In early September 2024 I was interviewed by a member of youth-led, US-based "Peace of Mind Initiative" (https://www.instagram.com/peace.of.mind.initiative/), whose goal is to destigmatize teenage mental health challenges. [Note: For the purpose of having an authentic conversation, my responses to the questions were not prepared in advance, nor rehearsed. Apologies for the moments of low sound quality!] Key points in the conversation: 👇 00:07 - What inspired you to pursue a career in Psychology? 01:11 – What drove you to start your Instagram account (https://www.instagram.com/workwithcharis/) to share Mental Health resources? 02:25 – In your 22 years of experience, how do you think that shaped your perspective on Mental Health? 04:50 – In your experience, what are some common stressors you’ve seen in students and how do you address that as an Educator? 09:39 – How do you think schools could implement good mental health practices and which ones do you think are the best for students’ wellbeing? 10:55 – What signs of mental health struggles do you look for when children are going through something? Say a child is not feeling well, what are some signs that show they need help? 13:33 – What strategies do you recommend for youth to help them build a more healthy and stable mindset? 15:33 – Could you expand on the importance of positive adult role models in a young person’s mental health journey? 18:07 – How do you think friends play a role in a young person’s mindset and mental health? 20:18 – Did you experience any challenges while attempting to promote mental health policy changes in your school? 25:07 – What do you hope to achieve through your work and what kind of impact do you want to make? 29:56 – What advice would you give to someone, like a young student, who’s interested in Psychology or wanting to become a Mental Health advocate? 31:31 – Are there any specific mental health struggles you’ve been through personally that you’d like to share?

Most educational programs in the (western) world take place inside the walls of a classroom or other training spaces. Why? Because it's considered more convenient and controlled. Why would anyone bother to spend (perhaps more) time to prepare delivering or facilitating an amazing, meaningful lesson or training session outdoors, if they can stay in their indoor comfort zone? 👉 Well, because the value of partially or fully taking the learning outdoors can be huge for the learners and for the skillset of the teacher/trainer/facilitator! A distinction should be made regarding the options for learning using the outdoors: 🌳 1) Having a lesson outside a classroom instead of inside 🌳 2) Mixing elements of the outdoors in a lesson 🌳 3) Using the outdoors fully as the learning space In the images, I present the 3 options and my personal opinion on them.

"We had fun!" Most of the times, when reflecting with learners about the benefits of experiential learning activities, this is one of their first responses. What exactly do they mean by "fun"? There's a misconception out there that if learning is "fun" then it's probably not serious enough - WRONG! Schools, in particular, ought to be the "best party in town"!