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See Me is Scotland's Programme to tackle mental health stigma and discrimination.

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See Me is Scotland's Programme to tackle mental health stigma and discrimination. We are funded by Scottish Government and Comic Relief and are managed by SAMH and The Mental Health Foundation. This section of the site tells you all about who we are and what we do.

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Would you know how to help?

One in ten young people experience a mental health issue at any one time. Suicide is the leading cause of death for those aged 5-19.

In an average group of 30 15-year-olds:

Record levels of young people are struggling. Academic pressure, social media, bullying, poverty, lack of availability of professional mental health support - all have been named by various sources as contributing to this epidemic of poor mental health in our young people.

It's clear that young people are not getting the support they need. Key figures in a young person's life - parents, family members, teachers, tutors, carers, youth workers - can often spot when a young person is struggling but may not know how best to help.

Learn to support young people

Youth Mental Health First Aid (MHFA®) courses are for everyone who works with, lives with or supports young people aged 8-18. They will teach you the skills and confidence to spot the signs of mental health issues in a young person, offer first aid and guide them towards the support they need. In doing so, you can speed up a young person's recovery and stop a mental health issue from getting worse.

Our courses won't teach you to be a therapist, but we will teach you to listen, reassure and respond, even in a crisis - and even potentially stop a crisis from happening.

But more than that, we aim to give you the information and skills to look after your own mental health so that you can set an example for young people. By giving you the tools to have these conversations, we hope to empower you to create a mentally healthy, supportive environment in your family, school, peer group or community.

Let's create a future where mental health is treated as a normal part of life, in the same way as physical health. A future where every young person has access to support if they need it.

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QVS MENTAL HEALTH CHAMPIONS  GOOGLE DRIVE 

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QVS MENTAL HEALTH CHAMPIONS  GOOGLE DRIVE 

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BTP | Small Talk Saves Lives - Commuters and public acting to help prevent suicide

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BTP | Small Talk Saves Lives - Commuters and public acting to help prevent suicide

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Figures released today (7 November) show a 20% increase* in the number of times the public has acted to prevent suicide in the rail environment.

Following the launch of Small Talk Saves Lives by Samaritans in partnership with British Transport Police (BTP), Network Rail and the wider rail industry late last year, new figures reveal that there were 163 interventions by members of the public between January and September this year - a 20% increase compared with 2017.* It means around 1 in 10 interventions are by the public.

The figures coincide with the launch of a new phase of Small Talk Saves Lives, which emphasises how each of us has all the experience we need to help save a life. If we notice someone who may be at risk, the same small talk we use every day is enough to interrupt someone's suicidal thoughts and encourage them to get help. So, trust your instincts and start a conversation; you can't make things worse.

That's the message in a new campaign video and a special station announcement for rail commuters across the UK, voiced by TV and radio presenter, Gaby Roslin. She's backing Small Talk Saves Lives after stopping to talk to someone in a park when she noticed something wasn't right. Gaby said:

"The little conversations we have every day can be all that's needed to interrupt suicidal thoughts. Once you know that you have the power to make a difference, you're more likely to step in and do something. I wanted to get involved in the Small Talk Saves Lives campaign after noticing someone in a park and trusting my instincts. Just a few words can have a huge impact."
Gillian Assor from Hertfordshire helped save a life while out walking her dog with her husband near their home one evening.
"It was getting dark and as we were walking I noticed a young man, he was bent over and sobbing, and in a place where he could have come to harm. I couldn't just walk past him. I said, 'Excuse me, are you okay?' And he replied straightaway, 'No, I'm not'.

Gillian carried on talking to the young man. He gradually became calmer and eventually called his parents, who came to take him home. A few weeks later, he contacted Gillian through social media and she and her husband went to meet him. "You saved my life," he said.

Small Talk Saves Lives was developed after research showed passengers could have a key role to play in suicide prevention, along with the thousands of rail staff and British Transport Police now trained by Samaritans.** For every life lost on the railway, six are saved by those around them.***

Samaritans CEO Ruth Sutherland, said: "It's really heartening to see more members of the public feeling they have the confidence and knowledge to act if they're worried about someone, and we're grateful for their support. Suicide is preventable and any one of us could have an opportunity to save a life. And a study shows some of us make small talk more than ten times a day.****

"A phrase as simple as, 'I can't believe this weather', could be enough to interrupt a person's suicidal thoughts. Even if small talk doesn't come naturally to you, if something doesn't feel right, please try to start a conversation. There's no evidence you'll make things worse."

