Mental health and inclusion: Creating safety through language

Chloe Ryan

Hello and welcome to our session, Mental health and inclusion, creating safety through language. My name is Chloe Ryan and I'm a Be You Education Consultant with the New South Wales/ACT Be You team. I'm really pleased to be hosting our session today alongside Ami Raman, who is joining us all the way from the other side of the world. Thank you, Ami for taking the time to share your expertise today.

Ami Raman

Thanks Chloe and céad míle fáilte, a hundred thousand welcomes from County Cork in Ireland. So thank you everyone for joining us today. As Chloe mentioned, I'm Ami Raman. I'm a Clinical Psychologist who's primarily worked with child and adolescent mental health throughout my career. I'm currently a Clinical Content Lead at Orygen Digital, and I've also been historically part of the Be You team for quite a few years, so it's really great to be here. Thank you.

Chloe Ryan

Okay. Just to get us started, I would like to Acknowledge that today I'm joining from Gadigal Land of the people of the Eora Nation, and that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples are Australia’s First People and Traditional Custodians. I would like to extend my Acknowledgement to the Traditional Custodians of the Lands of all who are joining our session today. And I would also like to pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging. 

We would like to highlight this visual of supports that should be showing on the screen for you. And that they are services that are available nationally. Today we aim to provide a safe space for our shared learning and reflections in the session. So please consider your own wellbeing throughout, as well as other participants, in the chat box. We would love to hear from you during the session. So please feel free to participate in the polls and the chat box throughout.

So just a little bit about Be You. I'm sure you're familiar, but for those who don't know Be You or haven't been in one of our Virtual Conferences before, Be You is the national mental health initiative for educators and the organiser of this conference. The initiative is led by Beyond Blue in partnership with Early Childhood Australia and headspace. It's completely free, available to every educator, early learning service and school in Australia. Throughout the session, we will be referring to some of the Be You tools available to all schools and educators. All of the Be You resources that we speak to, and those also available on the website, are designed to support a whole learning community approach to mental health and wellbeing. Ami's going to give us a bit of a session outline now. 

Are you there Ami?

Ami Raman

Yes. Are you able to hear me, Chloe?

Chloe Ryan

I can hear you now, thank you. Nothing like a little bit of a glitch to get us started.

Ami Raman

That's right. Okay, great. So in today's session, we're going to be highlighting the important role that language plays in creating a safe and inclusive school community. We'll be talking about the key principles of inclusive language, and also acknowledging that transformation does occur little by little. So we will be looking at some practical strategies on how, through our everyday exchanges, we can adopt some of these inclusive practices into everyday interactions. We're also going to be talking a bit about the role of student voice and how vital this is to empower students to actively participate in decision-making, particularly when it comes to mental health programs in schools. And also how this creates sustainable benefits if it's done with intention and purpose and a bit of a plan. So Chloe, I might hand it to you now to lead us to our poll.

Chloe Ryan

Great. Well, recently I came across this quote that I thought I would like to share to get us thinking about our topic today. Change your language and you change your thoughts. We know that language is constantly changing and evolving and we faced with this all the time. I'm sure those who are joining us from department roles are very familiar with how much names and acronyms change over time. But I thought I would share this because it really captures some of the key things that we need to consider when creating safe and inclusive environments. Our own thoughts, attitudes and unconscious bias. However, this will continue to change as language is constantly evolving.

So let's take a moment to reflect on how we've already adapted to this change in language over time, to show us that we can do this well. In the chat box, if you would like to share an example of language or terminology in education that has changed over time. 

I know something that comes to mind for myself is that, is the shift in language around special education. Some specialist settings that may have once been known as units for emotional disturbances and behaviour disorders, they are now more broadly referred to as schools for specific purposes. I think this shift eliminates negative connotations that may be associated and also normalises the setting.

While we wait for some chat discussion to come through, there are many examples that I can think of in education, Ami, but are there any examples you can think of in your professional experience from a mental health perspective?

