1. Mental Health Workshop
‘BE KIND TO YOUR MIND’
Mental Health Workshop
** PLEASE DO NOT EDIT THIS PRESENTATION
Introduce workshop to the class.
Experiences and Outcomes this workshop aims to cover are:
I am aware of and able to express my feelings and am developing the ability to talk about them. HWB 0-01a / HWB 1-01a / HWB 2-01a / HWB 3-01a / HWB 4-01a
I know that we all experience a variety of thoughts and emotions that affect how we feel and behave and I am learning ways of managing them. HWB 0-02a / HWB 1-02a / HWB 2-02a / HWB 3-02a / HWB 4-02a
I understand that there are people I can talk to and that there are a number of ways in which I can gain access to practical and emotional support to help me and others in a range of circumstances. HWB 0-03a / HWB 1-03a / HWB 2-03a / HWB 3-03a / HWB 4-03a
I understand that my feelings and reactions can change depending upon what is happening within and around me. This helps me to understand my own behaviour and the way others behave. HWB 0-04a / HWB 1-04a / HWB 2-04a / HWB 3-04a / HWB 4-04a
I understand the importance of mental wellbeing and that this can be fostered and strengthened through personal coping skills and positive relationships. I know that it is not always possible to enjoy good mental health and that if this happens there is support available. HWB 0-06a / HWB 1-06a / HWB 2-06a / HWB 3-06a / HWB 4-06a
I am learning skills and strategies which will support me in challenging times, particularly in relation to change and loss. HWB 0-07a / HWB 1-07a / HWB 2-07a / HWB 3-07a / HWB 4-07a​
This workshop is created by Clair Rochester and Amy Cowie,
Mental Health Development Workers, Moray, NHS Grampian, 2018

2. Explain that if anyone has any questions during the session that they don’t want to ask in front of the whole class they can write it on a piece of paper and post it in the post box. Their teacher will either go through the questions, not sharing any names, with whole class later or will come and talk to them privately. If they want their teacher to know who they are they need to put their name on their piece of paper.
You will need:
Paper
Pens
Post box

3. What is MENTAL HEALTH?
In pairs or small groups, talk about what you think mental health is…
Ask each pair/group to feedback an example to the class
5 MINUTES
We will now look at mental health a bit more…

4. Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families
What is MENTAL HEALTH …
“Mental Health is about our feelings, our thinking, our emotions and our moods. Looking after our mental health is just as important as our physical health.” 
Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families
Read quote.
Just as everyone has physical health, we all have mental health as we all experience emotions. Ask who has seen the film ‘Inside Out’? We all experience all of these emotions, and while we like feeling joyful we don’t really like feeling difficult emotions such as sadness, disgust, anger or fear.
While it is normal for us to sometimes experience difficult emotions if they feel too big for us to manage on our own or if they have been going on for a while we might need some extra help and support. If you feel like this, it is important to talk to someone you trust about how you are feeling.

5. What happens in our body when we feel difficult emotions such as anger, sadness and fear?
Let’s look at difficult feelings a bit more..
We are going to think about what starts to happen in our bodies when we feel difficult emotions such as anger, sadness and fear?
Activity instructions:
Split the children into groups.
Give each group a ‘where do you feel’ body template OR give each group a large sheet of paper and ask them to draw round one group member to make a template of a body.
Ask the children to draw or write on the body template what they might feel in different parts of the body when experiencing difficult emotions.
After the activity ask each group to give one example of something they drew or wrote on their body template.
10-15 MINUTES
You will need:
Body template (one for each group) (can be downloaded from the exercises section) or large sheets of paper
Pens

6. What might happen in our body when we feel difficult emotions?
Some of things we might feel are:
Heart racing
Sick and dizzy
Sweating/clammy/hot and flushed
Shaky
Tense muscles
Headache
Stomach-aches
Butterflies in tummy
Breathless
Dry mouth
Tired or we might find it difficult to sleep
Numb

7. Imagine you’re a caveman and you are about the be attacked by a sabre toothed tiger, what would you do?
Sometimes we feel these things in our bodies because our body is preparing to react to keep us safe from things that might be threatening or dangerous.
For example, let’s go back in time... A long, long time ago our ancestors were faced with lots of life threatening, dangerous, scary animals, like sabre-toothed tigers similar to the one in the picture above. Ask the children to imagine they are a caveman and they come face to face with a really dangerous sabre toothed tiger, what they would do?

8. Fight? Freeze? Run/Flight?
They would only have a few choices, they could either:
FIGHT– Attack it!
FLIGHT – run for it!
FREEZE – hide!
And as our body prepares us to either flight, fight or freeze we we would feel the feelings in our bodies we just discussed.
Run/Flight?

9. Now let’s skip a few thousand years back to the present day…
Today, we are not cavemen and we don’t normally see sabre toothed tigers walking around.
But, we still all have the same feelings in our bodies and the same fight, flight or freeze instincts when we experience worries, struggles and a variety of difficult emotions. Just like the caveman, this can make us ‘fight’ run away and avoid the things that are bothering us, ‘freeze’ block things out and ‘fight’ get angry and lash out at ourselves and/or others. However only doing these things today doesn't normally help us and can often make our problems worse.
Can you think of a time you avoided something or got angry? Did it help you?
While it might feel like don’t have other options, there are things that can help us to deal with difficult situations and feelings today.

