More information
Description
Studies concerning young people in Warsaw show that approximately 20% experience mental health problems that require support or intervention. In a report on Counteracting mental disorders in Children and Young People, the Supreme Audit Office (NIK) has pointed out the low number of places in which young people can get help. The average waiting time for the first appointment at a mental health clinic for young people in Mazowsze is three months, and the waiting period for regular help is even longer (National Health Fund, 2019). A survey we conducted in 2018 of 2500 lower-secondary school pupils showed that adults need to be mindful of the problems of young people. We know that young people are often treated unkindly by adults, or adults do not know how to provide help when it is needed. The project aims to make psychological support more accessible and make independent and empower vulnerable young people with depression and anxiety. We will circulate invitations to enter the project to schools and clinics in the Mazowiecki voivodship. We will form a therapy group (weekly meetings and one-on-one consultations; eighteen people), mindfulness training (breathing and relaxation techniques; three groups each of nine people) and parent workshops “I know and understand, and therefore support” (three groups each of sixteen people). People who have completed therapy will be able to join a self-advocacy support and activity group. This will prepare an online campaign, with psychological and technical support, about what mental health disorders are and the support that young people who experience them need from those around them. Young people will overcome their difficulties and consolidate the effects of treatment, and also obtain a greater community support network to due to spreading of information among parents and people around them. Young people (40 people aged 17-19) and their parents (48 people) will participate.
Summary of project results
The project responds to the problem of a lack of support for young people experiencing mental crises.According to a 2018 survey by the Empowering Children Foundation, around 20% of young people in Warsaw need support or intervention, and one in ten teenagers has suicidal thoughts. The problem is growing, while Polish child psychiatry is in deep crisis. There is a shortage of doctors and funding, and more and more psychiatric wards for young people are being closed in Mazovia. The number of places where young people can get help is limited (''Counteracting mental disorders in children and young people'', Supreme Audit Office). The average waiting time for a first visit to a mental health clinic for young people in Mazovia is 3 months; the waiting time for regular help is even longer (National Health Fund, 2019). In addition, young people often face a lack of kindness from adults or a lack of knowledge about how to help when they need it.
The project developed a range of activities to provide comprehensive support to young people experiencing crisis and mental illness. The young people took part in regular therapy group meetings to work on depression and anxiety, as well as mindfulness training (3 groups) to support the healing process. A total of 16 young people participated in the therapy group, which met regularly for over 1.5 years. A self-advocacy support and activity group, ''Empowerment'', was also set up to provide a meeting place for people in mental health crisis and a space for self-advocacy. The group developed a concept for a social campaign and worked on information materials. The campaign produced posters, an animation and a handbook with exercises for parents. The materials were distributed to around 1,000 schools across the country. Parents were offered the opportunity to take part in a workshop entitled ''I know and understand, so I support'' (3 groups).
Through a series of steps, young people had the opportunity to work through their difficulties, consolidate the effects of their treatment and build a social support network. Those who benefited from the therapy and workshops developed their personal and social skills and started self-advocacy activities. Participants'' self-esteem and sense of control over themselves and their environment increased. Workshops for parents supported this process - an understanding family and social environment are key factors in recovery. The target group of the campaign - young people aged 16-19, parents of young people and secondary school staff - increased their knowledge about mental illness among young people.