On My Mind is a universal curriculum for increasing mental health literacy and was developed to be integrated in diverse cultural, structural, and school contexts. The curriculum consists of 18 lesson plans and is designed to be delivered over the course of a school year by trained teachers.
On My Mind is based on the following principles: evidence-based, collaborative, positive and sustainable to provide teachers and students with increased mental health literacy.
On My Mind curriculum was developed by the National Institute of Mental Health’s Working Group on Child and Adolescent Mental Health Research in collaboration with Czech and international experts from government, education and mental health sectors.
On My Mind has been implemented widely in the Czech Republic, and is available to be translated and implemented in additional languages, countries and contexts.
Curriculum
On My Mind consist of 18 lessons divided into 5 topics (1 lesson/45 minutes):
Mental Health
1: Health
2: Mental Health
3: Brain and hormones
4: Stress in our bodies
Students are introduced to the program and learn about mental well-being and the effect of stress and hormones on mental health.
Emotional literacy
5: Emotions
6: Emotional regulation
7: Thoughts
8: Behaviour
Students learn to notice and name their emotions and thoughts and recognize the impact on behaviour. Students are guided in practices improving their ability to regulate their emotions and behaviour.
Relationships
9: Knowing myself
10: Relationships with others
11: Building empathy
Students realise the importance of relationships both with self and others, and learn healthy relationship skills including developing and practising empathy, respect, and kindness.
Communication
12: Communication basics
13: Communicating emotions
14: Healthy communication
Students deepen their communication skills, learn to better deal with conflicts and challenging situations and realise their agency in behaviours and communication strategies.
Mental health first aid
15: It’s OK not to be OK
16: Mental health care
17: Seeking help
18: My Mental Health Plan
Students learn signs and symptoms of mental health problems, types of mental health care, and help-seeking knowledge and resources. In the end, each student creates an individualized mental health plan.
The curriculum is intended to be delivered over the course of a school year with a consistent teacher and class, averaging one lesson plan per week. The knowledge and skills students learn are built upon in subsequent lessons.
Each lesson teaches students 3 key takeaways using a variety of teaching methods including lectures, experiential exercises, individual, pair or group activities, practices, reflection, observation and discussion. After each lesson students journal 3 key takeaways and 1 personal discovery. Every lesson ends with an experiment, giving students encouragement to actively practice mental health promoting practices over the course of the week.
What do teachers and students who have already gone through the programme have to say about On My Mind?
Teacher training
All teachers of the On My Mind programme are provided with comprehensive 20 hour training (3 days), manual with the necessary theoretical and practical context and journals for students. It includes 18 lessons with detailed information on how to deliver the lesson and what to do in it.
The training includes:
- three days of professional guidance by experienced lecturers
- the On My Mind methodology with detailed lesson plans
- workbooks for students
- practice of individual activities and new methods of working with the class
- mental health support tips for teachers
The ideal candidate is:
- a teacher of Health education or similar subject at primary school
- a teacher with an interest in the topic of mental health, who is not afraid of new challenges
- a teacher working with Year 6 and/or Year 7 students at least once a week
Training objectives:
- To prepare teachers for the successful implementation of the On My Mind program and to learn essential knowledge, skills and attitudes related to mental health literacy and social-emotional learning.
- Focus on topics such as mental health and mental health problems, the role of the teacher in the program, principles of mental health literacy, self-care, pedagogical skills relevant to program implementation, and theoretical and developmental background.
- To transfer knowledge and skills for managing emotions and stress, promoting healthy communication, managing conflict and challenging situations, building healthy relationships and early identification and addressing potential psychological problems.
- To provide teachers with the knowledge and skills needed to improve their own mental well-being and prevent burnout.
Contact us
If you are interested in introducing the On My Mind program in your country, please contact us for further information.
This programme was created with the support of the RSJ Foundation Czech Republic and the EEA Grants 2014-2021.
