Healthy Minds Program

Program description

Healthy Minds is a program for secondary schools that aims to prevent and reduce risk for the onset of symptoms of anxiety, depression, and eating disorders, while building wellbeing and resilience. The program is delivered by psychologists and the school's teaching staff.

The program aims to equip students, staff and parents with the tools they need to better support students' own wellbeing and the wellbeing of other students. This is achieved by:

• teaching psychological skills to students
• engaging school staff to teach, support, and coach students while implementing the wellbeing program
• improving parents' knowledge of their children's psychological development.

For a more detailed description of the program, please contact Healthy Minds for a Prospectus (see Contact section).

Intended outcomes

• Improved knowledge of how to support personal mental health and wellbeing
• Improved self-management and emotional regulation skills
• Reduced risk and lower rate of onset of symptoms of anxiety, depression and eating disorders
• Reduced unhelpful perfectionism
• Improved self-compassion and stress management skills
• Improved overall student wellbeing
• Enhanced whole-school wellbeing culture

Program details

Implementation considerations

• Target population: Secondary school students, their teachers and their parents. The main 8-week component is for either Year 7 or 8 cohorts. Booster sessions are available for other cohorts.
• Program adaptability: The program is suitable for students with a disability.
• Staffing: Teachers who deliver the classroom lessons need to attend a training day, equivalent to one school day. Backfilling of staff is required for this training day.
• Training requirements: The group presentations will require the use of a space within the school that can hold one cohort of students. Basic Audio-Visual infrastructure is required. For example, a screen and projector with sound. Internet will be required if having online delivery.
• Factors to consider: There are no minimum requirements in terms of student numbers. Ongoing support is provided as needed by email or phone, and weekly teacher coaching emails, to assist in the implementation of the program within the school.
• Australian context: The program has been developed and applied in Australia.

Cost

Minimum cost

$5,000+

Detailed cost

The cost for the full Healthy Minds program for one year is $20,953.90 (including GST) plus travel expenses.

This includes:

• 10 visits to the school (or the equivalent service delivered via remote learning)
• a one-day teacher training workshop
• a Year 7 or 8 parent night
• the Year 7 or 8 term-long program
• a teachers' guide with detailed lesson plans, links, worksheets, and resources
• student workbooks
• weekly parent modules
• flexible 'boosters' (up to 3 hours' presentation time) for other year levels, staff, or parents
• accreditation as a Healthy Minds School (accreditation is renewed annually).