Mental Health Workshops

Deliver a peer-led lived experience of mental health difficulties and recovery to participants, and educate them on the importance of mental health to our overall wellbeing.

One of our deliverers will share their story of having experienced mental health issues, and receiving counselling at No5. We’ll look at how and why our mental health is as important as our physical health, and how they affect each other. Participants will be given the opportunity to tell ‘their story’ via a timeline exercise.

Participants will:

• Benefit from peer-led education
• Better understand “mental health” and “mental health difficulties”, and how they differ
• Be introduced to mental health as something that we all have, like physical health
• Learn that experiencing mental health difficulties is nothing to be ashamed of
• Think about their own lives and how their experiences shape them as people
• Gain knowledge in how to look after their mental health

Support young people to enjoy social media in healthy and productive ways, by identifying online pressures, risks and ways to keep safe.

There are lots of benefits of social media and living in the digital age. But how do young people protect themselves whilst spending time online? Focussing on cyberbullying, sexting, grooming and what we share online, we explore how to protect ourselves and what to do if things go wrong. A handout, listing up-to-date privacy and location settings across the major social media platforms, and how to set them up, is provided an explained as part of this workshop.

Your participants will:

• Benefit from peer-led education and resources
• Understand the risks faced by young people on social media platforms
• Gain insight into the pressures of social media and how to navigate them
• Know what the law says about sexting and grooming
• Learn ways to look after themselves online
• Be able to locate and change privacy and location settings on social media accounts to protect themselves online

Looking at the relationship between poor body image and social media use, we aim to enable young people to start situating their self-worth within their whole selves, and not simply their appearance.

From Snapchat and Insta filters, to Photoshopped celebrities, we’re surrounded by unrealistic representations of the human body. We examine how social media impacts body image and look at the effects of negative body image on ourselves and society. We aim to empower young people with the idea that how they look is not the most important thing about them, and provide a ‘10 top tips to help build better body image’ handout.

Your participants will:

• Benefit from peer-led education and resources
• Learn ways that social media can negatively affect their view of themselves
• Know the differences between positive and negative body image
• Be shown how to think critically about the images that are shown in the media and online
• Gain knowledge of ways to improve self-esteem
• Have examined current examples of photo editing and manipulation
• Spend time thinking about aspects of themselves that they like, not related to appearance

Tackle gender stereotypes and expectations that create barriers for young people and their mental wellbeing.

Participants will learn about the gendered expectations, myths and stereotypes in how young people ‘deal’ with feelings and emotions; such as “man up”. We’ll explore why this might be, what we can do about it, and demonstrate the impact of this on young mental health and suicide rates.

Your participants will:

• Benefit from peer-led education and resources
• Learn myths and facts around gender-based inequalities in mental health
• Understand the impact of gender stigma on young people
• explore their own attitudes to gender in mental health
• Gain knowledge of the impact and outcomes of these issues on young people’s mental health
• Challenge gender stereotypes that effect young people’s ability to get support

Enable young people to develop positive attitudes towards relationships in order to reduce risk of abuse and sexual violence, and equip them with skills to engage in healthy relationships.

Participants will learn key elements of healthy relationships by identifying the difference between healthy and unhealthy behaviours, examine boundaries and trust, and gain tips for healthy communication skills. We’ll also look at facts and myths around consent in sexual relationships, and how greater awareness helps young people to handle close relationships with less risk of being harmed or harming others.

Your participants will:

• Benefit from peer-led education and resources
• Be more able to identify the components of a healthy relationship and early warning signs of an unhealthy relationship
• Gain awareness of the scale and impact of abuse and sexual violence
• Learn what the law says about consent, abuse and sexual violence
• Be able to look critically at common myths around victim blaming and perpetrator excusing
• Be better able to negotiate and communicate effectively in relationships
• Be able identify/signpost appropriate support

Tackle mental health stigma in young people and raise awareness of the need to support one another.

We’ll look at mental health stigma faced by young people, and the loneliness this can cause. Participants will learn about the importance of maintaining both their physical and mental health, looking after themselves and looking out for others, and how we can challenge stigma in our local and online communities.

Your participants will:

• Benefit from peer-led education and resources
• Develop an understanding of types of stigma and the importance of language we use about mental health
• Understand the impact of stigma on young people
• Be able to articulate the important difference between mental health and mental illness
• Explore their own attitudes to mental health stigma
• Learn about myths around mental health/mental health difficulties
• Understand that changeable levels of mental wellbeing are a normal part of life experience
• Feel more confident to talk about mental health

Educate young people about the current climate, how it might impact their mental health and things they can do about it.

We will explore the current climate young people live in and learn what climate change and climate anxiety are.  We aim to empower young people to be able to take positive action around climate change and be able to identify how the climate may be making them feel. This will be achieved through group and individual activities, discussions and take-away resources.

Your participants will:

• Benefit from peer-led education and resources
• Gain knowledge and understanding about environmental sustainability and climate change
• Learn and identify how climate anxiety may impact their emotions, as well as their mental health and wellbeing
• Be empowered to take positive action around climate change