Educational Work
with Young People

The main aims of this work are to help young people, their teachers and parents, gain a greater understanding of mental health problems and issues, and the lives and perspectives of those people who live with mental illness.

• Importance of Young People's Mental Health
  
  
• Back

We hope that through open and honest discussions, in safe and supportive environments, young people will develop the ability to discuss mental health issues with greater confidence and will be more empathetic towards people experiencing mental illness.

Whilst HUG's work will focus on the perspective of mental illness, we would also hope to promote the importance of a positive approach to emotional and mental wellbeing by working in partnership with other agencies and organisations.

We are currently hoping to achieve our aims by:

•  Working directly with young people in a safe and supportive environment through schools and youth groups.
•  Providing accurate and relevant information to young people about mental illness.
•  Exploring exciting and innovative ways of engaging with young people and  talking about mental health (e.g. drama, art, video).
•  Involving and supporting teaching, youth and community staff and providing  them with the knowledge, skills, confidence and resources to explore mental  health issues with the young people they work with.
•  Researching and visiting Scottish-wide projects involved in good practice.
•  Working in partnership with health, youth and education professionals to achieve these aims and ensure we develop good practice in working with young people.

By encouraging open discussions about mental illness and an opportunity to hear directly from users of mental health services, HUG believes young people will feel more able to discuss their emotional and mental health needs and be less discriminatory towards those who experience mental illness.