Join the SMART Living Team – 08/09 November, New Forest
Resilience, Mindfulness and Well-being Coaching, for children and young people in schools and community settings
Course Outcomes: Participants will have a thorough understanding of stress management, relaxation and resilience, using mindfulness and positive psychology practice and techniques. Through exploring practical activities which are simple and fun, participants will have a ‘toolkit’ to facilitate and enable children and young people to use these skills for themselves. This certified advanced training gives you 24 twenty-minute Lesson Plans, linking to PSHE, Citizenship and individual community values. Our courses are approved for insurance by the Association of Complimentary Therapists, Think Tree International and The Federation of Holistic Healers, which means upon graduating you can procure up to 5 million in insurance for public liability, giving you the correct level of insurance to work in private/public sector organisations.
” Well-being is a skill that can be learned & cultivated, when we develop this skill we change the physical structure of the brain to create more healing pathways. Well-being emerges when we create connections in our lives.” Daniel J Siegel MD 2014
Stress can trigger states of anxiety, sadness and distress which affect our ability to focus and learn – our course is designed to help them deal with these normal emotions and give them the skills to navigate negative emotional states whilst learning to feel calmer, happier and more successful in learning to trust their own abilities and creativity.
This 9 modular course for children and young people is designed to enhance and support skills in:
- Relaxation and self-soothing,
- Emotional literacy – managing moods, stress and anxiety
- Developing resilience
- Improving confidence and self esteem
- Improving the ability to focus and learn
- Improving well-being and tapping into feelings of self-esteem
- Mental health in the context of adolescence
The eight modules include 24 twenty minute classes that can easily fit into a citizenship or PHSE class. Each delegate receives an Educator’s Guide with an overview of the sessions and background information. This guide includes session aims, resources needed, timings, preparation and top tips. We use evidence- based strategies which have been proven to help children and support them with emotional and behavioural challenges.
An overview of safeguarding issues such as dealing with disclosure, DBS checks, and confidentiality will be covered.
This training is for teachers, teaching assistants, learning mentors, health and social care workers and anyone who works with children in schools or community settings.
COURSE ENTRY REQUIREMENTS: Applicants need to have acceptable qualifications, in related areas: education, health and social care and those working in the field of physical, mental or emotional well-being wishing to add to their skill base. Or be able to demonstrate that their accumulated knowledge and skills is equal to the requirements of the above.
Preferred but not essential (dependent on current skill base) -completion of the Relaxation, Meditation and Mindfulness Instructor Course.
Complementary Therapists Association, CThA Approved Core Therapy Status and Think Tree International level 3 status 20 CPD Points
Benefits – 20 CPD points – COST: £695.00 – School Teachers Discount £100
All students who obtain a CThA Approved Core Therapy qualification will automatically be accepted as members. All Approved Core Therapy or Advanced Training therapies are automatically accepted for addition to the professional’s register of treatments and will be covered by CTHA’s insurance provider.
SMART Young Minds – Sample Module 9 Key Learning
- Mental health in the context of adolescence. Exploring resilience and well-being practices to encourage development in young people.
- Explore the key changes in relationships that take place during adolescence e.g. sexual health, relationships, substance use and well-being practices to increase self-esteem and confidence and reduce anxiety and stress.
- 7 Pillars of support for young people to navigate the challenges they face. Inner Hero, Know Yourself, Safety Circle, Under the Influence, Life Management Skills, Self-Protection and Self-Esteem
- Support avenues for trusted adults who can promote positive mental health and signpost well-being and resilience routes to services.
Module 1 – Our Amazing Brains
Key learning:
- How the brain responds to stress and anxiety
- How stress interferes with learning and clear thinking
- Introduce the core breathing
Introductions
Agreements/ ground rules for feeling safe in the sessions
Introduction to the brain: explain functions of amygdala, hippocampus and pre frontal cortex. Describe how stress hormones prohibit communication to pre frontal cortex and hippocampus affecting our thinking learning and memory.
Introduce the core breathing practice.
Introduce journal keeping /reflective diary for the course
Module 2 – The Happiness Effect
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Module 1 – Our Amazing Brains
Key learning:
- Awareness of the mind body connection
- Strategies for eliciting happiness
Explore how we feel in our body when we feel stressed or worried and when we feel happy
Guided visualisation : happiness /calm / motivation switch
Explore what makes us happy.
Review core breathing practice and introduction to mindfulness: awareness without judgement.
Module 3 – Educating Pupils Inner Calm
Key Learning:
- Benefits and values of being calm
- Skills to elicit calm using progressive relaxation and guided visualisation
Discuss and explore benefits of being calm in life – review of how stress affects our thinking.
Progressive Relaxation exercise to focus on key areas where stress can build up in the body
Identify core values for self and consider how being calm and mindful will help to achieve them
Identify ways in life to elicit calm using all the senses such as music, colour and texture.
Explore a vision for a peaceful world- what would it look like? How would it feel?
Module 4 – It’s Okay To Be Different (Glows & Grows)
Key Learning:
- Possibilities of acceptance and valuing who we are
- Skills to explore and develop our individuality
- Awareness of strengths and what we would like to develop –
Body scan to explore acceptance. Discussion how does acceptance help us in life?
Identify what makes us unique and what we feel we’re good at (glows)
Inquiry into qualities we would like to develop (grows)
Guided visualization sowing seeds of kindness/ weeding out unkindness
Develop positive self-affirming statements
Use reflective diary to record
Guided visualization Safe space, inner garden
Module 5 – Let’s Get Physical
Key Learning:
- Benefits of mindful movement and body awareness
- Importance of physical exercise for health and emotional strength and balance
- How we can develop new skills and qualities
Mindful movement activity / yoga class
Discussion: explore benefits of physical exercise mindful movement
Tree posture: Improving physical strength and balance can transfer to more confident and balanced mind.
Explain neuroplasticity: creating and deepening neural pathways – if we want new skills/ qualities we just need to practice them
Identify personal physical goals we would like to achieve
Module 6 – Mindful Munching
Key Learning:
- Experience mindful eating and benefits to appetite and healthy
- Values of healthy eating
- Explore beginners mind to appreciate the simple things in life
Mindful eating activity with chocolate using all our senses, followed by discussion: does eating mindfully make it taste better? Where does our food come from? Who grows it?
Explore the difference between mindful and mindless eating.
Activity: design and create a healthy buffet
Explore other objects and activities to develop a beginners mind.
Guided visualization: beginners mind versus automatic pilot
Module 7 – Riding With Resilience
Key Learning:
- The importance of being able to bounce back- skills to develop personal resilience
- CBT model, thoughts feeling and actions
- Benefits of patience and tolerance for self and others
Discussion and activity to explain resilience and it’s benefits
Explain CBT model: how our thoughts, feelings and actions impact on each other. We can’t help how we feel but we can use our thinking to change the way we feel and behave.
Explore scenarios to problem solve and use ‘STOP’ method.
Stop
Take a Breath,
Observe your thoughts,
Plan your action
Identify personal challenges and how we can change our usual response to them, using patience and tolerance
Module 8 – An Attitude of Gratitude
Key Learning:
- What is gratitude and how it affects our own well-being as well as others
- Kindness to self and others, the possibilities of creating a kinder and more humane world.
Consider what we mean by gratitude and look at why it makes us feel good – what happens in the brain.
Identify ways of showing appreciation and being kind
Identify ways of improving wellbeing using the Mental Health Foundation’s ‘5 ways to Wellbeing’
Reflect on how and why we can take kindness out into the world
Meditation: Life is sweet