Great resources for mental health

My dear friend Pooky Knightsmith has selected a number of resources around the topics of well being and mental health. She is an experienced and expert practitioner supporting these issues in schools and is much respected for her work. Rather than them staying with me, I have reproduced them here (with her permission of course!)
I have promised myself I will get better at sharing helpful resources and book recommendations with colleagues so today I’m going to make a start by highlighting a few things that might be of interest to you re mental health / emotional wellbeing.
I’ve been sent some wonderful books to review recently. You can see all of my recommended books in one place here. Most recently I’ve added full reviews for
Parenting OCD which provides down to earth advice suitable for parents and practitioners too; Can I Tell You About Depression? A lovely little book designed to explain depression to children as young as 6 or 7 and Banish Your Body Image Thief – a workbook full of ideas for children needing extra support.
I’ve been busy writing too – you may find the PDF I’ve written for young people about getting ready to stop hiding their self-harm scars is a useful way in to these difficult conversations, whilst this guide, also aimed at students, will help them to get ready to make an initial disclosure about self-harm or eating disorders. Here’s the info you’ll need in order to respond appropriately: Talking to pupils when they make mental health disclosures (authored in my role as Mental Health Advisor for the PSHE Association, hence their branding).
As we hurtle towards the Easter Holidays (hurrah!) you may be worried about how vulnerable students will manage without the current support they’re receiving at school. You can help them prepare using my holiday planning form.
There is plenty more where this came from – please see my blog and free resources. A veritable treasure trove (or at least that’s why my Mum says 😉
Let me know if there are any topics you’d like me to write about next or if you have a great resource, lesson plan or book recommendation you’d like to share. If you need staff training (or pupil or parent workshops) I’m now booking in sessions for Autumn 2015 and Spring 2016 (yes, really!) and I’m happy to hold provision dates if you can’t confirm dates that far ahead but don’t want to miss out on some Pooky time..
Oh… oh and before I go – please do consider pre-ordering a copy of my book. It’s focused on practical strategies for supporting self-harm and eating disorders in school, including how to teach about the topics safely. It’s full of case studies and quotes from young people and I’m really rather proud of it.
I’m going to try and be a better correspondent and keep you updated with things you may find helpful. If that doesn’t sound like your idea of fun you can unsubscribe below. On the other hand, if you think colleagues may also be interested, they can sign up in 30 seconds here.
I hope there was something you found helpful here and that you have a good day.