Jackie Doyle-Price, Minister for Mental Health, Inequalities and Suicide Prevention, said: "It's easy to understand why people might feel uncomfortable or shy about approaching a stranger when they notice something is not quite right. But, when you realise speaking up could have the power to save someone's life, our own personal discomfort quickly seems insignificant.

"It's promising to see the success of the Small Talk Saves Lives campaign so far and I look forward to seeing it continue to make a real difference."

Head of Suicide Prevention at Network Rail, Ian Stevens, said: "We're working hard across the rail industry to inform both our staff and customers of the important role they can play in suicide prevention, not only on the railway but in their communities too. One life lost is one too many; we want to highlight how suicidal thoughts can be interrupted, and that people can and do recover. Realising another person cares enough to stop and talk to you can make all the difference. It can be the first step on that road to recovery."

British Transport Police Chief Constable, Paul Crowther, national strategic policing lead for suicide prevention, said: "We know from our officers' experiences that when someone is at risk on the railway, simply engaging them in conversation can make all the difference and help set them on the road to recovery. Together with Network Rail and Samaritans, we're highlighting to the public that the small talk the public do so naturally every day really can help. We're also encouraging those who don't feel comfortable or safe to intervene to tell a member of rail staff or a police officer - many of whom have been trained by Samaritans - or call 999."

Small Talk Saves Lives encourages rail passengers to notice what may be warning signs, e.g. a person standing alone and isolated, looking distant or withdrawn, staying on the platform a long time without boarding a train or displaying something out of the ordinary in their behaviour or appearance. There is no single sign or combination of behaviours that mean a person is suicidal but, if something doesn't feel right, the message is to act.

The emphasis is on responding in ways people feel comfortable and safe with. Different courses of action are suggested, depending on the situation and the response. They range from approaching the person and asking them a question to distract them from their thoughts to involving other passengers, alerting a member of rail staff or calling the police. Physical interventions are not recommended.

Samaritans volunteers will be out in force at stations across the UK to help promote the campaign.

Find out more about Small Talk Saves Lives at: www.samaritans.org/smalltalksaveslives. You can also support by following the campaign @samaritanscharity on Instagram or sharing the video on Twitter @samaritans or Facebook at www.facebook.com/samaritanscharity, using the hashtag #SmallTalkSavesLives.

*Due to the link between certain types of media reporting and increases in suicide rates, please note Samaritans' Media Guidelines for Reporting Suicide and Rail Suicide factsheet.

**Source: British Transport Police data of reported life-saving interventions by members of the public between Jan-Sept 2017 vs Jan-Sept 2018

***Source: Why do people take their lives on the railways in Great Britain? A research study. Marzano et al. 2016, Middlesex University London & University of Westminster. Summary available on request.

****In 2016/17, there were 6.7 potentially life-saving interventions made for every suicide or suspected suicide on the railway. Figures calculated using data from the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) and British Transport Police (BTP).

*****Source: Small Talk Saves Lives online survey conducted by 3GEM for Samaritans, Network Rail and British Transport Police, October 2018, based on 1000 UK adults.

*Samaritans works in partnership with the rail industry and British Transport Police (BTP) to reduce suicides on the railway. This includes training railway employees and BTP staff to look out for and offer support to people who may be suicidal and working in the wider community to promote help-seeking behaviour. To date, almost 18,000 rail staff and BTP officers have been trained in suicide prevention.

*Find out more at: https://www.samaritans.org/corporate/rail-industry-suicide-prevention-programme

*Anyone can contact Samaritans for free in confidence any time from any phone on 116 123, even a mobile without credit, and the number won't show up on your phone bill. Or email jo@samaritans.org or go to www.samaritans.org to find details of your nearest branch where you can talk to one of their trained volunteers face to face.

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Small Talk Saves Lives - Commuters and public acting to help prevent suicide

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Figures released today (7 November) show a 20% increase* in the number of times the public has acted to prevent suicide in the rail environment.

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(158) I had a black dog, his name was depression - YouTube

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(158) I had a black dog, his name was depression - YouTube

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I had a black dog, his name was depression

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Eleanor Longden: The voices in my head | TED Talk

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Eleanor Longden: The voices in my head | TED Talk

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To all appearances, Eleanor Longden was just like every other student, heading to college full of promise and without a care in the world. That was until the voices in her head started talking. Initially innocuous, these internal narrators became increasingly antagonistic and dictatorial, turning her life into a living nightmare. Diagnosed with schizophrenia, hospitalized, drugged, Longden was discarded by a system that didn’t know how to help her. Longden tells the moving tale of her years-long journey back to mental health, and makes the case that it was through learning to listen to her voices that she was able to survive.

