First of its kind mental health education activity pack launched
By pack co-author Tristana Smith
Woking Mind has launched a first of its kind online Mental Health Activity Pack. It is the first free mental health 
education pack that does not require teachers to have any prior knowledge about mental health. Its production has required no funding. The pack can be downloaded for free from www.mentalhealtheducation.org.uk .
Chairman of Woking Mind, Professor David Rye said: "[Mental health problems] cost society over £100 billion in England alone. Countless individuals are prevented from making the positive contribution they otherwise might have... This pack gives people the information they need, and an understanding of what it is like to experience a mental health problem.”
"The pack focuses on allowing young people to understand and empathise with the experience of having a mental health problem. To help do this, the pack includes over 100 personal accounts about mental distress. Parts of the pack also explore the social and political issues surrounding mental health. We wanted to engage learners with active debate, not force them to passively learn facts and figures” explained co-author of the pack Lexy Rose, a student at the Institute of Psychiatry.
Work on the pack started in the summer of 2010. Ignorance and stigma are big problems. Ignorance stops people from knowing help exists. Stigma stops people seeking that help. Prejudice and discrimination deny people the opportunities they deserve. “60% of people with a mental health problem say the stigma is as bad as or worse than their symptoms. We wanted to do something about it" Lexy said.
"Since then many individuals with lived experience have contributed personal accounts. Researchers at Oxford University and the Royal College of Psychiatrists have checked the pack for accuracy, and given us a lot of useful ideas. Numerous mental health professionals and teachers have done the same. Surrey CAMHS [NHS child and adolescent mental health services] have been supportive throughout. Incredibly, everybody gave their time and expertise for free" Lexy continued.
The pack contains six modules: An Introduction to Mental Health; Depression and Anxiety; Self Harm; Addictive Behaviours; Eating Disorders; and Psychosis. Teachers choose which topics to cover, and which activities to use. Teacher activity plans contain all the information needed to teach the activities. Formatted student activity sheets can be downloaded. The pack fits into the Key Stage 4 PSHE (Personal Social Health and Economic education) curriculum.
One 22 year old service user felt “if my school had used this pack, it might not have taken me seven years to seek help. I might not have missed countless days of school, and constantly underperformed." One in ten young people have a mental health problem. Mental health problems are associated with lower educational attainment, and an increased chance of a young person becoming NEET (not in education, employment, or training).
The pack has undergone a thorough review process. It has been scrutinised by mental health professionals, teachers, academic researchers, service users, young people, and carers. One reviewer, Godalming College Psychology teacher William Baldwin, said “Interactive, informative and easy to use. These resources are a must if we are to break the stigma and lack of understanding that surrounds mental health issues.”
Adolescence is a key phase in growing up. Teenagers and young adults face many important life events. They take exams, start university or begin a career, and establish an independent home. Mental health problems can derail all of those things, especially if ignorance and stigma prevent people seeking help. Lexy ended by saying “Young people need to learn about mental health. This pack allows them to be taught. We want this pack to make a difference. The stigma has to stop.”