Ami Raman

Yeah, Chloe, it's a really interesting thing to reflect on, isn't it? One thing that comes to mind when I think about the healthcare sector and particularly mental health, is that the use of the term frequent flyers. It was something that was quite commonly used in the healthcare sector to describe people that were quite well known to services or they'd be in and out of services. And in hindsight, looking back on it, the consequences of using this sort of term to refer to people, it would've actually led to a fair bit of bias when it came to clinical judgment, looking at diagnosis and treatment. Referring to someone as a frequent flyer, just because they're utilising mental health services a lot. Now that this a bit more awareness about the impact of language, it is something that we are more mindful of. But, yeah, that's just one reflection that comes to mind when I think about, I could probably think of many as well. I'd be really interested to hear or have a look at what some of our teachers are saying. Okay. Let's have a look at the chat box. Oh, yeah, there's some great things coming through.

Yep. So Diane said from disability to special needs, additional needs, and that's something we'll talk about in today's session. People who say naughty, Elizabeth says. Gendered language, that's fantastic. Neurodiversity. Yeah, there are some really great things coming through. So, thank you, everyone for your input.

So there's a lot more about student agency and being student led. Yeah, these are fantastic examples. So I guess that just reinforces how much, as teachers as well, you've seen the landscape shift during your practice, which is essentially what we'll be talking about today.

Before we move on, I just really love what Christine has just said in the chat, seeking attention or attention seeking. We've definitely moved away from that language more towards connection seeking or attachment needing. Which completely, again, shifts the whole lens through which we view young people who might be presenting with additional needs.

Yeah, these are all great. I could keep reading them all day, but yeah. Thank you for your contributions.

Chloe Ryan

I think these examples that have been given really show how much language has evolved already. And that it can be neutral, strengths-based, less based on labels or diagnosis and more personalised and reflective of context. And we can see that, as I said, that we already have, we are already aware of how much language has changed already. So today we will explore why it's important for continued transformation and what we hope to achieve through this.

So, I like the idea of, when we're thinking about how we can do that, reflecting on our own personal why. Because the greater the why, the easier the how. We'd like to invite you to share in the poll what is your priority outcome? We know that people might have many, but what is, what are you really hoping to achieve when working to enhance safe and inclusive language in your learning community? So, let's, oh, wow. People are really quick off the mark. Amazing. 

So we can see those results coming through already. Individuals feel valued and respected, that's something that has jumped ahead.

Ami Raman

Yeah, and that's fantastic because essentially that's what the session is really about today. 

Chloe Ryan

Absolutely. That's great to see that people that already have that intention have decided to come along today and learn about how they can enhance this practice. We do have a little bit of, some people have selected the other options there. And I think that that also reflects that all of these outcomes are important, and it really depends on your individual context as to what your priority would be.

Ami Raman

I have noticed how active the chat box is and it's fantastic. So keep it coming everyone. This is great. 

Chloe Ryan

Amazing. I wish that I could see that, Ami, amazing, thank you. But just before we really dive into things during the session we'd really like you to reflect on those, the way that you can impact and model through language. So here is another quote to illustrate the power of language. It reminds us that the language we use as individuals shapes the way that we communicate which ultimately impacts on others. These two quotes show the duel impact of the language that we use on ourselves and on others. And which brings us to thinking, how can we use our language to create a safe and learning environment? And I'll pass it over to you, Ami.

Ami Raman

Yeah, thanks Chloe. So again, today we're talking about inclusive language and how to apply this across our whole school community. And I just want to make it also quite clear that there can be a bit of confusion around what inclusive language is. I'm probably preaching to the choir a little bit saying this in this session, but we're really not talking about impinging on free speech or this idea of political correctness, which often I think inclusive language gets tied into. What we're really talking about is communicating in a way that's accessible and respectful and values, includes and empowers all members of our school communities. And in essence that's what we're here really today to talk about, which is empowerment.