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Struggling with an eating disorder? Caring for someone who is? Beat is here to support you.

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Mylemarks | Therapeutic worksheets for kids and teens

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Resources on this page are free for unlimited download and use. The selling of these worksheets is prohibited. Content and illustrations are copyrighted by Mylemarks LLC. Illustrations are not to be extracted from any of the resources provided. The Mylemarks logo and copyright information is not to be removed or hidden. Resources on this page are not to be presented on any other website without permission. If you have any questions regarding the use of these worksheets, contact mylemarks@gmail.com.

​[Click on image to download file]

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FREE Therapeutic Worksheets for Kids and Teens

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Resources on this page are free for unlimited download and use. The selling of these worksheets is prohibited. Content and illustrations are copyrighted by Mylemarks LLC. Illustrations are not to be extracted from any of the resources provided. The Mylemarks logo and copyright information is not to be removed or hidden.

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It helps to talk about mental health | SAMH

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It helps to talk about mental health | SAMH

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Those were the words of Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson this week, as she spoke about her experience of depression as a student. It's a simple sentiment, but not one we have previously heard from a serving political leader in this country.

Both SAMH (Scottish Association for Mental Health) and See Me, the anti-stigma and discrimination programme for Scotland, continually encourage this kind of open debate about mental health - but we know it isn't easy. As a nation, we've made huge strides in recent years, but there's still stigma about mental health problems, so it's a big step for a leader to open up in this way.

We know that people find value in public figures sharing their mental health experiences. In a recent survey of SAMH supporters, over two thirds of people said it was helpful when public figures speak about their own experiences of mental health.

In the last few years, we've seen members of the Royal family, as well as prominent entertainers, politicians and business leaders, speak honestly about their mental health. It's really encouraging, and we hope that it will continue. It's helpful that more people are now speaking out about their mental health experiences, but we also need to make it easier for people to ask for and receive help at the time they need it.

See Me's Feels FM campaign recently found that only 26% of young people would tell someone if they were finding it difficult to cope. If people can ask for help early enough and get a compassionate, judgment free response then we can prevent some mental health problems arising.

And we shouldn't assume, just because more people are talking about mental health in general, that it's easy an easy thing to do. It's a step into the unknown, with no certainty about how people will react. And it's irrevocable - once the information is out there, you can't take it back. Sadly we hear of many stories of discrimination in school, work and health services so it's not surprising that is still difficult to do.

That's why See Me and SAMH want to thank everyone who speaks about their mental health. We especially want to thank everyone who volunteers across all of our work to share their own experiences of mental health problems, show that recovery is real and that change is possible . Every day, across Scotland, our volunteers speak to companies, radio stations and communities they've never been to before, in front of people they've never met, and talk honestly about the most difficult time in their lives. Every day, across Scotland, our volunteers blog, tweet, Instagram and talk about their distress, their pain and their fear - and, just as importantly, about their hope, support and recovery.

It's not easy for anyone to talk about mental health - but every person who does it makes it a little bit easier for the next person. So thank you to every single person who feels able to be open about their experiences. Together, we are making change.

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It helps to talk about mental health | SAMH

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Those were the words of Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson this week, as she spoke about her experience of depression as a student. It's a simple sentiment, but not one we have previously heard from a serving political leader in this country.

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Bullying can happen to anyone at any time - at school, at home, in a text or on social media.
Here are a few ideas to help you if you're being bullied:

tell your friends, so they can look out for you and take your mind off it

talk to a teacher - the school has a duty to look after you and make sure you feel safe

block, delete or unfriend anyone who is bullying you on social media

keep a log about the times you are bullied, or save any messages you get. You can use them to report the bullying

remember that childline is there for you if you want to talk about it but don't know who to turn to.

Being bullied is always wrong, whether it happens once or lots of times. Get advice online. The respect me filmbelow is a good place to start.

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Bullying can happen to anyone at any time - at school, at home, in a text or on social media.

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MENTAL HEALTH SHAME

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The problem we have with talking about mental health is that we still don't think of it as an equal priority with physical health. This is wrong not simply because it leads to less money being spent on mental health service provision by governments, but also because it fails to see that the whole idea of mental health shouldn't be an isolated one.

As a species, we love to divide things up. We draw a straight line in a map between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans while the water remains oblivious. We also draw a line between the mental and physical and base our entire system of healthcare on that false division.

Once upon a time, the medical world detailed the makings of the human body by saying there were four distinct humours. Every single health complaint could be explained as an excess or deficiency of one of four distinct bodily fluids - black bile, yellow bile, phlegm and blood. And these in turn were related to the four elements, as well as the four seasons and the four ages of man.

