Writer: Ioanna Balafa
The huge economic changes, the unemployment and insecurity in Europe and worldwide, lead to a given attention to the youth through surveys and comparative researches, the aspirations and the general mental and emotional needs of young people which inevitably go hand in hand with social and political developments.
In response to the online digital learning platforms of Canada (admittedly a
very different country from Greece) which are knowledge
sources of adolescents and young people mental health let’s examine briefly
the benefits of such an education and
of the experimental initiative “Opening Minds” of the
funded program “mindyourmind”
assessed by the Mental
Health Commission and the Ontario Ministry of Health in
collaboration with local school
boards. Their aim is the continued access of young people to information on mental health promotion.
Through that site and through various digital courses integrated in school education, incremental changes have been identified to the feelings of young people, first because the program was created based on their own needs and their involvement in the formulation and development and secondly because it helped them to take the initiative not only to get help but to offer it too, through a network of support that includes their classmates, their parents and teachers under the supervision of mental health professionals.
Teenagers students are encouraged to digitally record various types of mental disorders, the symptoms and face them through personal experiences. From a panic attack or anxiety disorder to a severe mental illness such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, the final goal is to fight the stigma of mental illness.
In addition, special attention is given to the psychological changes that puberty brings. From eating disorders, increased anxiety and mood swings to possible drug use. The purpose is to eliminate any kind of shame or guilt and to encourage the recording of personal experience by creating a strong network of communication that respects diversity and supports dialogue without stigmatizing. To reach someone in the process of so-called self-help he should be fortified at an early age with appropriate knowledge to not be afraid of his own emotions and develop both the skills and interpersonal relationships while being able to support those who need help through the identification and understandig of problems.
Through that site and through various digital courses integrated in school education, incremental changes have been identified to the feelings of young people, first because the program was created based on their own needs and their involvement in the formulation and development and secondly because it helped them to take the initiative not only to get help but to offer it too, through a network of support that includes their classmates, their parents and teachers under the supervision of mental health professionals.
Teenagers students are encouraged to digitally record various types of mental disorders, the symptoms and face them through personal experiences. From a panic attack or anxiety disorder to a severe mental illness such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, the final goal is to fight the stigma of mental illness.
In addition, special attention is given to the psychological changes that puberty brings. From eating disorders, increased anxiety and mood swings to possible drug use. The purpose is to eliminate any kind of shame or guilt and to encourage the recording of personal experience by creating a strong network of communication that respects diversity and supports dialogue without stigmatizing. To reach someone in the process of so-called self-help he should be fortified at an early age with appropriate knowledge to not be afraid of his own emotions and develop both the skills and interpersonal relationships while being able to support those who need help through the identification and understandig of problems.
A comparison with any similar integrated Greek
educational interventions, it would not make sense but this should not mean that
children, adolescents and young
people should be treated in Greece as irresolute persons who
are unable to understand all
aspects of reality. The
protection and respect of mental
health is not a matter of tolerance but a matter of basic human rights. Lack
of support means lack of social care which is at least unethical
-in a general social context-, not having free
access to health services but instead abase the
most important social right through economical mergers and through black holes of social funds, losing
the last signs of dignity. The Greek Psychiatric Reform
aims at the complete dissolution of outpatient treatment
facilities and at the silence of
institutionalization.
Mental health and the education of it, is not an occasional problem so as to be dealt with fragmentary policy solutions. Only knowledge can lead to progress, to respect and to the stereotypes’s elimination. At that point, a default creative education must intervene. The above experimental Canadian initiative is just one example of the application of many important scientific areas in the education field. Even in this pessimistic Greek social reality we can move along with technology by opening new economical paths inspired by the examples of other countries that exploit science for the spread of knowledge and the creation of new educational forms and strong welfare societies.
Mental health and the education of it, is not an occasional problem so as to be dealt with fragmentary policy solutions. Only knowledge can lead to progress, to respect and to the stereotypes’s elimination. At that point, a default creative education must intervene. The above experimental Canadian initiative is just one example of the application of many important scientific areas in the education field. Even in this pessimistic Greek social reality we can move along with technology by opening new economical paths inspired by the examples of other countries that exploit science for the spread of knowledge and the creation of new educational forms and strong welfare societies.
(from tvxs.gr)
