Can’t talk, Write
In partnership with our charity partner, Action for Children and The Prince’s Trust, we have launched a special toolkit, to support young people through these turbulent times.
The toolkit has been created to help children, young people and their parents/carers put pen to paper to support their mental health during and beyond the current crisis.
Research reveals that children and young people across the UK believe a ‘writing break’ can significantly improve their mental health and emotional wellbeing. Nearly half (46 per cent) of children and young people in the UK, said that writing things down made them feel better about something that had made them sad. Young people also said writing made them feel calmer (47 per cent) and helped them to articulate their thoughts and feelings (37 per cent).
Action for Children beneficiary, 17-year-old Harvey Sparrow from Worcester, says writing every day helped support his mental health when he was going through tough times.
‘Writing means that I can explore my thoughts and feeling by attaching words to them,’ he said. ‘This stops them from becoming overwhelming and growing into something bigger in your head. When I see words written down on the page, my thoughts seem much easier to manage.’
Carol Iddon, deputy chief executive at Action for Children, said: ‘The coronavirus crisis has exploded into the lives of children and young people at a time when huge numbers were already suffering mental health problems like anxiety and depression. This has only added to the emotional pressure they were already under.
‘Every day, our frontline services see the pain and worry children face as they struggle to understand how they fit into the world – and now in the midst of a global pandemic, we need to reduce the toll on mental health by giving them practical ways to cope.’
Click here to download the Can’t Talk, Write toolkit.
We understand that there is concern and anxiety about coronavirus. If you, or a member of your team, would like to speak to a counsellor, you can contact First Class Support available 24/7 to provide emotional (not medical) support on 0800 6888 777.
Click here to see the full range of support available to you.
