Guidance Counsellor

Jana Aksamitova

Guidance Counsellor

Supporting each other’s mental health and well-being

We all play an important role in supporting the mental health and wellbeing of our children. Many of us may feel out of our depth when it comes to bringing up the topic of individual mental health with children. Some people may feel nervous that they don’t know enough or that they will give the wrong advice or receive negative feedback.

When young people seek help, it is usually from informal sources such as friends and family rather than external professionals or school support staff. Sometimes, young people may try to hide that they are not ok. If someone is going through a tough time, it can be a relief to be given permission to say, “I am not ok” and to be given an easy opportunity to ask for help. There is a lot we can do to initiate positive conversation about well-being and individual mental health.  

Tips:

• Be receptive
  • Sometimes it is important to take the lead, initiate a conversation by asking “Are you Ok?” or “You don’t seem yourself lately, what is happening?” or “Is there anything you’d like to talk about?”
  • Letting the person know that you have a time to talk
  • Spending time with the young person lets them know you care and can help you understand what they’re going through
• Use active listening skills
  • Listen carefully to what the young person is saying
  • Try not to interrupt while they are talking and leave any comments or queries you may have until they have finished
  • Keep comfortable eye contact, maintain upright posture, and open body language
  • Let them know you are thankful that they have talked to you about what they are going through
  • Let them know you understand how hard it is to talk to someone about how they are feeling and reassure them that they have taken a positive step by talking about what they are going through
  • It is important to remember to respect the person’s privacy and don’t share anything you have spoken about unless you are concerned the person may be at risk of hurting themselves
  • Avoid telling the young person what to do, help the person to work out what is best for them
• Encourage the young person to
  • Maintain regular exercise, a nutritious diet and healthy sleeping hygiene
  • Encourage them to seek professional help if possible
  • Encourage self-care

Each year in October we celebrate Mental Health Week at St Mary’s College. This year we had lot of fun where students had the opportunity to participate in many uplifting activities. All photos of the Mental Health week events were uploaded on the St Mary’s Instagram and Facebook pages.