If in those golden olden days you were feeling depressed, or melancholic, that was down to an overload of black bile. In fact, the very word melancholia, as with melancholy, stems via Latin from the ancient Greek words melas kholē, which literally meant "black bile". It seems funny, now, this idea. But in one way at least it was more advanced than much of our present approach. Namely, it did not see a rigid divide between physical and mental health. Mental illness was seen to have physical roots, and was associated with the four elements.

Now, of course, if you visit your doctor about persisting feelings of worthlessness and despair and the futility of existence they will be unlikely to talk of bile of any kind. But then, before we think we are at the end of progress, and have all the answers, we should remember that our doctors might not talk about your body at all.

And yet everything I have come to learn about my own experience of mental health and illness has taught me that this is also a mistake. Even if you have the idea that mental illness is solely an illness of the brain, the brain is a physical thing. The brain is the body. Mental health is physical health. Bodies and minds interact.

You can't draw a line between a body and a mind any more than you can draw a line between oceans

I would go even further. I don't want to get too cross-legged on a Himalayan mountain top, but mental health isn't just brain health. Mental health is intricately related to the whole body. And the whole body is intricately related to mental health. You can't draw a line between a body and a mind any more than you can draw a line between oceans.

It's comforting to realise that many cognitive scientists these days acknowledge this. Thoughts aren't just the products of brains, and vice versa. As Guy Claxton - himself a cognitive scientist - writes in Intelligence in the Flesh, "the body, the gut, the senses, the immune system, the lymphatic system, are so instantaneously and so complicatedly interacting with the brain that you can't draw a line across the neck and say 'above the line it's smart and below the line it's menial'." In short: "we don't just have bodies. We are bodies."

The word "holistic" is so often associated with scientifically dubious kinds of therapies, but the science is slowly leading us towards a more holistic view of minds and bodies, so our healthcare needs to acknowledge that. We need to realise the physical nature of mental illness and the mental nature of physical illness. Mental hospitals and physical hospitals should all be mental-physical hospitals (but maybe they should be called something catchier).

A happy side product of erasing the line between mind and body, a line that has been boldly drawn since Descartes, would be to destigmatise mental health by placing it on an equal footing with stigma-free physical issues such as asthma and arthritis. It would also lead to a better health service. If mental health was understood in physical terms, it would stop being the poor relation of health when it comes to government funding.

Ultimately, it wouldn't just help doctors and nurses to understand us better. It would also change the way we view ourselves. The idea that our minds are in our control, and that free will is all, still pervades, and makes people feel a kind of guilt or shame for being ill. A guilt that in itself exacerbates symptoms. We need to truly understand the way minds and bodies interact with each other, and how both are affected by the world.

So a new, more integrated, healthcare system would not only be good because it would help patients, it would also help anyone feeling distress to understand that there is no more shame to be felt than if they had tonsillitis. Illness is illness, and health is health. There can be no "mind over matter" when we understand that mind is matter.

* How to Stop Time by Matt Haig is published by Canongate. To order a copy for £7.99 (RRP £12.99) go to bookshop.theguardian.com or call 0330 333 6846. Free UK p&p over £10, online orders only. Phone orders min p&p of £1.99.
Topics

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Matt Haig: 'There is no more shame in mental illness than having tonsilitis'

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The problem we have with talking about mental health is that we still don't think of it as an equal priority with physical health. This is wrong not simply because it leads to less money being spent on mental health service provision by governments, but also because it fails to see that the whole idea of mental health shouldn't be an isolated one.

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Mobile technologies are the marmite of mental health: some people love them, others hate them, but most agree it's powerful stuff either way.

Mobile apps and websites promise instant, constantly available, anonymous and personalised access to support. This can be particularly helpful for people who are falling through the cracks of an increasingly overstretched healthcare system, or never get into it, for example due to stigma (Leigh et al, 2015).

Children and adolescents may pose a particularly suitable target since 20% have a diagnosable mental health problem and 75% of adult ill-health starts before age 18. The vast majority of young people have access to a smart device, are very accepting of mobile technology and may even feel more confident communicating online than in person.

Though health care providers report being very interested in mobile health, few are actually implementing mobile apps and websites to support treatment (Betton, 2016). One crucial barrier is the current lack of evidence for the acceptability, safety and effectiveness of mobile technologies. For example, while there are over 1,500 apps available on commercial app stores targeting depression, there are only 32 published articles (Martínez-Pérez et al, 2013).

