young people’s learning and development. The ability to learn, make sense of the world and behave appropriately is lowered as a result of lacking the ability to manage stress. Burns also highlights the importance of treating the root cause of all these problems as opposed to just ‘using drugs’ to cure individuals when they have become ill. Finally, the notion of alienation is discussed, particularly highlighting it as a continuous cycle. This suggests that it is vital practitioners work hard to ensure all young people have positive mindsets and encourage them to persevere with their education and reach their full potential.

I believe that the wellbeing of children and young people these days is something which we should be keeping an eye on to ensure we give all young people opportunities to build resilience and the skills they need to fully participate effectively within society. Resent research suggests that mental health in youngsters is continuing to decrease which is frightening; to think that young people, of primary age, are being reported as having depression. wellbeing-wheel

In order to find a solution to these problems individuals are facing, action must be taken across the whole board, from the early years, giving children the best start in life, to ensuring the elderly are not feeling isolated. Here in Scotland there are a variety of strategies and initiatives to help tackle such issues and make Scotland a happier, healthy place to live. For example the Early Years Framework – practitioners are actively engaging with parents and young people to improve overall wellbeing; breastfeeding initiatives to get more women participating due to the health benefits identified and also smoking cessation. I fully agree with Burns when he discusses the notion of having ‘Will’ and ‘Method’, to enable Scotland to be transformed.

Finally, the quote at the end of Burns’ talk is something which I think everyone should take on board –

“A compassion that stands in awe at the burdens the poor have to carry rather than stands in judgement at the way they carry them”

If we all took a little bit of time, made a little bit more effort to connect with people, we can help change Scotland as a nation and assist in creating better wellbeing for all.

Reference:

TEDx Talks (2014) What Causes Wellness: Sir Harry Burns – TEDx Glasgow. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEh3JG74C6s (Accessed: 09 November 2015)

The Corner Dundee

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Organise a visit to The Corner in Dundee and find out about the work of the organisation, resources and how they link with schools.

Evidence: Write a reflective piece about the effectiveness of such an organisation for resources and teachers and find out how effective it is in meeting the needs of young people.

Unfortunately due to lack of time & staff, The Corner were unable to provide us with information about their service. After making initial contact through email to arrange a suitable time to go and visit we received a reply stating why this was not possible. This was understandable due to us recognising the pressures on such services during the current economic climate. We were informed that taking a look at their website should give us some quality information which we would likely get if popping down.

Link to website –

http://www.thecorner.co.uk/

The Corner Dundee

The Corner provides a variety of different health services, information & support for young people between the ages of 11 and 19 in the Dundee area. They offer a phone service (01382 206060) to a worker for those 20-25 years who can discuss the individuals needs and offer guidance to the most appropriate service. They provide a drop-in session to enable anyone with an issue they wish to discuss, to pop in at a time best suited for them. The opening times are:

Monday – Friday: 2pm – 6pm
Saturday: 1pm – 4pm

The workers recognise that every young person is different in how comfortable they are when they come through the doors, so it is really important that individuals understand the different services that are available and what happens when they go in. First, once you have “plucked up the courage to come through the doors, you’re welcomed by staff who will ask you to tick which service(s) you are in for. This is to protect the individual and keep their information confidential.”

The Drop-In Services provides support for issues such as –

Sexual Health
Mental Health
Support U/Individual Support
Drugs
Smoking
Alcohol
Housing
Youth Information
Exam Stress
Health Promotion
Sexting

Other services they provide:

Peer-led Services: principle that young people learn from and are influenced by their peers, both positively & negatively. Peer influence can have a huge effect on the lives of young people; how they act, how they feel about themselves and decisions they may make. The Healthy Transitions programme is delivered city-wide across Dundee and its contents is strongly influenced by young people. Healthy Transitions links with schools and also impacts on the wider community, with young people involved in passing on information and skills to fellow peers, family, friends & their communities. The programme also carries out peer-led interventions within the associated school cluster communities on a needs-led basis and this in turn has an impact on the community as a whole. Within this section, there are 3 aspects; Process, Accreditation and Peer-led Resources. More information about these can be found here.