So, we know that language is powerful. The language we use can either consciously or unconsciously offend, intimidate, belittle, exclude and also reinforce harmful stereotypes. And this can contribute to the unequal status of individuals and groups. But on the flip side, language can also have really positive effects on people which is reflected in some of the things that you've shared in the chatbox. So how can we use language to create an environment of safety and inclusion? Inclusive language promotes the participation of all, and it avoids words and phrases that exclude people from being seen as part of the group or a team. How this relates to mental health is that, the way, I'm not sure how many people are already familiar with recovery oriented language, but there's more of an emphasis now on speaking about mental ill health in a way that is free from stigma. Because if we speak of mental health and certain ways, we might actually alienate people who are already at risk. So we're going to talk about this soon in our session and also look at some strategies to support safe conversations about mental health.

But first, we're going to look at diversity and how inclusive language applies. So mental health and diversity and inclusion are closely connected. And we really need to be mindful that the language we use should be respectful of the diversity of Australia's Peoples. And as you've already mentioned in the chat, there are a whole range of things we are already mindful of when we're speaking about diversity. Because we know that people from diverse backgrounds can face a lack of representation, unconscious biases and a whole range of stresses that can impact upon mental health and sense of psychological safety.

So, whether it's a conscious or unconscious, our choice of words can influence how someone might perceive themselves. And inclusive language, that's why inclusive language is so important because it helps people who have been historically marginalised, whether that's because of their race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability status and other aspects of identity. So, what we know is while the meaning of words might change over time, it can be, it takes deliberate action to break our habitual use of words. Particularly around phrases that aren't inclusive. So we're really briefly going to touch on some of these, the key principles that we can adopt when we're referring to a person's characteristics or a group of people. 

So when we're looking at gender and sexual diversity, it's really important that we use inclusive language that conveys gender equality and gender neutrality. So an example of that would be respecting people's preferences around pronoun choice, job titles and also personal titles. I know someone mentioned something about people's disability in the chat. And it's really important that we keep in mind that disability doesn't define someone. So we really need to use language that reflects that.

With First Nations Australians, it's really important that we use a culturally appropriate and respectful language when writing with, for or about or speaking about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. And that also might involve consulting with community around what the context and the appropriateness of language. 

When it comes to age diversity and cultural and linguistic diversity, it's something that we only really need to refer to if necessary. So it's just helpful to be mindful of what language we're using and why when we are acknowledging people from diverse backgrounds.

There will be several guidelines that provide some guidance on how to adopt inclusive language practice that will be provided in the chat box. Because we've only just managed to scratch the surface in that particular slide.

Chloe Ryan

Absolutely. It is a lot to take on board. However, I do know that the idea of inclusion would be very familiar to educators, Ami, particularly in the context of disability and diversity. In the context of language and mental health, can you help us unpack what this means and what it looks like?

Ami Raman

Yeah, absolutely, Chloe. So we know historically mental health has been heavily stigmatised. And, it's funny, actually, as I'm sitting here in Cork there is actually an asylum behind me that, it used to be an asylum. So it's very timely that we're talking about this. We've come a long way as a society in terms of how we view mental ill health. But what we know is there's still some remnants of the stigma that used to exist when it comes to communicating about people who might be experiencing any mental health challenges. What we know is the way we communicate about mental ill health can greatly influence help seeking behaviour and can perpetuate stigma in our school communities. What we know about stigma is that it can actually exacerbate mental health challenges and it's associated with a range of adverse outcomes. For example, avoidance, isolation, loss of self-esteem, feeling disempowered, reluctance to seek help, hopelessness and worsening psychological or psychosocial symptoms. And that's obviously something that we would really want to minimise in our communities. And as I mentioned before, we have come a long way as a society and we're continually evolving. But these things, the type of language we use can still, it could still occur insidiously, whether it's conscious or otherwise. 

So, I guess that moves us along to think about recovery oriented language, which is something that we're a lot more aware of now. And how the use of preferred language can really support to reduce stigma and facilitate help seeking behaviours. So when I. Sorry, Chloe

Chloe Ryan

No, you're alright. Keep going.