How much evidence is there for the acceptability and effectiveness of mental health apps for children and adolescents? This is the question Grist and colleagues set out to answer in their recent systematic review (Grist et al, 2017).

Methods

The reviewers cast their net widely, including the usual host of medical databases plus 3 grey literature databases, in order to find all relevant English language publications between January 2008 and July 2016. They searched for feasibility and effectiveness/efficacy data on mobile apps that provided a mental health intervention and were used by children and adolescents younger than 18 years. Mental health was defined in a fairly narrow way, excluding neurodevelopmental disorders and substance abuse.

Results

The authors found 22 publications reporting data from about 15 apps. The most popular feature, found in 10 apps, was self-monitoring (e.g. symptoms, mood, meals). Only 1 app provided an active treatment ( computerised cognitive behavioural therapy), though a further 8 offered coping strategies and skills practice. There were no data on children under 9 years old.

An additional 6 apps were described in 2 overview articles, none of which had been subject to research evaluation. The authors noted that some of these apps did not reflect best practice guidelines and lacked privacy policies.

Effectiveness

Mental health outcome measures were only available for 3 apps

Case studies of 2 children with OCD using the Mayo Clinic Anxiety Coach alongside face-to-face therapy showed a reduction in symptoms over 3-4 months

An RCT of the Mobiletype app randomised participants to the intervention group (full app: monitoring mood, stress and daily activities) or the attention-comparison group (reduced app: with only daily activities monitoring). While there were significant reductions in depression, anxiety and stress scores over 6 weeks, there was no statistical difference between both groups

The Pretty trial was a laboratory based RCT where participants were randomised to rate weight status of models (treatment) or answer neutral questions about them (control) for 30 minutes. Neither app improved body satisfaction, but both increased self-esteem, with no significant difference between both apps.

Acceptability

Adherence rates were overall quite high (65 to 83%), and showed a decrease over time. One study found that app users were more compliant than a control group who used a pen and paper-based equivalent. There is no data on long-term app use (more than a few months)

Overall, apps were seen as easy to understand and use, efficient, and helpful. Most participants felt that privacy was sufficient and better than paper-based recording. In addition to having control over privacy settings, adolescents wanted apps to be discrete, easy to conceal and password protected to avoid stigma

Therapists highlighted concerns about privacy and security, increased responsibility and workload, and setting clear boundaries (e.g. how much communication and monitoring they can commit to). The greatest barrier was lack of technical confidence.

Conclusion

While there are indications that young people find mental health apps acceptable, there is currently no evidence to support their safety and effectiveness. The authors conclude there is an urgent need for methodologically robust, adequately powered research evaluating safety and effectiveness/efficacy. They also recommend including young people and therapists in the app design process to ensure apps are user-friendly and fit for purpose.

Strengths and limitations

This review is timely to help draw attention to the worrying lack of evidence for mobile health. According to this review, out of all available mental health apps for young people, only 3 have so far published any outcome measures, and none have managed to firmly establish their effectiveness. On the contrary, there are indications that there could be a fairly strong digital placebo effect. While a placebo effect isn't necessarily a problem, it should be taken into account when designing and interpreting studies given its potential impact on adherence and outcomes (Torous et al, 2016).

The field of mobile health in general currently has little evidence to support its promises. Despite the explosive growth of available apps, the evidence base has hardly increased in recent years. There are some examples of effective apps in adult mental health (see Donker et al, 2013), but most apps are created by digital agencies, who have no experience or incentive to generate robust evidence to support the use of their products. An additional problem is that most researchers agree that the traditional RCT is not well suited to mobile health, but have yet to reach consensus on an alternative design (Pham et al, 2016).

Another challenge for the field is to keep app users engaged. Support from a therapist has been shown to rescue declining adherence rates over time so they remain similar to face-to-face therapy (Grist et al, 2017), but this is not always a feasible option. Other promising options are using behaviour change techniques, social support (e.g. from family or peers), and co-designing an app with its target users. Unfortunately, these seem to be underused: Grist only reports 2 apps with a social support component and found no evidence to suggest that any app was designed specifically for, never mind with, young people.

Moreover, the majority of study participants were not diagnosed and had only mild symptoms, which may be appropriate for apps aimed at prevention but does not cover the entire target population for treatment. Patients with more severe symptoms may respond differently in terms of what they find acceptable and how they engage with the app, resulting in potentially different outcomes. This underscores the need to work with a representative population, both during the design and testing of apps.

