Mental Health Booklet Launch

I think it is important to highlight these current issues which are on the increase due to the growth of social media accounts being popular such as Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram. Recent research has shown that in the last year 47% of young people were concerned about their body image and appearance (Mental Health Foundation). Furthermore in 2016, nearly 2,000 girls and 256 boys received counselling sessions from Child Line due to concerns over body image (NSPCC, 2017). This shows the impact this is having on Children and Young People (CYP) and their mental health and the important of raising awareness around this topic to help provide support.

At Victim First we now have a Specialist CYP caseworker to help provide support those aged 3+, and alongside this we also have access to a Mental Health Nurse who we can make referrals to in order to support service users wanting to access support as we understand what the impact of being a victim can have on one’s mental health and wellbeing.

Early last year, myself and my colleagues decided to start up a project around children and young people because of the Victim First remodel. Due to the the lack of resources around CYP we decided to create our very own Mental Health Booklet covering a range of mental health issues such as stress, anxiety and depression. We have also included activity packs and information around accessing support for CYP’s.

Throughout this process we have tried to include feedback from service users aged between 8-14 years and engage with them through workshops by gaining their input around what they would like to see included in the booklet. We have been able to take this feedback on board and incorporated their suggestions such as having activity packs which service users found useful.

If you would like a copy of the booklet to be sent to you directly then please contact us via email on office@victimfirst.pnn.gov.uk

For more information and to keep updated on what we are doing at Victim First, go and follow us on our social media pages!

Thank you!

Indi

Caseworker at Victim First