Lesson 1: What is mental health?
Introduction The aim of the session is to establish understanding and build upon existing knowledge. It provides the pupils with an opportunity to ask questions, challenge stigma, and develop better coping strategies for their own mental and emotional wellbeing. “Children who are troubled cannot flourish” (Place2b, 2011) Pupils are encouraged to explore the subject of mental ill health. Resources – Flip chart and pens – Photocopied continuum pages and gingerbread case studies – Access to the internet Aims – To establish understanding of mental health – To discuss the impact of language on stigma and discrimination – To explore the Mental Health Continuum – To develop case studies to enable safe discussion around issues Method Starting the session: What is mental health? There are some suggested ground rules at the start of the section, however, teachers and support staff are advised to establish their own so that the class has ownership of them. The teacher then starts the session by asking the group to consider what mental health means to them and then facilitates some feedback. Pupils are encouraged to be open and honest about their views, although it might prove necessary for the teacher to refer back to the ground rules to
ensure everyone feels safe. It is highly likely that, within the classroom, either pupils themselves have experienced some difficulties or they may have family members with mental health issues. Care and consideration are key here. Option to show a film clip: Time to Change – The Stand Up Kid You can find this by searching Time to Change – The Stand Up Kid on YouTube. Make sure you turn on closed captions when showing the film. Pupils can then be asked for their views on the film. How did it make them feel? Were they surprised by any of the content and the reaction by other class members? Activity: Stigma and language The purpose of this activity is to discover acceptable language that can be used to discuss and describe mental ill health, and the negative phrases to avoid. Split pupils into groups and give them each a sheet of paper with the phrases from the next page on it. Ask pupils to read the phrases and put a tick next to the ones their group thinks are acceptable (neutral or positive) and a cross next to the ones their group thinks are unacceptable (judgemental or negative). Ask pupils to put a question mark next to any phrases they are unsure of to discuss as a whole group.
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