Letter to Family and Friends
Dear Pilgrim Families,
We have already had a couple of weeks with plenty happening at Pilgrim School: Indonesian Day, the Bebras Challenge, school tours. Thank you to our students, staff and families for working with the changes that we are experiencing during the roof restoration. We look forward to having a new roof and airconditioners at the end of the project!
On Monday 1st and Tuesday 2nd May (student free days at the start of term), the entire Pilgrim staff team completed a 14 hour Youth Metal Health First Aid training course.
Our presenter, Mark Dickens, walked staff through a range of health and wellbeing matters that impact young people and families.
The course included:
- Mental Health problems in Australian youth
- Adolescent development
- Mental Health First Aid
- Depression, anxiety, eating disorders, psychosis, and substance abuse.
We discussed and considered ways we can 'administer' first aid for mental health crises. Training equipped our staff team to provide initial intervention and the need to refer young people and families to professional support services.
The course considered suicidal thoughts and behaviours, self-injury, panic attacks, trauma, psychosis, severe alcohol or drug use and aggressive behaviours.
As a staff we want to be knowledged and skilled in understanding mental health so we can better identify concerns and support our students.
Mental Health is seen as a continuum, ranging from having positive mental health to having mental illness. We all vary in our position along this continuum at different points in our life.
"The most recent national study of Mental Health and Wellbeing, a community survey of 5,554 people aged 16-85 years of age... found that one in five had a common mental illness at some time during the previous 12 months." (Mental First Aid Australia, Fourth edition 2022)
This study highlighted that young people aged 16-24 years were found to be at higher risk. Nearly 2 in 5 young people in this age bracket were found to have one or more of the common mental illnesses.
| Type of Mental Illness | Males | Females | All |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anxiety Disorders | 21.4% | 41.3% | 31.5% |
| Substance Abuse Disorders | 13.3% | 7.1% | 9.1% |
| Affective (Mood) Disorders | 8.9% | 19% | 13.6% |
| Any Common Mental Illness | 31.2% | 46.6% | 39.6% |
Identification and early intervention are key to support young people and prevent health concerns becoming more serious and impacting lives in an ongoing manner.
We are hopeful that the Mental Health First Aid training increased awareness and will provide our team with skills to provide intervention.
If you have any concerns or questions regarding mental health for your child/ren, please be encouraged to begin conversations with staff, so we can work in partnership with you to assist and support young people in our community.
Blessings,
Andrew Edmondson
Principal