Presentation by Phoebe Joyce, from Mentally Healthy WA - Helping school communities to be well and stay well. Presented at the Western Australian Mental Health Conference 2019.

1. Helping school communities
to be well and stay well

2. The Mentally Healthy Schools Program:
School based mental health promotion

3. Risk factors
• Social isolation
• Excessive use of drugs or alcohol
• Life crisis/trauma
• Discrimination
• Lack of control
• Lack of meaning and purpose

4. Protective factors
• Good social network
• Being physically active
• Control over your life
• Keeping an active mind
• Belonging to a community group
• Recognition for achievements
• Having meaning and purpose

5. Act-Belong-Commit
Boosting resilience and wellbeing to
prevent the onset of mental health problems

6. Be active in as many ways as
you can:
physically, socially, mentally,
spiritually …
Do something

7. Belong - join in community
activities, get together with
friends or family, join a sports,
arts or recreational group, a car
club, a choir, a book club, …
Do something
with someone

8. Commit - Set goals and take on
challenges, learn a new skill,
help others, support a good
cause, volunteer…
Do something
meaningful

9. Act-Belong-Commit in the School setting
Learning new things, being physically active, lunch-time clubs, whole school events that
promote a sense of belonging, giving back to the community, being socially active,
becoming a student leader, joining a school committee…
There are many opportunities in the school setting to embed Act-Belong-Commit within.

11. Health Promoting Schools Framework

12. Curriculum, Teaching and Learning (classroom)
Lesson guides linking Act-Belong-Commit
to the curriculum:
- Health and Physical Education
- Health Studies
- English
- Science
Other in class resources available:
- Factsheets
- Interactive classroom activities (Mood Diary,
Chatterbox etc.)
- Weekly Planner
- Mindful colouring

13. Environment, Ethos and Organisation
This may include:
- School mental health policy templates
- Posters to display around the school
- Signage to loan
- Merchandise
- Articles to include in newsletters
- Link existing activities and events to
Act-Belong-Commit message
- ‘Act-Belong-Committee’

14. Partnerships and Services
This may include:
- Message promotion at whole school
events
- Act-Belong-Commit awards at assembly
- Logo used in email signature, yearly
planner and on school website
- Linking with Act-Belong-Commit on
social media
- Media release templates and shared
promotion of school events
- Encouraging parents to volunteer at
school events for own mental health
and wellbeing
- Backed by state-wide campaign

15. Evaluation

16. • 30% of students surveyed (over 15,000 young people) had done or tried to
do something for their mental health as a result of Act-Belong-Commit in
their school
• 37% of students changed they way they think about mental health
• 24% reported talking about mental health with their friends
Student Impact

17. • Nearly half (43%) of staff surveyed had done or tried to do something for their
mental health as a result of Act-Belong-Commit in their school
• 43% of staff changed they way they think about mental health
• 45% reported talking about mental health with other school staff
Staff Impact

18. What does this mean?
• Increased mental health literacy in
these groups
• Staff are role models for their
students
• Increased openness = increased
early help seeking, and hence the
prevention of more serious disorders

19. Mental stress claims by Australian educators
are among the highest of any profession
Risk Factors:
- workload,
- challenging workplace
environments and
relationships,
- expectations from the
community, both locally
and more broadly.
Protective Factors:
- connectedness with
children and young
people and colleagues,
- feeling supported by
colleagues,
- receiving recognition for
work.

20. What makes you feel connected and energised might make
your colleague feel exhausted. Part of self-care is finding
out what works for you. You probably already have a few
‘go-to’ activities to help you relax (for some people, a cup of
tea and a book might do the trick; for others, the only way
to unwind is by hitting the gym to work off stress).

21. Additional Information
• actbelongcommit.org.au
• Brain Ambulance (brainambulance.com.au)
• Youth Mental Health First Aid
• Be You (beyou.edu.au)
• Heads Up (headsup.org.au)
• WA Health Promoting Schools Association (wahpsa.org.au)

22. Contact and Acknowledgements
Phoebe Joyce
Health Promotion Coordinator (Schools)
Act-Belong-Commit Campaign
Mentally Healthy WA
P: (08) 9266 1873
E: phoebe.joyce@curtin.edu.au
W: actbelongcommit.org.au