Ami Raman

The great thing about recovery oriented language, it sits really nicely alongside trauma informed practice. Which is something that, as educators, I'm sure a lot of you are aware of already. So when we're looking at recovery oriented language, we're really reframing problems so we're seeing within the context of the whole person. And also acknowledging that as a person, you're an active agent with positive strengths and achievements, as well as difficulties. So using recovery oriented language, which we will actually provide some examples of soon, it's not about ignoring difficulties that people face, it's about using our words and our language to show belief that people can overcome difficulties and also demonstrates commitment to supporting people through challenging times.

One really key feature of recovery oriented language is also using the language that someone uses about their own experiences and reflecting that in our conversations, rather than making our own assumptions or judgements. Or projecting, maybe what we think the person's experiencing. It's best to actually be led by someone's experience. 

Chloe Ryan

Absolutely. So I can see, as you said, Ami, that there are definitely aspects of this that do align with trauma informed practice, which educators are familiar with. However, this is another thing that we're thinking of. So I'm not sure if you mentioned, Ami, but the Mindframe guidelines, which we will share in the chat, they can also help us build on this familiar practice and help us understand the best way to communicate about mental ill health. And I think you're going to give us some examples.

Ami Raman

Yep. That's right. So here are some examples of preferred language that can replace stigmatising and commonly used phrases using the recovery oriented approach. So, I guess, one example would be something that we might say would be Mani rejects health and support. If we actually think about what the impact is or what sort of feelings or connotations that brings up, there is a bit of a sense of blame and hopelessness around that sentence. Compared to something like Mani hasn't had good experiences of the services in the past and is finding it difficult to accept help. This example of preferred language, it validates the lived experience of the person that's being spoken about and also it's recovery oriented.

Instead of saying Jason is suffering from depression, which suggests a lack of quality of life and also might sensationalise mental health conditions, we could say something like Jason lives with depression. Which implies recovery is possible and it's more of a strengths-based approach.

It's also helpful to keep in mind that very often there's actually no need to mention a diagnosis at all. I understand in the school setting it might be different than might be a clear purpose for why a diagnosis is important. But it is helpful to also keep in mind whether or not it needs to be mentioned. And if it is, using the term "a person is diagnosed with" rather than defining someone by their diagnosis. So instead of saying, Mike is schizophrenic, you might say Mike has been diagnosed with schizophrenia. Because a person is more than their diagnosis.

And I understand that some of this might just seem really a bit overwhelming or like there's a lot to keep in mind. But these are just some general principles to start to shift the way we think about the words we use and also the impact of using quite commonly used phrases we might not really think too much about. And then, how to replace them in a more recovery oriented way.

Chloe Ryan

Yeah. I was thinking that, Ami, actually, I can imagine that a lot of people are feeling overwhelmed and thinking, oh, goodness, how do I speak to this? Or how do I speak to that? And thinking maybe we can start to overthink what we do say, and then perhaps they can, we might feel scared that we're going to say the wrong thing, despite our best intentions. Are there specific things or key points that teachers can take into their practice, or is the recommendation that we learn preferred language and keep up to date as it changes?

Ami Raman

Yeah, that's such a great question, Chloe. And it's something I'm really mindful of as we're talking through today's content. We have to keep in mind, and I think as educators we all know language is dynamic and it's incredibly fluid. So it's really important to understand the concepts behind inclusive and empowering language and practice, rather than just memorising a list of acceptable words. That being said, it's really helpful to know that guidelines and resources exist to support language. And that can act as a guideline. That being said, there's only so much we can take on board at once and because a language is always evolving it's something that might feel like it's quite difficult to keep on top of. Therefore, knowing where to access the resources and the supports is really important. But more importantly, I think it's to understand the key principles of what inclusive practice really is rather than necessarily memorising a list of acceptable words. That being said, it also helps to be aware of what's preferred and what's maybe not at any given time. But we'll actually talk about what the five steps to inclusive language are that the Diversity Council Australia recommends.

