1. Promoting Positive Mental Health and Wellbeing in Teenagers
Yvonne Coyle and Vicky Flores
Educational Psychologists
East Renfrewshire Council
September 2017

2. Promoting Positive Mental Health and Wellbeing in Teenagers
Introduction to resilience and mental health
Understanding the teenage stage of development
Supporting positive mental health and wellbeing VF

3. What do we mean by promoting positive mental health and wellbeing?
Building Resilience: The Tigger Effect! VF
Huge shift in Psychology from deficit model looking at what is wrong with a person to looking at the things that allow others to succseed and what we have learned from that is that building young people’s resilience is key!
Resilience – from the latin resilo, to bounce back

4. What is Resilience? Emotional wellbeing against the odds
The ability to bounce back
Adaptability in the face of adversity VF
It’s about the ability to cope with life’s set backs. To cope with everyday adversities and to recover after bigger challenges like bereavement, divorce, job loss etc. About the confidence to open yourself up to new challenges – to reach out so that you can achieve all that you are capable of.
Research indicates that the process that determines our resilience is a dynamic one involving interaction between external and internal factors. But resilience is not fixed. The good news is that resilience is not a trait that people either have or do not have – it involves thoughts, beliefs, attitudes and behaviours that can be learned and developed.
1 Toughing things out is not resilience! Resilient people understand, are comfortable with and express their feelings.
Resilient people experience challenging emotions, recognise them, and move forward with a coping plan.
Not about removing challenging situations from our lives. Resilience is formed as a result of dealing with setbacks. People think that bad feelings don’t have a purpose.
And that bad feelings such as guilt, shame and frustration are only negative. But research shows that bad feelings can encourage us to do things differently: we need them to succeed. Bouncing back means that people can carry on, and even flourish, after setbacks
It is human nature to experience negative emotions. Only dead people don’t. Bad feelings are normal. Learning anything worthwhile requires some frustration
Steve Jobbs – started Apple in his parents garage at the age of 20…in 10 years, grew into a $2 billion company. Very publicly fired by his board of directors. Started over an incredible innovator, inventor, marketer and amazing human being. Known as the Father of the digital revolution.
The beatles – rejected by record labels over and over, told “guitar groups are on the way out” and “the Beatles have no future in show business”. Went on to become the greatest band in history.

5. Growing up in the 21st century: do kids today have it easy?
Studies show that people are not as happy as they used to be.
Young people seem to be finding it more difficult to ‘bounce back’ from set backs.
Is modern society eroding
young people’s resilience? VF
Young people seem to be finding it more difficult to ‘bounce back’ from set backs.
Why??
Take answers from the group

6. The Erosion of Resilience?
Social media
Celebrity culture
Sense of entitlement
The need to be perfect
Too much choice VF
Celeb culture and entitlement
I want it all NOW
Our society makes people feel that they are entitled
Celebrity culture suggests success should be instant
This makes people think that effort and hard work are not important
This increases self-obsession and undermines resilience
Being perfect
Mass media encourages people to believe that they need to be perfect
This encourages us to feel inadequate and, again, exaggerates our inevitable problems and difficulties
This undermines resilience when the person sees that perfection is not attainable
Mass media encourages us to compare ourselves with the rich and famous
So where did the comparing yourself with others come from? Carl Rogers believed that we arrive in the world with great potential and that gradually over time society gets us to define success in a number of ways. Then….if we don’t meet these ‘conditions of worth’ we feel unhappy. An exaggerated version of this is the media re size and the influence this has on young people…and the forever young syndrome
CHOICE
We now have more choice than ever
Paradoxically this make people
Not choose
Regret their choices
Feel depressed
Overwhelmed

7. The Erosion of Resilience
The cotton wool effect
Treating young people like infants
The belief that negative emotions
are wrong
Lack of understanding about the importance of negative feelings
High academic expectation
and all or nothing thinking VF
Aspects of life which are easier but that is not always a good thing; smooth seas do not make skillful sailors
Toxic combination of all of the above – modern life is lived at such a pace that the childhood years are under threat
Teenage brain – period of intense development; prefrontal cortex which in which is responsible for rational thought, decision making, overriding impulse control, empathy still developing – studies have shown particularly that parts of teenage brain which relate to how they interpret social situations are still developing into late adolesence e.g. ability to use other people’s perspectives to guide your ongoing behaviour
1. Cotton wool effect
Parents now do not want their child to have any negative experiences
This means that they try to protect them from life's knocks and blows
Doing this undermines their resilience
2.Treating young people like infants
We often think young people:
Need us do everything for them or it won’t get done
Can’t be trusted to handle responsibility
Will make poor decisions
Aren’t capable thinkers
Are moody and selfish
Are controlled by hormones
Research shows that treating yp people like infants makes them behave like infants
People are frightened of negative emotions
This encourages people to try to supress their emotions
Paradoxically, research shows this causes more of the negative emotions that they didn’t want
People think that bad feelings don’t have a purpose.
And that bad feelings such as guilt, shame and frustration are only negative.
But research shows that bad feelings can galvanise us to do things differently: we need them to succeed.
All or nothing thinking
Our culture views people as fixed entities, which are unchangeable
People are born smart/stupid
This type of thinking exaggerates the significance of failure and difficulties
Inhibits the finding of solutions
GROWTH MINDSET