10. What can help us?
If we are experiencing something difficult, sad, scary or upsetting today what kind of things can help us to feel better?
Activity instructions:
Split the children into small groups.
Give each group a piece of paper and pens.
Ask each group to quickly brainstorm what can help them to feel better when they are experiencing difficult emotions.
5 MINUTES
You will need:
Paper
Pens

11. What doesn’t help us?
If we are experiencing something difficult, sad, scary or upsetting today what doesn’t help us to feel better?
Activity instructions:
Split the children into small groups.
Give each group a piece of paper and pens.
Ask each group to quickly brainstorm what doesn’t help them to feel better when they are experiencing difficult emotions (it might help to think of the opposites to some of the things that help).
5 MINUTES
You will need:
Paper
Pens

12. 10 Top Tips for promoting positive mental health
Accept who you are
Ask for help
Be active
Be mindful
Give
Connect
Cope better
Eat well
Open up
Relax
Show the class these 10 evidence based top tips for looking after your mental health. These were developed by Developed by NHS Grampian, The Glasgow School of Art and Forres Academy so when the class goes to secondary school they might see posters showing some of these tips.
Be mindful – being mindful is simply being aware and paying attention to right now. There are lots of mindfulness exercises. One you could try is the Muscle Relaxation/The Body Squeezing Exercise which can be downloaded from the exercises section.
Developed by NHS Grampian, The Glasgow School of Art and Forres Academy

13. Bingo
We are now going to play bingo using things that helpful and unhelpful for good mental health. The helpful things are in green, the unhelpful things are in red.
Activity instructions:
Give each person in the class a bingo card (each card will contain a selection of helpful (green) and unhelpful (red) statements). (There are 30 premade bingo cards).
Explain that you will call out helpful and unhelpful statements and if a statement they have on their card is called they can score it off. The first person to have all of their statements called out wins.
Call out statements at random.
Keep a record of the statements that have been called using the helpful and unhelpful statement list.
10 MINUTES
You will need:
Bingo card for each pupil (can be downloaded from the exercises section)
List of numbered statements (can be downloaded from the exercises section)
Method of selecting tips at random e.g. bingo game, pull number out of bag…
Pens

14. Some of the things that help us involve talking to someone you trust
Some of the things that help us involve talking to someone you trust. This sheet asks you to think about who and where you would get help from.
Activity instructions:
Give each child a sources of support sheet.
Let the class know they don’t need to put their names on the sheet.
Ask them to colour in the small circles for all of the people/things they would go to for help and to colour the star of the one they would be most likely to go to for help.
5 MINUTES
You will need:
Sources of support sheet (this was developed by The Glasgow School or Art, NHS Grampian and can be downloaded from the exercises section)
Pens

15. You can design the poster anyway you like. This is one example 
BE KIND TO YOUR MIND
In groups make a poster showing things that are helpful and unhelpful for good mental health.
You can design the poster anyway you like. This is one example 
Helpful
Ask the class to make a poster showing what they have learned to be helpful and unhelpful for good mental health.
Activity instructions:
Split the class into small groups.
Tell the groups they are going to make a poster, they can design it any way they like but it must show things that are helpful and unhelpful for good mental health and have the title ‘Be Kind To Your Mind’. Looking at the brainstorming they did earlier and the statements from the Bingo game might help.
Tell the groups everyone must be involved in making the poster – one idea would be to give everyone in the group a different section to work on, or to highlight drawing on separate pieces of paper and then sticking pictures on might help save time.
Allocate times for doing the different sections of the poster (title, helpful, unhelpful etc.) so the groups finish the task on time.
Ask the class to help tidy up.
45 MINUTES
You will need:
Pens
Pencils
Large sheets of paper
Coloured paper to draw pictures on
Scissors
Glue
Ruler
Unhelpful

16. Ask the class if they have any questions.
Ask the class to complete their evaluations.
If applicable ask the class teacher to complete evaluation.
Look through post box and follow up any questions or concerns as appropriate.

17. This activity can be used as an alternative to the poster making exercise or can be set as homework to be completed and played with family.
Activity instructions:
If completing in class:
Split the class into small groups.
Give each group a snakes and ladders game template.
Give each group counters and a dice.
Ask each group to choose 5 things that they have learned to be helpful for good mental health. They should put one of these things at the bottom of each ladder.
Ask each group to choose 5 things that they have learned is unhelpful for good mental health. They should put one of these at the top of each snake and one in square 2.
To play:
Group to decide who is going to roll the dice first.
Take turns to roll the dice and move your counter that number of squares.
If you land at the bottom of a ladder climb up it. You will have landed on a helpful tip – discuss the tip and why it is helpful.
If you land at the top of a snake slide down it. You will have landed on an unhelpful tip – discuss the tip and why it is unhelpful.
To finish you must land exactly on square 62. So you if were at square 60 and rolled a 5 you would go forward 2 to then back 3 To square 59. You can try again on your next turn to land on square 62.
The first person to land on square 62 wins.
The game ends when all players have reached square 62.
20 MINUTES
You will need:
Counters (paper template can be downloaded from the exercises section)
Dice (paper template can be downloaded from the exercises section)
Snakes and Ladders game template (can be downloaded from the exercises section)
Pens
If setting as homework:
Ask the teacher to set as homework
Give each young person a Snakes and Ladders game pack.
Explain to the children that they have been given a snakes and ladders game to play at home with their family which involves discussing things that are helpful and unhelpful for good mental health.
Pack can be downloaded from the exercises section and includes:
Introduction and instructions sheet
Snakes and Ladders game template
Grid with helpful and unhelpful statements
Template to make dice
Inside Out Characters to cut out and use as counters