Again, I just want to reinforce before we move into this section that using inclusive language doesn't mean tiptoeing around sensitive topics. It's really about actively listening and visibly engaging with ongoing conversations about diversity and inclusion.

So the five steps to inclusive language as suggested by the Diversity Council Australia are firstly to keep an open mind. Again, I think a lot of the people here probably already on that same page because you signed up for this session. But I think it's really helpful for us to keep an open-mind as we all come across different information, people, ideas and things that challenge our own conception of what's normal. And I'm sure that throughout our lives, our idea of normal has shifted significantly. So that's something that we need to be cognisant of, that there is no normal. So being open to changing what we've always thought is normal is really important. And also acknowledging that we're not always going to know and we just need to be open to change and willing to continue learning.

We also need to consider context. So something that might be appropriate in one situation might not be so appropriate in another situation. So thinking about what's appropriate in which situation is important. 

And we've just had a question, I'm just seeing that's come through the discussion. So the question is if a student comes in looking for a teacher in our staff room, if they don't know the person's name, they might need to use their gender, age, culture, et cetera to describe who they're looking for. How else can you describe someone without being offensive?

It's a really, really great question. So thanks for asking that. And it actually fits quite well into what we're talking about now, which is the importance of context. So in a situation if you're able to describe someone in a way that's free from some physical characteristics then that's what you would do. But in a situation where there's no other sort of identifying features, again, it's about context and the intention.

Again, we don't have to really tiptoe around things where it might be the only way that you're able to describe someone. It's about context and what the intention is.

Chloe Ryan

I think a point that we would probably reiterate through this session is not to make assumptions. So if there's no other way to speak about someone, I like thinking about the other identifying factors about describing somebody. So what do they teach? What do they do? What have they achieved? And then if we do look at those other factors that contribute to a person's identity, then having a good understanding perhaps of what that is and not making assumptions. And of course there will be times where we don't always get it right. But this is what we're hoping to highlight throughout the session that it's just about small steps and embedding that into, like a small step into our practice over time to make it sustainable and continue that modelling for our young people as well.

Ami Raman

Yeah. Great. Thanks Chloe. And also that leads really nicely into the third point, which is really focusing on the person. So focus on the person first, rather than potentially a demographic group they belong to. So only really referred to someone's age or their cultural background or their gender if it's relevant. Because often, more often than not, it's not really necessary to differentiate or single out people based on these characteristics. And I guess the whole purpose of not doing that is we're trying not to perpetuate stereotypes. So again, it comes back to intention or what the implications might be by using that type of language.

I can also see some comments coming through that these are really great steps. So if you would like to know more, please look at the Diversity Council Australia's WordsAtWork reference because it fleshes these out in a lot more detail.

Chloe Ryan

I think we'll be sharing the link to that and other resources at the end of the session. So, and we do have a lot of resources to share. So maybe think about what is one step that you would like to, or one part of our presentation that you'd like to focus on and look at that resource. So you're not too overwhelmed.

Ami Raman

Yeah and we spent a lot of time wading through the best resources so hopefully we won't bombard you with anything that's not useful.

So the fourth one is really about asking if in doubt. And by asking it's more about using open questioning to build on your understanding, particularly when you feel like you might be making assumptions. And when we're using open questioning, we also need to practice active listening. Because if we're not actually listening, we might implicitly be making assumptions or judgements about what the person might be experiencing. It's also really important to defer to people with lived experience when we're talking, particularly about groups of people. And the Diversity Council Australia recommends contacting organisations who make up and represent particular diverse groups. Because language is constantly evolving again. And advice or information from external sources might be really helpful, particularly when situations are unclear.

And this is the last point. I just really want to focus on because it's something I know historically I know I've been prone to this. But I think it can be quite a common experience to feel a bit defensive when you're called out on using language that's maybe not appropriate or when someone might correct a mistake with the language you're using. And it takes some conscious awareness to actually make yourself open to feedback and to not respond defensively if someone recommends adjusting a word choice or calls you out on maybe on not saying the right thing. So getting called out doesn't mean you need to defend yourself because we might inadvertently trivialise someone's feelings or their lived experience. Things you might think or say would be they are just overreacting. But that really doesn't help to build inclusion. So it's really helpful, again, when we look back at open questioning and keeping an open mind, it really helps us to refocus on understanding the other person's perspective rather than feeling like we needed to defend our way of thinking or not being able to correct our own mistakes.

