SchoolSpace Research Project
The SchoolSpace Research Project
The SchoolSpace Research Project aims to reduce stigma, increase understanding of mental health issues (mental health literacy), and promote well-being in young adolescents.
The study is funded by NIHR, through CLAHRC BBC (Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care – Birmingham & Black Country) theme three; mental health.
Background
There is growing pressure on schools to address the emotional well-being and mental health needs of their students as the majority of mental disorders will have their beginnings in childhood and adolescence1. Despite this, adolescents are less likely to seek help for mental health difficulties than adults2. One of the barriers to seeking help for mental illness is stigma towards individuals who have mental disorders3, which studies suggest develops throughout childhood and adolescence4;5.
Contact between individuals who come from stigmatised ‘out-groups’ groups and those who come from the ‘in-group’ has been successfully used as a method to reduce stigma relating to race6, HIV and AIDs7, sexuality8, and mental disorders.9. However, has not been widely investigated as a means to reduce the stigma of mental illness in young adolescents.
The Project
The SchoolSpace Research Project involved the development and evaluation of an educational mental health intervention in 6 schools. 11-13 year old students worked with mental health professionals and young people who had personal experience living with mental illness during school-based workshop days designed to reduce stigma of mental illness, improve mental health literacy, and to promote mental health.
A central element of the workshop days involved an interactive discussion about living with a mental illness led by young people who had personal experience of mental illness. The SchoolSpace Project took place as part of a wider public campaign aimed at improving knowledge and awareness of mental disorders in Birmingham, UK, and was developed in collaboration with teachers, secondary school students, and young people with personal experience of living with mental illness.