In-school mental health and wellbeing programs should align with your schools existing strategies and policies. Should your school wish to implement programs associated with the My Mind Check domains, options are provided.
Suitable for all or any student (typically delivered in large groups) in the school within the nominated age range, regardless of their My Mind Check outcome. These are typically programs that emphasise skill building and focus on prevention.
Suitable for individuals or small groups of students who may need or want support within a mental health and wellbeing domain, i.e. those who were flagged vulnerable (amber) or struggling (red) via My Mind Check.
Universal programs – Whole School/ Year Level
Targeted programs – Individual or Small Groups
Supporting youth mental health
You may have some concerns for one of your students and you’re curious about what options are available to support them. Perhaps your student has recently scored high on one of the domains in My Mind Check.
My Mind Check has applied stringent guidelines when selecting programs and resources, sourcing fact sheets from reputable Australian government supported organisations.
Students with anxiety may feel worried or tense, and they may fear certain situations or objects, even trying to avoid them. Anxiety may significantly affect their life, impacting their ability to learn and engage in the classroom, and affect their relationships with family, friends and school staff.
Attention relates to how students focus on day-to-day, ordinary tasks and their ability to concentrate on a task without being distracted, effectively switch attention between tasks and their ability to sustain their attention. It can also relate to their activity levels during activities and tasks.
Students can often have brief periods of feeling sad and down following life events and challenges. Feeling down, irritable and being withdrawn for longer periods of time, and losing interest in their appearance and usual enjoyable activities could signify a longer-term problem with mood.
Body image and eating difficulties can impact physical health, growth and development, emotional wellbeing and overall quality of life. It is common for males and females of all ages and body types to experience body image concerns and to feel less confident.
Friendships and peer interactions can be a normal, and sometimes challenging, part of growing up. Effectively communicating the distinction between typical, occasional peer relationship difficulties versus peer victimisation is crucial in supporting students through challenging times.
Internalising problems refer to difficulties students may have in managing negative thoughts and feelings such as excessive anxiety, feeling sad or lonely, or being overly self-critical. For some students these negative thoughts and feelings may start to impact their life, affecting their ability to learn and engage in the classroom, and relationships with family, friends and school staff.
Externalising problems refer to difficulties students may experience with regulating their attention and managing their emotions and behaviours. Students with externalising problems may be easily distracted, have trouble concentrating and following teacher instructions, and may be irritable or easily angered.