New publication: Useful material from YES for use in schools

Following a request from teachers who have collaborated with the YES Youth Engagement Scheme and participated in training programs of the Child & Adolescent Mental Health Initiative for the publication of usable material from YES, we are publishing today the manual "Dialogue Activities for Adolescent Mental Health and Wellbeing " and its annex, "Group Games Used in Adolescent Advisory Groups" (both in Greek). This material, compiled by CAMHI's scientific team, includes various dialogue activities carried out within the YES Adolescent Advisory Groups and in partner secondary schools and is offered for use in secondary schools, with the appropriate adaptation needed in each case.
The dialogue activities in schools aim to inform and raise awareness among pupils on issues related to their mental health and wellbeing, aiming at their emotional and social empowerment. The material we are publishing today draws on the experience of two years of the YES Scheme, as well as the long experience of its promoters and the ideas and experiences of teachers who have worked with the project to date. The editor of this proposal is George Moschos, General Director of the YES Youth Engagement Scheme, former Deputy Ombudsman for Children's Rights. The scientific responsibility for the reports on mental health issues lies with Dr. Anastasia Koumoula, Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist and CAMHI's Director. Mental health professionals and members of the Youth Engagement Scheme steering group contributed to the proposal.
As has been noted in recent years, there is a great need for teachers, within the context and limits of their role, to take initiatives to communicate and interact with their students on various issues related to their mental health. The manual proposes actions and techniques that can be used in whole or in part, depending on teachers' pedagogical objectives, and for handling specific requests from students, it is suggested that they work with school mental health consultants.

Download the booklet "Dialogue Actions for Adolescent Mental Health and Wellbeing " here, and its annex "Group Games used in the Adolescent Advisory Groups ", here.

These materials of YES were developed in collaboration with the Child Mind Institute in New York City and with the exclusive support of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) as part of SNF's Global Health Initiative (GHI).