Our ACIS Youth School Counsellor at St Machar Academy, Moira, was invited to run a workshop for the S5 pupils to assist them in making the transition from 4th to 5th year. These sessions followed the topic of ‘Looking after your mental health’ and aimed to help pupils gain confidence and understanding of how to better manage their mental wellbeing. As many pupils usually do making the big jump from S4 to S5, the pupils were showing signs of stress, anxiety and self-esteem challenges which was recognised by the staff at St Machar. 

Moira planned these sessions to be interactive and insightful for the pupils to provide them with practical techniques and a greater understanding of how they can look after their own mental health as well as of those around them. The workshop allowed the pupils to work in small groups to complete activities and tasks and apply their learning to real world contexts. 

The first group activity asked pupils to list as many mental health issues that they felt affected young people which then followed with a group discussion where the pupils could share their answers and ask questions.

For the second task, each group was given the outline of a person with a mental health issue at the top, they then had to list all the physical and emotional symptoms that someone would feel if they had this issue. The pupils not only showed their existing knowledge of mental health conditions but a few showed off their artistic side too!

The final task gave the pupils a chance to create their own 'Mental Health First Aid Kit'. Pupils were asked to write down all the things they felt would have a positive effect on their mental wellbeing whether it was listening to music or playing football, the pupils enjoyed creating their very own toolkit to take home and use whenever they need a pick me up! Along with their toolkits, Moira put together some goodie bags full of advice and resources that the pupils could reach for whenever they need some support.

The guidance teacher for the S5’s, Kat Dobson, said; "The workshops were interactive, engaging, and raised awareness of mental health issues and how they affect young people. The students enjoyed the activities and left with increased awareness of how to look after their own mental health."

We hope this is the first of many mental health workshops that our counsellors are able to carry out at their schools! The workshop was a success among the S5 pupils and we hope they were able to take home some helpful tips to look after their own mental health as they take on their 5th year at academy.