School Mental Health The Australian Experience

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School Mental Health The Australian Experience

• Linking Mental Health Education
• Danielle Maloney
• School-Link Coordinator,
• Sydney South West Area Health Service
• President, Australian Health Promoting Schools
  Association

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Emotional well-being
Resilience
Connectedness
Opportunities
Skills
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ResilienceSkills

• Problem solving
• Help seeking
• Communication
• Negotiation

Young People who are resilient have developed
skills and attitudes that enable them to cope
with sadness, disappointments, as well as other
traumas and difficulties
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Belonging

• Feeling a part of a place
• Recognised for who you are
• An eye will be kept on you and you will look out
  for others
• Where you are visible and relied upon

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Health Promoting Schools Framework

Organisation, Ethos Environment
Curriculum Teaching Learning
Partnerships Services
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The culture of a school is an important
determinant of the mental health of its
inhabitants
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Whole of School programs
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http//cms.curriculum.edu.au/mindmatters/
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Mind Matters

• Whole of school approach
• Various modules suitable for all years
• Takes into account needs of staff, students and
  community
• Delivered by teachers
• National infrastructure

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MIND MATTERS - MODULES

• Mapping and Managing Mental Health
• Educating for Life
• Enhancing Resilience
• Bullying and Harassment
• Understanding Mental Illness
• Loss and Grief

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Positive Outcomes Mind Matters

• Student learning
• Student welfare
• Staff welfare
• Staff attitudes
• School policies

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http//www.apapdc.edu.au/kidsmatter/
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World Health Organisation model for school
mental health promotion
Who is involved?
Entire school community
Students needing additional mental health
intervention
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Universal Programs
APEEL (A Partnership Encouraging Effective
learning)
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Indicated programs
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http//www.goodgrief.org.au/seasonsforgrowth/sfgho
me.htm
Adolescents Coping with Emotion (ACE)
Get Lost Mr Scary
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School-Link Initiative
Link between Mental Health Services and Education
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Aims of School Link

• To improve the mental health of children,
  adolescents and young people in NSW.
• To improve the partnership between child and
  adolescent mental health services and their local
  schools and TAFE colleges.

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Focus areas of School-Link

• Promotion, Prevention
• Early intervention
• Service access

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World Health Organisation model for school
mental health promotion
Who is involved?
Entire school community
Students needing additional mental health
intervention
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What has made this partnership a success

• High level of support
• Recognition of the seriousness of the problem
• Everything conducted jointly
• Working on many levels with the school

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School-Link has

• Established a strong partnership between health
  and education at all levels
• Raised the awareness of child and adolescent
  mental health issues
• Made gains in the area of prevention and early
  intervention

The next challenge is to maintain and build on
the momentum and the foundations established.
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Things to think about when running programs
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Degree of risk
Understanding Adolescents Determining degree of
risk

• Well adjusted
• Vulnerable
• Experimenter
• Troubled
• Out of control

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Promoting Mental Health is not only about what is
taught, it is also about how it is taught