Mental Health 2.0 Student Competition

1. Mental Health 2.0 Student Competition Joli Scheidler-Benns UOIT 11/27/13

2. Platform: short 45-60 second videos on YouTube/Facebook/University website • Addresses three of the four contest themes • Changing Attitudes • Awareness and Signs of Mental Illness • Community Building • 3 Phases to this video campaign with the ongoing component of creating a unanimous University “feelings” blog for students overseen by a University specialist. A link to the blog can be shown at the end of each video as well as ‘emergency’ contact information and hotline numbers.

3. Phase One I am anyone. Phase One shows students at school, at work or in their community. They are anxious as they think about various things in word balloons (A young woman thinks “I don’t like how I look.” A young mother doing university-level homework looks anxious when she considers caring for her new baby. “How will I balance going to school and being a mom?” A young man feels under pressure doing a mountain of homework at his desk. “Am I good enough to finish this project?”)- “I feel sad” “This is hopeless” “Things will never get better”-additional word balloon ideas. Whenever someone comes near them, they hold up a ‘happy mask’ in front of their faces – it could be a theatre mask, a yellow happy face, or a happy version of them, made to look like a hand-mirror. In addition to the word balloons throughout the video, some useful text at the bottom could include signs of mental illness. It could be read by someone in a voice over as well. It should be pointed out that many people hide or are ashamed of their feelings… so asking how someone is and observing others is a good start-not being fooled by the mask people wear.

4. Phase Two I am every 5th one. Length: 45 second video Phase two shows a variety of social circumstances where the 5th person in every scene is ‘greyed out’ as if they are invisible. Social situations in the video could include a line-up at the coffee shop, a classroom setting or a party. (This reflects the fact that about one in five people suffer from mental illness.) At one point, the viewer watches a mental health advocate speaking to a first year university class, urging them to reach out and show they care if they think they see someone in need. Also urging them to seek help if they need it.  Theme-”Reach out and notice others” Mental illness affects one in five people and we will ALL be affected by mental illness in some way. After the ‘greyed out’ person talks to someone they start to change from grey to colour again… to reduce the stigma and change attitudes..

5. Phase Three I am someone. In this final phase it repeats some of the scenes from the first phase, except the happiness is real…the people are living more authentically after having gotten help, writing on the blog, or talking to someone. The text along the bottom of this phase’s video reinforces the need for people to seek help- it also asks for parents, family members, friends, employers, etc, to be actively engaged in helping the person and educating themselves on the signs of mental illness and ways to help. There is a feeling of “I matter” in this final phase of the campaign, a sense that they can be whomever they want to be and do whatever they’d like in life. Perhaps showing them happy in exciting careers, family situations, or just being joyfully alone in nature – to show they are comfortable with who they are. Theme: “I am more than my illness.” “I am not afraid to get help.” “I deserve to have a great life.” “I am worth it.”

6. Research Research shows that the incidence of mental illness is growing fast and the amount of individual support cannot keep up with the demand. Various interventions and task shifting need to be done in order to reach the increasing demand. By growing awareness of the signs and teaching people what to do when someone confronts them with a mental health issue is important. Early intervention and detection is key to the treatment of mental health illness. Social media and videos are an increasing way for students to receive the information and share it. Short videos are the most common way for students to share information. Blogging also allows an anonymity with a trained specialist and seems to improve symptoms of depression. Research shows that students with social difficulties and depression that regularly write on a blog for 10 weeks improved self-esteem, reduced social and emotional distress, and increased their participation in social activities  

7. References Bennett-Levy J., Richards D. A., Farrand P., Christensen H., Griffiths K. M., Kavanagh D. J., Williams C. (Eds.). (2010). Oxford guide to low intensity CBT interventions. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. Boniel-Nissim M., Barak A. (2011, December 21). The therapeutic value of adolescents’ blogging about social–emotional difficulties. Psychological Services. Harwood T. M., L’Abate L. (2010). Self-help in mental health: A critical review.New York, NY: Springer. T Insel. (2013, April). Toward a new understanding of mental illness. TEDxCaltech. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/thomas_insel_toward_a_new_understanding_of_mental_illness.html Jorm A. F. (2012). Mental health literacy: Empowering the community to take action for better mental health. American Psychologist, 67, 231–243. Kazdin, A. E., & Rabbitt, S. M. (2013). Novel models for delivering mental health services and reducing the burdens of mental illness. Clinical Psychological Science, 1(2), 170-191. Lancet Global Mental Health Group. (2007). Scale up services for mental disorders: A call for action. Lancet, 370, 1241–1252. V Patel. (2012, Sept). Mental health for all by involving all. Ted Talks. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/vikram_patel_mental_health_for_all_by_involving_all.html