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Description
The issue of mental health of children and adolescents is not solved systematically in the Czech educational system. The project Relax Yourself reflects the present situation of frequent isolation and uncommon conditions at schools. There is an increasing need for practical solutions how to improve their mental state and their ability to prevent or overcome mental discomfort. The aim of the project Relax Yourself is a pupil (11 – 16) who can understand that mental health is an important part of life and well-being.
The project comes with an audiovisual educational program of 8 thematically focused modules (90 minutes each). The modules consist of interactive methodical procedures, exercises and games, user-friendly methodology, and a list of thematic literature for teachers. The program can be used during school lessons, project days, or schools in nature.
In addition, there will be 20 podcasts recorded in cooperation with experts or people with personal experience of mental discomfort or disease. Several seminars will be held for teachers and parents in cooperation with project partners.
Summary of project results
The project Relax Yourself reflected the present situation - many pupils were struggling with mental discomfort (whether it was due to social isolation caused by anti-epidemic measures associated with covid 19, the growing influence of social networks or later, for example, the war in Ukraine). There was increasing need of practical solutions how to improve their mental state and their ability to prevent or overcome mental discomfort. The issue of mental health of children and adolescents is not solved systematically in the Czech educational system. The aim of the project Relax Yourself are pupils (11 – 16 aged), parents, teachers and the community in general. The aim was mental health support, education and prevention. During the implementation of the project, it was quite difficult to establish cooperation and subsequently cooperate with child psychologists and other experts (due to their busy schedule), also the interest of teachers to participate in the project was limited (again due to busy schedules, involvement in other projects, etc.). Communication between remote teams was quite difficult. When creating podcasts, we discovered that it is not easy to record a podcast that would be interesting for teenagers (approach the language and topics to the target group). , it turned out that in such a small team it is necessary to have more skills (editorial, language, graphics, organization, presentation, independence, etc.). During the implementation of the project, the importance of social networks and related advertising increased even more, we did not count on advertising costs in the budget. The activity on social networks and the related presentation were the responsibility of the project manager and expert coordinators, an expert or a person who would be more dedicated to this was not counted.
We created the educational program and 20 podcasts, we also organized 2 seminars and a final online conference. Educational program – consists of eight educational modules, each module is a methodological basis for conducting a two-hour lesson (including games, audio supplements, worksheets, etc.). The educational program can be implemented as a whole or by individual modules. The modules are free to download at www.hlava-v-pohode.cz/vzdelavaci-program/. Podcasts - 20 podcasts were created, we deal with what today''s teenagers deal with (we tried to offer solutions, to say that they are not themselves, where to go for help and not being afraid to talk about it), mental health care and how to manage the challenges they may face. The podcasts were created in cooperation with experts on the topic, child psychologists, and we managed to get interesting guests. They are available on Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/3RqTMbIQH3nffKNtF9PJ1z). Seminars - we organized 2 seminars focused on the mental health of children and adolescents. The first took place on 12/10/2022 (Mental difficulties and mental illnesses of adolescents), the second took place on 19/5/2023 (Hlava v pohodě in Turnov, under the auspices of Fokus Turnov, z. s.). The study materials are published at www.hlava-v-pohode.cz/seminare/. The final online conference – held on 15 November 2023, was intended for professionals and the general public, entitled – Mental health of children and adolescents. There were contributions from the representatives of the project partners - the Technical University of Liberec and the University of Stavanger - and we presented the project Relax Yourself, its outputs and the possibility of use. The participants'' presentations are published at www.hlava-v-pohode.cz/konference/.
The purpose of the project was to increase the support of mental health and well-being among pupils of the 2nd grade of elementary school (through the application of an educational program that increases the knowledge and skills of pupils in the field of mental health prevention and prevention of mental problems, the organization of educational events for teaching staff and parents with an emphasis on community problem solving, using an awareness campaign in the form of 20 podcasts). The project brought an educational program - thanks to it, teachers have the opportunity to more easily include the topic of mental health in teaching at the 2nd level of elementary school, and at the same time it provides them with the opportunity to supplement their knowledge of the given topics. During the implementation of educational modules, pupils'' knowledge and skills in the field of mental health care are increased, groups of children talk about specific topics, the social climate in the classroom also improves and inequalities between pupils from different backgrounds are reduced. Educational events - we organized two seminars - the first seminar was intended mainly for teachers and parents of teenagers - it was more educational in nature, the second seminar was focused on community solutions to problems associated with mental health (it took place under the auspices of Fokus Turnov, z. s.). Podcasts Relax Yourself - bring enlightenment to teenagers, they can enable parents to better understand their children''s difficulties. It is possible to listen to them in private, it is possible to talk about them further in a group or even in the family. The project brought freely available outputs that can help users throughout the Czech Republic (adolescents, teachers, parents, etc.) to support mental health and wellbeing. He thus contributed to education, prevention and destigmatization of mental disorders.
Summary of bilateral results
During the implementation of the project Hlava v pohodě we were inspired by the Resilient project, which is implemented by the University of Stavanger and we have drawn from the information available on the university''s website. The joint activity was the final online conference. Representatives of the university informed the Norwegian public about the conference. At the conference they presented the Resilient project and the Robust research program - they shared their experiences with the implementation of a project raising awareness of children''s mental health in Norway. The presentation offered a slightly different view and approach to supporting the mental health of children and adolescents in schools and also to involving educators in programs supporting the mental health of children and adolescents. At the same time it contributed to the international character of the conference and raised awareness of bilateral cooperation. Technical University of Liberec – Staff and students of the Technical University were involved in all project activities, participated in the creation of the educational program, podcasts, led one of the seminars and spoke at the final online conference. The partner''s involvement was significant.