Training program

During this 2 year project partner have shared and developed best practices for promoting mental wellbeing. These materials are gathered in to a traning program which is developed around five themes: 

• mental wellbeing as a resource, 
• self-knowledge, 
• emotions and interaction, 
• coping skills and 
• the learning community

Training program can be carried out in organizations who are interested in promoting mental wellbeing in their organization. These are our recommendations for promoting mental wellbeing in school environment:

Recommendations for Promoting Mental Wellbeing in VET

1.   Values

Common values, created and adopted by personnel, engage the community in promoting mental well-being.

2.   Trust

Openness in conversations and internal communications builds an atmosphere of trust.

3.   Professional Competence

The teaching and student welfare staff have knowledge about mental health and competence in teaching mental health skills.

4.   Sense of Community

Every student and every member of staff feels being part of a caring community. It is manifested in practice in group formation and supportive encountering and dialogue.

5.   Early Support

An efficient way to prevent problems is to listen to a student already when the first concern arises and guide him / her on to student welfare services if needed.

6.   Encouraging Atmosphere

The community enables experiences of joy and success to all of its members.

7.   Engaging school management

The school management becomes familiar with factors of mental wellbeing. Management takes an active role in promoting mental wellbeing by hearing staff members in order to improve the working conditions and atmosphere.

Program gives participants furtner information on the mental health issues but also give concrete materials and methods that help students combine mental health skills with vocational skills, and which students, parents and internship companies can find beneficial.  
Target group of the traning is teaching staff.  All best practices presented in traning program are can be caried out with students during their studies.

Traning program is structured in to 2 sections:

1. Mental health as a resourse
2. Workshops of 4 themes   

Program can be carried out as 4 hour (2+2) traning. This includes joint part of Mental Health as a resource and one chosen theme. Training  can be implemented as separate sessions as well. In case separate sessions are implemented, we recomment to give assignment between trainings. Assignment can be to test some of the best practices on students and reclect on it in the following session. It is recommenteded that same participants take part to these 2 trainings.

Mental health as a resource can be carried out to wider audience, workshops are adviced to be carried out for around 20 participants. Workshops include testing shared best practices.

Here is a suggestion how organization may carry out training program:

Day 1

14:00-15:30 Mental Health as a resource training 

• Power point presentation to wider audience
• Excersices during presentation 
• Assignment to test one chosen  best practice with the students
• Assessment of the training 

Day 2 

13-15:30 Workshop of the Emotions and Interactions 

• Icebreaker to get to know the participants. Max. 20 participants
• Orientation to theme how to success in teaching: reflection of the assigment given previous time, basic information of the theme, presentation of the Windmill of Emotions
• Regulation of the Emotions: the role of the teacher and the needs of working life, presentation of the Mood diary and examples of using best practices during on-the-job learning period.
• Presentation of the Elevator of Emotions and testing the game + other best practices
• Assessment of the training

All best practices presented in training program can be carried out with students during their studies.