In the Zone

I was recruited in December 2022 by Cyrenians Scottish Centre for Conflict Resolution to be their Emotional Health and Wellbeing Lead, a new role. The position was created to deliver on our earlier intervention strategy to tackle youth homelessness and our work to transform the emotional and human cost of conflict. The role reflects a growing awareness that boosting the quality of the mental health of family members is a key part of reducing the household conflict that leads to youth homelessness.

We’re living through a period in which the mental health of our young people is suffering. Between January and March 2023 roughly 10,500 children and young people were referred to CAMHS in Scotland. Furthermore, children and young people with Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), or those living in poverty, are significantly more likely to experience mental health problems.

The pandemic lockdowns didn’t help. The mental health and wellbeing of young people has been significantly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, with increased levels of anxiety, depression and loneliness reported.

With that in mind, we can see that there is a significant need to widen awareness of mental health and wellbeing within schools to support young people.

Just last week, SCCR launched a workbook for young people, a school pack for teachers, and new digital resources that will platform work I’ve been developing and testing in schools. The digital resources, with one set designed for young people and another for professionals are available on our website.

This work builds on previous SCCR psychoeducational resources like Money Vs Lizard and Emotional Homunculus; it continues our exploration of the science of conflict but with a new emphasis on how it can benefit emotional health.

The workbook and school pack, both called Emotions and the Brain, have a twin purpose: they build key skills in emotional regulation and communication for general wellbeing, but also teach young people about conflict resolution at home.

Book and pack are divided into four sections. ‘My Brain’ starts by looking at the brain itself, at the parts that are involved in how we respond to conflict, and the ‘neurochemicals’ that influence mood.

The second part ‘My Emotions’ explores feelings, why they’re important and how to recognise them.

In ‘My Wellbeing’, we share coping techniques to help young people better respond to their emotions and challenge unhelpful thinking patterns.

We conclude with ‘Our Relationships’, which focus on building key communication skills. After this session, young people will be able to name different approaches to conflict and be able to say what’s important to consider when resolving conflict.

Young people can read and complete the exercises in an interactive version of the workbook alone or with adults who’ve engaged with them, such as youth workers. There will also be a section of the Learning Zone created for professionals and practitioners working with families in conflict that shares insights gained from the science of conflict and resolution techniques.

Given the significant effect on mental health and wellbeing conflict has, developing these skills early is essential if we are serious about supporting young people to improve their relationships. We would all benefit from focusing more on our emotional health and wellbeing in our daily lives. SCCR’s Emotions and the Brain workbook, school pack and webpages are our contribution to, so to speak, changing minds.

You can download the workbook for young people here.

You can download the schoolpack for teachers here.

You can visit the young person’s Learning Zone here.

You can visit the professionals’ Learning Zone here.