Supporting children and young people in their mental health: A guide for East Sussex schools: a resilience-based, whole school approach to promoting positive mental health and addressing individual needs
Understanding resilience and the whole school approach
Resilience is most frequently described as ‘positive development despite adversity’ (Luthar, 2003) or ‘the ability to withstand and rebound from disruptive life challenges, strengthened and more resourceful’ (Walsh, 2008). Resilience researchers across the world seek to understand what processes take place for those young people and families who positively adapt to hardship, so that this learning can be applied to supporting others to do the same.
A short background of the development of the concept of resilience can be found in Appendix 1 (see main document or references and appendices), but suffice to say here that it is now seen as much more than personal qualities or “character”, and much more about the dynamic interaction between the individual and support available in their environment. This led to the development of socio-ecological approaches and models to understand resilience in context.
Resilience is not a personality trait. Innate characteristics play a part, but resilience is something that can be promoted and developed, through the provision of support and opportunities for growth.
Full guidance on understanding resilience and the whole school approach [Adobe PDF, 203KB]
ReMiT: Resilient Minds Toolkit – A resilience and mental health guide for young people
The Resilient Minds Toolkits are co-produced guides written by young people and parents/carers to support young people’s resilience and mental health. You can download both ReMiT guides here as well as take part in the ReMiT feedback survey.
Building child and family resilience – Boingboing’s resilience approach in action
This briefing seeks to build practice approaches to building resilience in the context of the social deprivation that is the experience of many of the most disadvantaged families.
Our Academic Publications
This page presents an archive of selected published works from the Boingboing, Resilience Revolution and CRSJ community. This includes key academic papers, submissions of evidence and a few books relevant to the Boingboing approach to resilience.
Living online: The long term impact on wellbeing – Submission of evidence
In this submission to The House of Lords a bunch of us with different experiences shared our thoughts around how individuals and groups can better access online environments. We suggested the government may potentially help people access the digital world by improving digital inclusivity, accessibility, and data accountability.
Bounce Forward – Teacher Pack 2019
In this 10-week programme, co-developed by Lancashire Mind, Blackpool HeadStart and Boingboing, pupils, their friends, family and wider school community can use the Resilience Framework to learn about resilience and try out practical actions to promote resilience building.
Building resilience through collaborative community arts practice
Researchers and Project Partners: Hannah Macpherson, Angie Hart, Becky Heaver, Sue Winter, Sam Taylor, BoingBoing,Art in Mind, Amaze, The International Centre of Art for Social Change.
Mind your (pathologising) language! blog
Negative, pathologising language is often used to describe behaviour, thoughts, and feelings that lie outside the norm, with little attention given to the consequences and how it can help to create mental health stigma.
Building a new community psychology of mental health: Spaces, places, people and activities
A much-needed account of informal community-based approaches to working with mental distress. Written in an unusually accessible, engaging style, this book will appeal to anyone interested in community / social approaches to mental health.
Schools mental health guide
Supporting children and young people in their mental health: A guide for East Sussex schools. A resilience-based, whole school approach to promoting positive mental health and addressing individual needs.
Utilising the Noble Truths to support children and young people – Schools mental health guide
This section is about utilising the Noble Truths to support work with children and young people on mental health issues. The Noble Truths are: Accepting, Commitment, Conserving and Enlisting.
Supporting mental health and emotional wellbeing at school
A short guide to how you can best support mental health and emotional wellbeing at school – Tips for teachers and staff in schools as recommended by young people.
Co-produced resilience tools
If you came to our Designing Resilience event in November 2015 you will remember the amazing range of resilience tools being developed by young people with complex needs together with local communities, digital artists and designers, academics, parents, practitioners and policy makers.
Helping Children with Complex Needs Bounce Back
Resilient Therapy is an innovative way of strengthening children with complex needs, that anyone can use. This tried-and-tested handbook is accessible and fun, includes exercises and worksheets, and breaks down research to apply to everyday situations.
One Step Forward – Young people in care
A visual guide to resilience written & illustrated by young people in foster care and care leavers, Boingboing, the Virtual School for Children in Care and the University of Brighton. Navigate your route towards resilience! Take your time to explore the activities, enjoy the images and take inspiration.
Changing Lanes – Promoting resilience to reoffending
Changing Lanes is a research-based toolkit that helps us understand what can be done to support young men who have been involved in crime to find different paths. The toolkit shares the voices of 8 young people who took part in the research.
Mental health and the Resilient Therapy toolkit
This book is for any parent or carer who is concerned about the mental health of their child. It is written by young people who have themselves experienced mental health issues, with a little help from a couple of adult friends.
Our schools-based resilience projects
Our schools-based resilience research adapts the Resilience Framework for use in schools and helps schools make resilient moves across the whole school community. Many different types of school are working with us on this.
A Kinship Carers’ Resource – Using Resilience Ideas in Practice
Becoming a kinship carer can be a hard job. It may well be harder than anything that you have ever done before. Kinship carers care for grandchildren, nieces, nephews or children who are friends of their family.
