The theme of this year's Children's Mental Health Week is 'my voice matters', which is about empowering children and young people by providing them with the tools they need to express themselves.
When we feel empowered, this has a positive impact on our well-being. It's important that children and young people feel that they are heard and listened to, giving them a greater sense of community, improving their self-esteem and confidence, and boosting their mental health.
Here at West Sussex Mind, we know that giving children and young people a voice and reassuring them that it is okay to say how they feel and ask for help is crucial for their mental health. We support children and young people directly and help them to manage their mental health, build resilience and connect in with their local community. We also provide support and training for parents and professionals to help them support children and young people.
Here's a flavour of what we can provide:
- Specialist children and young people mental health workers in GP practices: support for those aged eight to 17 in Worthing, Adur, Chanctonbury, Arun and rural north Chichester
- Support for young people aged 16-25
- Support for families with young children (Families in Mind): we offer help and support to parents prior to having a child, after their child is born and until their child reaches school age
- Parents and carers support: we help parents and carers to increase their understanding and confidence in coping with and addressing their child's or young person's mental health and find peer support with fellow parents. We also offer free webinars and courses for parents.
- Mental health training for schools: our self-harm learning network and Youth Mental Health First Aider course are available to schools to help them support their students. We offer a range of courses for professionals and volunteers working with children and young people.
Find out more about Children's Mental Health Week and find resources from Place2Be, which runs this annual awareness week.