Implications for practice

At this point in time, we're in uncharted waters. There are no guidelines on how to prescribe or use mobile health in clinical practice. Worse, there are currently no regulations to prevent potentially unsafe or ineffective apps from being published. A new NHS accreditation process is currently being tested, but it's not yet clear how and when this will be implemented.

We need a culture change, where apps are seen as a potentially valuable part of the medical prescription toolkit, just like other therapies and drugs. We should be open to the idea that, for many children, online is just as real and important as offline, if not preferred. We need to demand evidence for the safety, effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of apps, and where possible help collect it to guide new policies. Moreover, involving clinicians (as well as service users) in the design of apps from the very start can help ensure that the app is also user-friendly and feasible for therapists, not just patients. Therapist confidence and buy-in may be crucial to ensure that therapeutic alliance extends to digital products.

If you haven't done so already, start carefully sampling some of the new flavours out there; mobile health is here to stay and the sooner we harness its power safely, the better.

Conflicts of interest

Natalie Nelissen has briefly worked with Paul Stallard to evaluate a mental health app that he helped design and test as part of an NHS England sponsored programme.

Links

Primary paper

Grist R, Porter J, Stallard P. (2017) Mental Health Mobile Apps for Preadolescents and Adolescents: A Systematic Review. J Med Internet Res 2017 19(5) e176

Other references

Leigh S, Flatt S. (2015) App-based psychological interventions: friend or foe? Evidence-Based Mental Health 2015 18 97-99.

Mental health provider views about digital technologies in day-to-day practice

Martínez-Pérez B, de la Torre-Díez I, López-Coronado M (2013) Mobile Health Applications for the Most Prevalent Conditions by the World Health Organization: Review and Analysis. J Med Internet Res 2013 15(6) e120

No proof that 85% of mental health apps accredited by the NHS actually work

Torous J, Firth J. (2016) The digital placebo effect: mobile mental health meets clinical psychiatry (PDF). Lancet Psychiatry 2016 3(2) 100 - 102

Donker T, Petrie K, Proudfoot J, Clarke J, Birch MR, Christensen H. (2013) Smartphones for Smarter Delivery of Mental Health Programs: A Systematic Review. J Med Internet Res 2013 15(11) e247 h

Pham Q, Wiljer D, Cafazzo JA. (2016) Beyond the Randomized Controlled Trial: A Review of Alternatives in mHealth Clinical Trial Methods. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth 2016 4(3) e107

Photo credits

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Mental health apps for young people: an evidence-free zone? - National Elf Service

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Mobile technologies are the marmite of mental health: some people love them, others hate them, but most agree it's powerful stuff either way. Mobile apps and websites promise instant, constantly available, anonymous and personalised access to support.

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Through our work with young people, emergency response, homeless charities, and with veterans, we have seen time and time again that unresolved mental health problems lie at the heart of some of our greatest social challenges.

Too often, people feel afraid to admit that they are struggling with their mental health. This fear of prejudice and judgement stops people from getting help and can destroy families and end lives. Heads Together wants to help people feel much more comfortable with their everyday mental wellbeing and have the practical tools to support their friends and family.

Being the 2017 Virgin Money London Marathon Charity of the Year was the perfect springboard for the Heads Together campaign. Seeing hundreds of runners hitting the streets of London during the marathon to end the stigma and change the conversation on mental health once and for all was incredible!

Heads Together is a mental health initiative spearheaded by The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry, which combines a campaign to tackle stigma and change the conversation on mental health with fundraising for a series of innovative new mental health services.

Significant progress has been made to tackle stigma surrounding mental health in recent decades, but it still remains a key issue driven by negative associations, experience and language. Through this campaign, Their Royal Highnesses have built on the great work that is already taking place across the country, to ensure that people feel comfortable with their everyday mental well being, feel able to support their friends and families through difficult times, and that stigma no longer prevents people getting the help they need.

In April 2017 Heads Together was the charity of the year for the Virgin Money London Marathon, which became the first Marathon for Mental Health raising the profile of this important issue and inspiring people to talk about their own mental health for the first time.

From Autumn 2017, The Royal Foundation will roll out a range of new mental health programmes to ensure that the right help is available to anyone seeking mental health support, wherever they are and whenever they need it. This will include the development and use of digital technologies to transform signposting to appropriate support and improve the quality and availability of education about mental health. The Foundation will also be developing an instant access text messaging service for people in immediate need and will be supporting schools, employers and the military to implement comprehensive early intervention programmes.

The Heads Together campaign has been generously enabled by The Julia and Hans Rausing Trust.

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Through our work with young people, emergency response, homeless charities, and with veterans, we have seen time and time again that unresolved mental health problems lie at the heart of some of our greatest social challenges. Too often, people feel afraid to admit that they are struggling with their mental health.

