Mental health reflection seminar talk PDF

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This is a piece of reflection work from a talk given by Andy Meyers as part of Mental Health Awareness Week. It is about supporting young people in Dorset, and its main focus was on the charity MIND....

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Supporting young people’s mental health in Dorset – World Mental Health This talk enabled me to have a better understanding as to what Dorset Mind do within the community. I was surprised to hear that they are not a government funded charity but must collect funds themselves. With over 130,000 people in Dorset living with a mental health problem it is important to raise as much awareness and educate people more on mental health. I was not aware that there were only a few services that specifically support young people so it was interesting to see how Dorset Mind are developing new programmes to improve this, through services such as befriending. They are not just teaching secondary school children but primary school children as well, some people may say this is too young but I like that they are giving every age more information and support. I was surprised to hear that it is as many as 1 in 10 young people have a mental health disorder. With pressures from social media, the news and parents it is not surprising that young people really struggle. Teachers are one of young people’s main point of contact every day, being able to teach them to support young people with mental health problems or talking to them about the stigma in society today is very important. Just because you cannot see a mental health problem does not make it any less important than a physical health problem. One thing I really liked is that Jane, the other speaker said, ‘the key thing is to demystify mental health’. Young people are very vulnerable and having coping strategies to help them is vital. I really enjoyed this talk, I liked hearing about what is happening in our community for young people....