Finally, The Corner offer an Outreach Service which enables practitioners working with young people to contact them to discuss the delivery of sessions on topics including sexual & mental health, drugs, alcohol, self esteem & body image. A request form can be completed and sent which enables a staff member to be allocated to give more information.

Recently, The Corner, which has about 150 new young people visiting every month, had an exciting Royal Visit whilst they were in Dundee promoting mental health.

The Website provides information for professionals and parents as well as young people and can be a valuable resource for those who feel that they want to seek some help or advice. Displaying their confidentiality policy enables the young people to feel they are in a safe environment in which they can share personal information.

As a professional, I feel encouraged that such a service is available for professionals to also seek advice on difficult issues which are important for young people. Having an awareness of this service enables me to feel confident in offering some guidance/support to any young person who I feel may find it beneficial. Furthermore, the work they do with other agencies and through their Outreach programme, is important in ensuring children and young people are provided with support for a wide range of needs.

I believe that having the opportunity to visit the Corner may have been more beneficial to my professional development, however it is just unfortunate that this was not available at this point in time. A possible visit in the future will be something I hope to do. This will enable me to have a discussion about all their services and what they can provide whilst asking questions to gain a better insight into The Corner’s Service.

Music & HWB 2

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Choose a piece of music and consider how you could use this in a HWB lesson about mental health.

Evidence: Write up a lesson outline plan (with learning intentions, success criteria, assessment and activities), include the music used. (1 hour)

In addition to the previous music task we completed, we felt that as a nice activity which could be done with a class of any stage to increase positive mental wellbeing amongst children and young people would involve them reflecting weekly on positive things in their life or something which has made them feel good during that week. I believe an activity like this would be beneficial as the children can look back on it whenever they feel unhappy or sad at any point.

This can be viewed as a word document:

Music Lesson Idea

Piece of Music –

I recently saw this picture of a worksheet being shared on a social media site. I thought I would add it in to show that something similar could be used if done with a class of your own –

Lets Talk Happiness

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Chat Happy

Along with two of my peers, we decided to go along to a workshop which was being delivered by Sharon Canning, Student Services at the Enquiry Centre attached to Dundee’s Union. This workshop was initially for students to find ways of coping with stress. However, whilst advertising the workshop in the Library’s main entrance Sharon stated that she could tweek aspects of the workshop to suit our interest in children’s wellbeing. This was due to her being grateful for us showing an interest in going along as the 1st session was not successful as no one turned up.

The workshop was very helpful to gather information about activities which have proved beneficial to young people who Sharon has worked with. We were provided with a variety of ideas of things to do with children in the classroom to help them cope with daily life and anything which may be getting on top of them.

For example: writing a problem down, scrunching it up and throwing it the bin – making a decision that you wont let it bother you anymore; emotion charts – at different points of the day, weekly etc.; Desert Island Activity – helps identify what children appreciate/makes them happy; postcard activity – choose 2/3 postcards and say why chose them (feelings, likes/dislikes); colouring (stress relieving/escape); laughter; carousel music playing – everyone has a choice (increasing happiness in classroom); blue dog – if carry a problem around it just gets bigger; diaries; walks – getting out in fresh air and many other suggestions and ideas which were shared. We were also directed to the work of Gretchen Rubin – Happiness Project, more information about this can be found on her website: http://gretchenrubin.com/

workshop 2 The important message which came from this workshop was that it is vital to deal with whatever is bothering the children (ourselves) in order to ensure that minor worries do not snowball into bigger issues which are more difficult to deal with. Ensuring that we are talking and communicating with children and young people is key to providing opportunities for them to share their thoughts/concerns with those who can offer support and guidance.

The workshop also provided opportunities to learn of services which are available to practitioners, children and young people. I therefore believe that taking some time out to go along to one of the sessions was very beneficial to my future practice on placement and beyond. It also followed on nicely from a mental health lecture which was delivered as part of the module. Given that Sharon is used to working with slightly older children and young people, it was very much appreciated that she took the time to offer some suggestions and advice to us.

Some leaflets we were provided with: