2. Learning Together –
Understand and respect others
Maintain confidentiality
Taking equality and diversity seriously
Commitment to learning
Time out

3. Sessions Aims
• To give an overview of mental health, in the
context of risk and resilience factors within
school
• To build a living brain!
• To identify practical strategies for helping to
build resilience within school, and to help
children to overcome mental health distress
• To introduce further sessions on supporting
children and addressing mental health in school

4. Exercise
Talk to person sitting next to you and briefly describe
a child who you know or who you believe is leading a
emotionally, mentally and healthy life.
What are the key characteristics of this child? Please
display these as thoughts or behavior's on the sheet
provided.

5. Definition of Mental Health
Mental health is …having the capacities of:
The ability to develop
psychologically, emotionally, intellectually and spiritually
The ability to initiate, develop and sustain mutually satisfying
personal relationships
The ability to become aware of others and empathize with
them
The ability to use psychological distress as a developmental
process. HAS, 1995)

6. Another Definition of Mental Health
When looking at mental health we need to take into account emotional well-
being; happiness; integrity & creativity; the capacity to cope with stress and
difficulty.
Mental health, in effect refers to the capacity to live a full, productive life as
well as the flexibility to deal with its ups and downs. In children and young
people it is especially about the capacity to learn, enjoy friendships, to meet
challenges, to develop talents and capabilities. (YoungMinds, 1996)

7. Young People’s View of Mental Health
The young people identified five main factors as contributing to mental health:
Having people to talk to
Personal achievement, and
Feeling good about yourself
Pets, presents and having fun .
Friends and family
were seen as making young people feel secure,
supported and wanted and conversely as preventing feelings of isolation.
(Armstrong, Hill &Secker, 1998)

8. The Continuum
Mental Mental Mental Mental
health distress health illness
difficulty
Emotional Emotional social
Wellbeing and behavioural
difficulties

9. Classification of mental disorders
Emotional disorders
phobias, anxiety states and
depression
Conduct disorders
stealing, defiance, fire
setting, aggression, & anti social
behaviour
Hyperkinetic disorders disturbance of activity and attention
Developmental disorders
(general, pervasive or specific)
For example; learning
disability, ASD, delay in acquiring
certain skills e.g. speech and
language

10. Classification of mental disorders
Eating disorders
pre-school eating
problems, anorexia nervosa, bulimia
nervosa
Habit disorders tics, sleeping problems, soiling
Post traumatic syndromes
Effects of witnessing or experiencing
traumatic event(s) e.g. disaster or
abuse
Somatic disorders chronic fatigue syndrome
Psychotic disorders
schizophrenia, bi-polar
disorder, psychoses including drug
induced psychoses

11. Prevalence
One child in five (around 20%) display a mental health problem.
10% of children have diagnosable disorder
Greater in the upper age group
Level increasing over time (for some disorders)
Differences across ethnic groups
Differences between family types
Variations with household income

12. Prevalence of any mental disorder by age and sex

13. Prevalence of emotional disorders by age and sex

14. Prevalence of conduct disorders by age and sex

15. Prevalence of hyperkinetic disorders by age and sex

16. Prevalence of any mental disorder by gross weekly
household income

17. Build a Living Brain
• This activity is great for demonstrating to children
and young people how their brains function at
times of stress
• It’s a powerful reminder that they can take
ownership of their brain power and they can learn
adaptive ways of responding to fight or flight
situations

19. Risk Factors in the Family
• Overt parental conflict
• Family breakdown
• Inconsistent or unclear discipline
• Hostile or rejecting relationships
• Failure to adapt to a child’s changing needs
• Physical, sexual or emotional abuse
• Parental psychiatric illness
• Parental criminality,
• Alcoholism or personality disorder
• Death and loss – including loss of friendship

20. Risk and Resilience Factors
• Risk factors can occur within the
community – including the school, the
family and the child, and decrease a
child’s life chances
• Resilience factors can occur within the
community including the school, the
family and the child, and increase a
child’s life chances

21. Risk Factors in the Child
• Specific learning difficulties
• Communication difficulties
• Specific development delay
• Difficult temperament
• Physical illness especially if chronic and or
• neurological
• Academic failure
• Low self-esteem
• Peer relationship problem

22. Risk Factors in the Community
• Social-economic
• Disadvantage
• Housing problems
• Disaster
• Discrimination
• Other significant life events
• Neighborhood conflict
• Deviant peer group

23. Resilience Factors in the Child
• Secure early relationships
• Being female
• Good intellectual ability
• Easy temperament when an infant
• Positive attitude, problem solving approach
• Good communications skills
• Planner, belief in control
• Humour
• Religious faith
• Capacity to reflect
• High self-esteem & self confidence
• Positive social influence including close peer relationships

24. Resilience Factors: in the
Community
• Wider supportive network
• Good housing
• High standards of living
• High morale school with positive policies for
behaviour, attitudes and anti-bullying
• Schools with strong academic and non-
academic opportunities
• Range of positive sport/ leisure activities

25. Resilience Factors: in the Family
• At least one close and affectionate parent-child
relationship
• Clear, firm and consistent discipline
• Support for education
• Supportive long term relationship/absence of
severe discord

26. The Resilience Rucksack
• This resilience rucksack contains symbols of
ordinary magic which represent schools as
therapeutic communities

27. Map
• The longest journey starts with a single step
• Help and model planning a day – it develops a
cerebral response as it helps to work out where the
dangers are and how to manage them
• It gives a sense of purpose

28. Trainers
• Exercise reduces cortisol
• It provides a channel for energy and an avenue
for success
• It can teach perseverance
• It can be great for building alliances with hard to
reach kids

29. Professor Dumbledore – the teacher
• Recent research shows that good teaching and
good learning is one of the powerful tools in
promoting mental health
• Do what you do well and the pupil benefits

30. Rope
• We need to link with others
• The need to belong is a fundamental human need
• Exclusion produces a sensation in the brain
similar to that of physical pain

31. An anchor
• We need a secure base from which to explore the
world
• Vulnerable children need to know where they turn
to in times of crisis
• Where can kids feel safe in school?

32. A chill out CD
• We need to learn to relax
• It needs to be programmed into our brains as well
as our hectic lives
• For those with heightened sense of danger they
need explicit exercises to teach self regulation and
self calming

33. • You can’t change children’s lives but you can
help them to cope with the life they have

34. Snakes and ladders- going
down……..
• In groups identify some of the factors within your
school which may contribute to a downward
spiral. These could relate to your own wellbeing
as well as that of the pupils – it could relate to
institutional practice

35. Snakes and Ladders – going up……..
• In groups, identify some of the factors within
your school and within your dealings with young
people which promote resilience

36. What helps - Anxiety
Prevention - A number of causes of general anxiety in childhood can be prevented
by sensible handling
For illogical fears that are not quite phobias, simple explanations and reassurance
will help many children gradually get over them
Detailed interview with child and family
Look to other agencies for interventions eg Educational Psychologists or
Education Socal Workers if anxiety is about school, social workers if about home
life

37. What helps - Anxiety
Talking to or helping children and parents to understand how the problem has
developed
Specific fears are usually treated by helping children confront their fear in a way
and at a pace that they can manage eg carefully planning a gradual return to
school if the anxiety is school based
Teaching relaxation
Help children talk through their anxieties using drawing or play

38. What helps - Depression
About 10% of children and young people with depression recover spontaneously
within 3 months
Be able to determine, recognise and assess those with depression
Ensure timely information is available on the nature, cause and treatment in all
local languages
(NICE, 2005)
Ask sympathetically how they are and listen to the response
Encourage them to remain active
Praise all efforts
(Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1999; YoungMinds)

39. What helps - Hyperactivity
Learn about hyperactivity and what it means
Give structure and encourage regular routine
Give clear instructions, sufficient time to complete tasks
Provide a variety of physical activity
Reward any achievements
(HASCAS, 2004)

40. What helps – conduct disorder
All approaches are grounded in respect for the child
Empathy, attention and involvement, play, problem-solving, listening, talking.
Praise any achievements and reward them
Encouragement
Clear limits and consistent rules with consistent follow-through
Ignore negative behavior, distract from negative behavior (positive verbal
redirection) and use re-engagement strategies
Remind of expected behavior and warn of consequences
Use consequences

41. What else helps children’s and young people’s mental
health?
Adults being self-aware
Feeling helpless/angry/rejected
Learn from your experiences
Respect their view even if an alternative adult view is presented
Understanding
Them
Their peer group
Their developmental stage/age
Their life circumstances

42. What else helps children’s and young people’s mental
health?
Listening
Actively
Open questions
Warmth and empathy
Take account of cultural issues
Never promise to keep a secret
Child protection procedures
Emotional language

43. What else helps children’s and young people’s mental
health?
Boundaries
Knowing what they can and can’t do
Be consistent
Expect challenge
Skill Development
Enabling children and young people to improve their mastery of stressful situations