8. When young people lack resilience…
Mental health difficulties often occur where there is a lack of resilience.
What is a mental health difficulty?
Mental disorders comprise a broad range of problems, with different symptoms. However, they are generally characterized by some combination of abnormal thoughts, emotions, behaviour and relationships with others.
WHO, 2013 YC
A mental health difficulty can be a direct response to a young person’s inability to cope with what’s happening in their lives and can be accompanied by a range of concerning behaviours, what is key to remember is that those behaviours are often the coping strategy the young person has developed. Though they may not seem logical to us they can often be effective for them in the short term (may allow them to avoid something, provide a release or bring control where they feel they have none) our job is to provide more appropriate, healthy and long term coping strategies.
So how do we do this, how do we foster resilience in young people so that they have the skills to cope…

9. Mental Health
‘Mental health influences how we think and feel about ourselves and others, as well as how we interpret events. It affects our capacity to learn, to communicate and to form, sustain and end relationships. It also influences our ability to cope with change, transition and life events, such as having a baby, moving house, or experiencing bereavement.’ (Friedli 2004) YC

10. WHAT IS STRESS?
Stress is your mind and body’s response or reaction to a real or imagined threat, event or change.
A physiological response to perceived threat
Originally designed to help you fight or run away
The threat, event or change are commonly called stressors
Stressors can be internal (thoughts, beliefs, attitudes) or external (loss, tragedy, change). YC

11. POSITIVE STRESS!
Positive stress - when your level of stress is high enough to motivate you to move into action to get things accomplished. YC

12. Symptoms of Stress FEELINGS BEHAVIOUR irritable
anxious
low in self-esteem
have a low mood
THOUGHTS
have racing thoughts 
worry constantly
imagine the worst
go over and over things
BEHAVIOUR
having temper outbursts
drinking more
smoking more
on the go all the time
talking more or faster
changing your eating habits
feeling unsociable
being forgetful or clumsy
being unreasonable
struggling to concentrate YC 12

13. YC
The way we think affects how we feel and therefore how we behave.
E.g. presentation example…
Negative thinking patterns can therefore feed into a vicious cycle that can lead us to become increasingly stressed, anxious, worried, depressed, etc.
So what makes the difference between control and feel etween being resilent to stress and being vulnerable to stress?
Firstly having a poor opinion of yourself may mean that you perceive threat more. You may take things more personally and get hurt and stressed more often
If you have little contol and feel trapped into Having to do things then again this makes you vulnerable. This can be at work or in relationships…oh I have to see my mum (or she’ll be nasty and I’ll feel bad)
If you have lost your trust in your own instincts and in who you really are
If you are trying to live to some improbable ideal..the perfect report…that makes you late for an appointment,, ,the perfect house the home cooked organic dinners. Setting standards for yourself that inevitably lead to failure and stress and negative self feelings and or resentment that no one helps …not that they could do it PROPERLY anyway!
The negative thoughts or inner voice that ridicules or complains at you or the exhausting self appointed role of people pleaser who constantly puts others first and finds him or herself put on and undervalued.
And the opposite which makes you resilient to the raange of experiences that life throws at you

14. Long Term Stress leads to
Depression
Anxiety
High Blood Pressure
Insomnia
Cardiovascular Disease – Stroke, Heart Attack, Aneurysm YC 14

15. Kevin becomes a teenagerVF
Video length – 2.47

16. The Adolescent Brain
Adolescence is characterised by a number of physical
and emotional changes;
Hormonal surges
Changes in the brain – new neural networks
Abstract thinking and problem solving abilities
Ability to see from others point of view
Risk taking and novelty seeking
Development of view of self and of others VF

17. The Effects of these changes
Teenage behaviour is likely to be inconsistent because they lack experience and are still learning to use their brain’s new networks
Stress, tiredness and challenge can cause nerve cells to misfire
Teenagers need more sleep: recommended amount is 9¼ hours!
Their ability to read emotions and think things through can be affected: at times they might fall back on more primitive “fight & flight” responses
Less overt affection shown to parents, with occasional rudeness
Mostly interested in present, with limited thoughts of the future VF
The Brain can perform new more complex functions but at first it does this clumsily, but on the plus side they are very adaptable at this age and so teenagers are capable of a huge amount of learning
Highlights the importance of scaffolding social and emotional development in the S1/S2 stage at school – why nurture groups are working well in the secondary setting??

