Mental health & counselling
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Background
TSA has always had a strong interest in issues of mental health and emotional well being. Over the last 11 years a series of tape cassette packs have been developed for parents, with Group Leaders' Guides for professionals. These have covered stress, divorce, drugs,
step-parents, and suicide and self harm. The training packs for staff of young offenders' institutions have included much about young people and mental health.
The Adolescent Mental Health Training Initiative
In 1996 this programme was funded by the Department of Health to raise awareness about young people's emotional well being. The programme set out to support people to work sensitively and effectively with adolescents in general, and vulnerable young people in particular. It aimed to offer training and consultancy to support workers, to increase knowledge and confidence, disseminate current research, reduce professional isolation and develop skills in work with young people, their families and carers.
Training
A series of training courses of 1-2 days were designed and delivered on the subjects of:
- Youth Matters :Adolescent mental health
- Youth Matters: Suicide and Self Harm
- Youth Matters: Working with Depressed young people.
A range of tailor made courses were provided for teachers, doctors, social workers, police officers, youth workers, youth offending teams and for community based agencies such as youth counselling services. Respect and empowerment of young people and their direct involvement in courses, conferences and the development of training materials are key principles of the programme. By 2001 a range of courses had been designed and piloted on a wide variety of topics in the field of adolescent mental health. These were delivered across the UK as open and tailor made courses to suit the needs of particular agencies.
Interdisciplinary conferences - Young people and mental health
These were run between 1997 and 2000 in Leeds, Bradford, Dorset, Weston Super Mare, Newcastle, London, Manchester, and Derby. In these conferences, local agencies were brought together to discuss the issues with national and local speakers. The conferences included a range of presentations from young people involved in the TSA Youth Voice project, which aimed to get young peoples views on mental health across to adults. In some areas links between local agencies were supported after the conferences.
Training conferences on suicide and self harm
Conferences took place in London, Belfast, Bristol and Edinburgh and workshops were presented at other smaller events. They included national and local presentations and participation by parents of young people who had completed suicide. In 2002 a manual for professionals, Young People: Suicide and Self Harm was published.
Counselling : The Tudor Trust and the Talk2 project
These projects developed the mental health training into the fields of interpersonal skills, counselling skills and supervision for counsellors and support workers with young people. More detail is available on the TALK2 information sheet. Training from this project has been offered by TSA on: Self Image and Self Esteem; Choices and Decision Making; Working with Distressed Young People; Listening and Communicating; Supervision of Counsellors of Young People; and Managerial Supervision of Support Workers with Young People in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Tutors have been Josie Melia, Marilyn McGowan, Margaret Fawcett, Jane Dawson and Dorothy Eddi Piper.
Peer support
In 2002 a 2-day course in 'Setting up Peer Support Projects' has been designed and delivered in Scotland and London. A manual by Marilyn McGowan aimed at teachers, counsellors and youth workers wishing to set up a service is available. It contains chapters on the context of the service of the training exercises and sample materials and is obtainable from TSA publications.
Training for mentors of school age pupils.
This training has been devised and delivered for the African and African Caribbean People's Advisory Group in East Croydon. Adult mentors give their time to school age pupils who may be in danger of exclusion. The training includes listening and counselling skills, creative techniques to use with young people, ethical issues and case discussion. Paul Campbell and Charmaine Walters co tutor with Dorothy Eddi Piper on this training.
Conferences and Email Network
- 2001.Young people and Depression: Young people Self Esteem and Empowerment.
- Every other year a 2-day training conference is offered for Youth Counsellors.
- The Email network group operates for the exchange of views and information about youth counselling. Email: ycn@tsa.uk.com
Project workers
Dr John Coleman, Juliet Lyon, Josie Melia , Marilyn McGowan and Dorothy Eddi Piper have been involved in the mental health training initiative.
Further information
Please contact Kevin Lowe, Assistant Director - Training & Development