Chloe Ryan

I think it's important as teachers and as educators and as adults that we are able to say, apologise or point out when we are incorrect and really model that for young people. And we're going to have a look at now some other ways that we can apply recovery orientated and inclusive language as well. 

There's many ways that we we can do that. And I'm sure that schools already do a lot of these things. But I think modelling inclusive language across a range of school contexts, whether it's during a parent teacher interview. And focusing on strengths, whether you're talking to students or speaking to a member of staff or individually in a group setting, how are you addressing them as individuals. I like the idea that I've started to try to employ myself is, when I'm greeting people or when I'm speaking to people, is to rather than saying, oh, hi, how are you? You look really well or you look good. Comment on something about them that's not their appearance. I know somebody mentioned in the chat earlier, also about not referring to collective group terms such as boys and girls. And that's something that I have, I know that in my practice I've started to do and I was conscious of, particularly when providing feedback or directive. So you're not stereotyping and grouping many diversities into one group. 

But you can also incorporate the principles that we've discussed and the principles that are outlined in lots of the resources that we will share into written communications. And that's where the existing language guidelines can be a really great support. And also drawing on that consultation and collaboration with diverse groups within our communities is really important there too.

But just to remember that it's all about making small changes. And for some quick go-to suggestions on how to transform our everyday language you can check out the Mental Health Coordinating Council Recovery Oriented Language Guide. And that might give you a few sort of go-to phrases that you can focus on incorporating into your everyday practice and then build from there.

Ami Raman

Yeah. And Chloe, I'd just like to say there's been a comment in the chat box to say about how to maybe correct someone. If they might be defensive, when they've been called out for maybe not using inclusive language, and I think to your point, it's again, it's about making those small changes and, like Georgina said in the chat box as well, it's about gentle reframe, how we're modelling and also I think a challenge that we often encounter is if we feel like we need to correct someone, that might also, if someone's already feeling a bit defensive, it's also about picking our battles a little bit about when's the right time to actually reframe or to educate this person or to model the appropriate language. Because we all know, if you're already heightened, if you're already defensive, you might not be receptive to learning new information. So, it's a bit of a, I guess, a case by case situation. But just being mindful, as teachers you know, when someone's actually in a spot that's receptive to learning we'll take you on new information.

Chloe Ryan

I think we can also be proactive about this too, Ami. And that's where the role of mental health literacy in schools comes in. So if we're building mental health literacy across our school community, then we are creating that foundation and building that knowledge to be able to support those conversations.

Ami Raman

Yeah, absolutely. So when we're looking at mental health literacy, we're really looking at knowledge and skills to increase the understanding of mental health and mental ill health. To reduce stigma, help and recognise and prevent mental health challenges, and also to facilitate help seeking behaviours. 

What we do know about young people is that yes, they will seek support from counsellors, teachers and other trusted adults. But they are more likely to go to family and friends as the first port of call. Therefore, it's really important for us to empower young people as well as their families to navigate conversations around mental health. So if and when they're concerned about someone or themselves, they will know how to safely discuss and support each other during times of need.

So schools are really well-placed to support their entire communities to improve their mental health literacy across all levels. Whether that's student to student, between student and parents, parents and staff, staff and students and peer to peer. That includes staff members speaking with each other.

So, some ways that we know that improved mental health literacy increases help seeking behaviours. So one way we can do this is really normalising, help seeking in our school communities. And that can be done at all levels. So, making support services really accessible and visible to staff. So if that means access to EAP or what counselling services are available, having open discussions about staff wellbeing, having posters and help seeking information, or help seeking cards visible and available to students across the school and promoting mental health services and supports to parents and carers as well.