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We've put together some suggested activities to kick-start your thinking. Every activity, no matter how big or small it may seem, contributes to our collective goal of tackling mental health stigma.

If you're running an event, we have lots of ideas for activities.

Suggested activities

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We've put together some suggested activities to kick-start your thinking. Every activity, no matter how big or small it may seem, contributes to our collective goal of tackling mental health stigma. If you're running an event, we have lots of ideas for activities.

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Many more school staff need to be trained to help pupils with their mental health problems, according to a leading charity.

A survey by the Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH) suggested two-thirds of teachers felt ill-equipped.

SAMH chief executive Billy Watson called on the Scottish government to create a programme this year to train all school staff in mental health.

Ministers are carrying out an audit of school-based counselling.

Mental Health Minister Maureen Watt said: "Every child and young person should have access to emotional and mental well-being support in school."

Mr Watson said teachers had shown an "appetite for engagement".

SAMH conducted an online survey between August and September last year, to which more than 3,000 school staff responded, including teachers, classroom assistants, janitorial, admin and catering staff.

It said 66% of those who responded did not feel they had received sufficient training in mental health to allow them to carry out their role properly.

Only 12% of teachers who responded felt they had adequate training in mental health.

Just 1% of respondents recalled doing detailed work on mental health when they were student teachers.

A third said their school had an effective way of responding to pupils experiencing mental health problems.

Mr Watson said the volume and the pace of the responses from school staff to the survey was "quite remarkable".

He said: "It tells us this is a really hot topic in schools and we can really make some difference in terms of the training that is available for all schools-based staff for the sake of our young people's mental health."

The charity chief claimed three children in every classroom experience a mental health issue before the age of 16 but often struggle to get the help they need.

He said this could affect their lives as adults.

There is currently no national strategy for how schools should deal with mental health.

The Scottish government said it had started a national review of personal and social Education - including consideration of the role of guidance and counselling in schools.

Mr Watson said the Scottish government was "well-intentioned" but he would like to see the action for training teachers in schools "accelerated".

The charity would also like to see counselling services across all Scotland's secondary schools by 2020.

Mental Health Minister Ms Watt added: "Education authorities and all those working in our schools have a responsibility to support and develop the mental well-being of pupils, with decisions on how to provide that support taken on the basis of local circumstances and needs.

"Some will provide access to school based counselling. Others will be supported by pastoral care staff and liaise with the Educational Psychological Services, family and health services for specialist support when required."

Mental health first-aiders

Scott Pennock, the head teacher at Wallace High School in Stirling, said his school had focused on mental and emotional health - training more than a dozen staff to be mental health first aiders and involving pupils as mental health champions.

He said: "It is really important that the culture within the school is one of wanting to talk about mental and emotional health and being more open about it so we can identify issues and address them."

The head teacher said his staff had embraced the training and did not find it an extra burden on top of their busy workload.

"All good teachers view pastoral care for pupils as the first part of their job," he said.

"Teachers understand that if they are supporting young people in their mental and emotional wellbeing then that is helping them to learn and to achieve.

"To me, mental health is at the core of the teacher's job and the core of their duties. It is not something you add on to it. I think our teachers genuinely see that and support it."

Pamela Steel, a PE teacher at the school as well as lead teacher for mental health, said she was driving the project with "passion".

She said: "Mental health first aiders are not trained as counsellors and we are not medically trained but we are there to support someone who is close to crisis or somebody who is just worried about how they are feeling.

"We can give them information or refer them to their GP or, most importantly, just give them time to talk about how they are feeling."

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School staff 'need mental health training'

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Many more school staff need to be trained to help pupils with their mental health problems, according to a leading charity. A survey by the Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH) suggested two-thirds of teachers felt ill-equipped. SAMH chief executive Billy Watson called on the Scottish government to create a programme this year to train all school staff in mental health.

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Health and Wellbeing - Wallace High School

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Steps For Stress - Stepsforstress - The Scottish Governments website for dealing with stress.

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Samaritans works to make sure there's always someone there for anyone who needs someone. Read more.

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Breathing Space is a free confidential service for people in Scotland. Open up when you're feeling down - phone 0800 83 85 87

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Breathing Space is a free, confidential phone and web based service for people in Scotland experiencing low mood, depression or anxiety.

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Your mental health | Mental Health Foundation

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Our 'your mental health' section includes practical advice for looking after your mental health, along with statistics, information about what mental health is, podcasts, videos and your stories.