18. Things to be concerned about
Marked decline in school performance
Marked changes in sleeping and/or eating habits
Extreme difficulties in concentrating that get in the way at school or at home
Sexual risk-taking
Severe mood swings
Strong worries or anxieties that get in the way of daily life, such as at school or socialising VF

19. Things to be concerned about (cont.)
Repeated use of alcohol and/or drugs
Persistent nightmares
Threats of self harm or harm to others
Frequent outbursts of anger, aggression
Aggressive or non-aggressive consistent violation of rights of others; opposition to authority, truancy, thefts, or vandalism
Strange thoughts, beliefs, feelings, or unusual behaviours VF

20. What can be done to help young people cope?
A partnership approach to building resilience
‘…Contexts such as home, community, schools and classrooms have been shown to provide protection to children and young people at risk and to direct their development towards positive and healthy pathways (Schoon 2006)’. YC
Take suggestions/strategies from the group

21. Hold high expectations
Building Resilience
Hold high expectations
Young people are capable
We need to challenge them.
We should expect that young people will achieve their goals
People reach goals at different times. But most will get there YC

22. People are not born smart
Building Resilience
People are not born smart
Encourage young people to see intelligence and ability as something they need to work at
People are not born smart
ALL of the most successful people in life will have had to overcome failure
Use role models to illustrate this YC

23. Failure can be the key to success
Building Resilience
Failure can be the key to success
Encourage young people to view failure in a different way
Failure is a learning opportunity
You are a role model. Talk about the failures you have overcome YC
Encourage young people to keep things in perspective – the problem is usually confined to only one part of their lives.
Remember that learning is often frustrating. Encourage young people to persist and believe they can get there.

24. Normalise don’t personalise
Building Resilience
Normalise don’t personalise
After a negative experience it is common for young people to think that this type of thing ONLY happens to them
Encourage young people to view these setbacks as normal – everybody experiences them
And help them not to think that this is something which reflects badly on them YC
Try to normalise young people’s set-backs. Help them to see they are not abnormal in having difficulties in life.
You may not understand why they are feeling a certain way but you can empathise with the upset it’s causing them

25. Bad feelings are normal
Building Resilience
Bad feelings are normal
It is human nature to experience negative emotions
Bad feelings are normal
Learning anything worthwhile requires some frustration YC

26. Bad feelings don’t last
Building Resilience
Bad feelings don’t last
When young people encounter negative experiences they make think that they will ALWAYS feel that way
Research shows that bad feelings don’t last
Remember to remind young people that these feelings will pass YC
Remember, bad feelings: don’t last; have a purpose; and galvanise us to do things differently.
Help them to see that problems can be solved.

27. Don’t over worry or over protect
Building Resilience
Don’t over worry or over protect
Life is full of ups and downs
If you protect young people from them they will not cope when they meet setbacks and will not be able to assess risk
Allow young people to make mistakes
Overprotection only makes young people more vulnerable and anxious YC

28. Perfection doesn’t exist
Building Resilience
Perfection doesn’t exist
Everyone has flaws, even the most accomplished people
There is no standard for perfection
It is much more important that people try to do their best, rather than be the best YC
When reading stories, or discussing events, point out how people manage to overcome difficulties.

29. One size does not fit all
Building Resilience
One size does not fit all
Not all children will respond to one way of building resilience. This is why it is important to foster many different ways for children to bounce back YC

30. What can I do as a parent?
Prioritise fostering open, trusting, respectful dialogue with your children.
Keep the channels of communication open.
Don’t rush to judge – try to put yourself in their shoes.
Be cognisant of the challenges associated with the teenage stage of development
Negotiate boundaries. Give them choice – use the small things to bargain with the big things.
Choose your battles (and the timing of them) wisely. VF

31. Consider the use of language
Try to stop asking “why?”
Try “I’ve noticed..”
Try “I’m wondering..”
Try “I understand..”
Try “What can I do to help?” VF

32. Useful websites

33. Thank you for your participation