Chloe Ryan

There's a range of, sorry. There's a range of resources and workshops available to parents and carers as well, Ami which I'm sure you were just about to say, and we've got some of those that we're going to share in the chat box. I think this is something that schools are already working towards. So we'll have a look at, I guess, what we can do to support staff, because once we have increased our understanding, we need to make sure that we have those systems and processes in place to support staff to have safe and supported discussions around mental health.

On the screen, you can see some of the tools, some of the Be You tools that we would recommend that are available. So we've got the BETLS tool, which is a great communication tool. The Mental Health Continuum. There's lots of Be You Professional Learning and the Mindframe guidelines are available as well to support. And as we mentioned before, understand how to communicate about ill health.

Ami Raman

Yeah. Also, we know when it comes to communicating about suicide and other critical incidents. So communication's really important. So we're also providing some great resources from Orygen, specifically to support educators around online communication, particularly when it comes to critical incidents.

Chloe Ryan

Yeah. Using these tools that will help us to be able to use strengths-based language, they will ensure that our communications are objective and free from assumption and they'll consider additional factors context and perspectives.

So now that we have ideas, we've got tools. Bringing this all together can be quite, that's a big next step. And we know that working to enhance all of these things in our schools, we're really making positive steps towards the greater goal of authentic inclusive education. So having a bit of a structure around that such as like a reflective framework, and I know that Be You, we have our Implementation and Reflection framework and tools to support that. But that can be useful to help you understand where to next. So documenting a clear vision, having those resources and supports to support the learning and the growth, identifying strengths and enablers, the barriers and documenting what is needed. And then thinking about where we are going, and identifying those steps that will be able to enable that transformation. Determine what is needed to enable this, identify where support and learning can come from and then act, document, reflect and review. And we know that to make this successful, collaboration and consultation and co-design is also really important as well.

Ami Raman

Yeah, fantastic. Thanks, Chloe. And again, that's really quite resource that you can check out and we'll be able to share that in a bit in the chat box.

So to wrap up today's session, we're really going to just talk about the role of student voice in this whole process.  As we know, language is evolving, society is constantly evolving and so as the need for programs developed for young people by young people, particularly in schools. Involving students in this process isn't just empowering, but it also makes sure that programs are relevant to students' needs over time. Again, everyone that's affected by a program should have some ownership of it. And we know that for a lot of students, particularly from diverse and marginalised backgrounds, there might be a whole range of factors related to mental health and help seeking that are unique, and without considering student voice that isn't representative and inclusive, we might be missing that need.

So Orygen again, have some fantastic resources around how to actually implement student voice and co-design in mental health programs in schools. And some of the key considerations, again, because of time, I won't be able to do it justice, but please have a look at the resource for more information. We'd look at things like investing in partnerships that already exist within student groups, making sure that we're using a team approach and trying to avoid a hierarchical approach, which you might do in other school settings, making sure that young people have clear roles and that they are recognised for their contributions, as well as having a really flexible model that involves students at every step of the process.

Chloe Ryan

Yeah, and I think considering that whole school community approach as well, and that's where Be You can support in that. So, some of the principles that we've touched on today are outlined here and demonstrate how they can easily align with the Be You framework. And that can be used to guide next steps and to guide action and improve outcomes.

So just a few things that we've mentioned throughout the session, and they're going to be shared in the chat some of our go-to resources that we would recommend. But we would definitely recommend getting in touch with your consultant if you haven't already or discuss how Be You can support your school with your school leadership. And also feel free to explore the website to look at the other tools that we have. Make sure that you check out our events and sessions because we're always growing our list of this and trying to keep up to date with what educators need. So that's always growing and evolving, a growing and evolving space and you can keep up to date by following Be You on socials.

So on behalf of myself and the wider Be You team, thank you so much for taking the time to come along and join in our session today. We know that the end of it there felt a little bit rushed, but we really hope that you are able to take something, an idea, and take it back to your learning community and grow from there. And we hope to see you online again soon.

Ami Raman

Thank you all.

End of transcript.