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Whether you're living with a mental health problem or supporting someone who is, accessing information about a condition is vital. SAMH has developed a series of information resources for you.

Download our guide to understanding mental health problems.
Download guide

Steven's Story

Steven's mental health deteriorated after the loss of his wife, he felt like 'a jigsaw piece that didn't fit the puzzle.'
Read Steven's Story

Helping someone else

It can be difficult to see someone you care about becoming distressed and unwell but you don't need to be an expert on mental health to offer support.
Be there for someone

5 ways to improve your mental health

Evidence suggests there are five ways to improve our mental wellbeing: be active, connect, learn, give and take notice.
Learn more

You're not alone. We're here to help. Find Help

SAMH is the Scottish Association for Mental Health
Scottish Charity: No. SC-008897
Registered Office: Brunswick House, 51 Wilson Street, Glasgow, G1 1UZ

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Download our guide to understanding mental health problems. Download guide Read Steven's Story Be there for someone Learn more You're not alone. We're here to help. Find Help SAMH is the Scottish Association for Mental Health Scottish Charity: No.

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See Me is Scotland's Programme to tackle mental health stigma and discrimination.

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Mental health problems don't discriminate and affect all ages. Whether you work with young people or you yourself are under 25 this section can offer the advice you need about mental health stigma and discrimination.

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Write to Recovery - Everyone has a Story

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Write to Recovery is designed to help people improve their mental wellbeing by sharing their stories and experiences.

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Aye Mind is on a mission to improve the mental health and wellbeing of young people - by making better use of the Internet, social media and mobile technologies. Young people aged 13 to 21 have helped create the resources below.

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Healthy Body Healthy Mind

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There are a number of eating disorders, with the most common being Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified, or EDNOS, accounting for around 50% of diagnosed eating disorders. It is also perhaps the least known about or understood. An EDNOS diagnosis is typically given to someone whose symptoms didn't meet all of the criteria for anorexia or bulimia or where their symptoms were a mix of those for anorexia and bulimia.

The more commonly known about eating disorders are: Anorexia Nervosa, where the individual drastically reduces their intake of food in order to change their appearance and have control over their bodies; Bulimia Nervosa, where the individual tends to use binging/vomiting or laxatives as means to control their appearance weight; and Binge Eating Disorder, a serious mental illness where people experience a loss of control and overeat on a regular basis.

Eating disorders are most prevalent in women, however the number of men coming forward for support is increasing.

Eating disorders can lead to a whole host of problems, including intestinal problems, kidney and other vital organ failure, brittle bones, hair loss, tooth decay, fainting and, in some cases, death.

It is important to get as much support as possible as recovery can take some time. As a supporter, it is important to view the issue with an open mind.
Find support

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There are a number of eating disorders, with the most common being Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified, or EDNOS, accounting for around 50% of diagnosed eating disorders. It is also perhaps the least known about or understood.

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YoungMinds | Mental Health Charity For Children And Young People

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YoungMinds are a mental health charity for children, young people and their parents, making sure all young people can get the mental health support they need.

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Children's Mental Health Week 2023 will take place from 6-12 February 2023. This year's theme is Let's Connect.

Let's Connect is about making meaningful connections. People thrive in communities, and this connection is vital for our wellbeing. When we have healthy connections - to family, friends and others - this can support our mental health and our sense of wellbeing.

For Children's Mental Health Week 2023, we're encouraging people to connect with others in healthy, rewarding and meaningful ways.

Our free resources will help you take part in the week. Sign up for email alerts to be the first to hear when these are available.

Download resources

COMING SOON! Sign up for email alerts to be the first to hear when our resources are available.

Sign up here

Stay in touch

Sign up for email alerts to be the first to hear about the latest Children's Mental Health news.

Stay in touch

Make a difference

Organise a Dress to Express day and raise vital funds to help more young people get the support they need.

Find out more

Look back

Looking for more activity ideas, or want to explore a different theme this year? Take a look at our top tips and resources from previous Children's Mental Health Weeks.

Training from Place2Be

Find out more

Find out more

Schools, youth groups, families and communities across the UK are taking part in Children's Mental Health Week 2023.

If you're planning an assembly, a lesson, a Dress to Express day, or another event or activity, we'd love to hear about it.

Take a look at the Children's Mental Health Week 2022 map below to see who got involved last year.

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Children's Mental Health Week 2023 will take place from 6-12 February 2023. This year's theme is Let's Connect. Let's Connect is about making meaningful connections. People thrive in communities, and this connection is vital for our wellbeing. When we have healthy connections - to family, friends and others - this can support our mental health and our sense of wellbeing.