Hello everyone and welcome to our blog!
This month’s blog will be about introducing ourselves and our experiences on our final 8-week placement with Cup-O-T as Student Occupational Therapists before we qualify.
So who are we?
My name is Beth. I love dogs, baking and watching Friends! To maintain my mental wellbeing, I like to go to the gym. I am enjoying the placement so far and excited to be part of the Build Together Breckland project. I also enjoy getting to know the young people and their families and always look forward to seeing them get involved in our woodland sessions.
My name is Mel. I love going to the beach, drinking coffee, and hanging out with my friends! To help with my mental wellbeing, I go for walks in the countryside. I am having a brilliant time on placement and really enjoying meeting all the young people we work with, taking part in planning and running the school project and learning lots of exciting wood working skills.
We have been here working with Catherine and the rest of the team to support young people with their mental health. It is Week 6 and this is what we have been up to so far…
The Swan Youth Project
We have been getting to know the amazing team that work at The Swan Youth Project, and learning about all their fantastic work that they do!
We have been supporting young people 1-2-1 with their mental health by setting and completing goals based on individuals needs. We have also been creating booklets and welcome packs to help further support the young people we work with, outside of their sessions, so watch out for those.
Woodlands
We have been facilitating therapy sessions in the woods every Friday. We have been building and creating our very own sensory path which young people can add and adapt to as and when they like during sessions or during family woodland days at weekends. Catherine has also been teaching us and young people bushcraft skills- how to light fires and making signs out old pieces of wood! We also took part in two family woodland days which take place one Saturday per month and enables families to achieve their goals such as improving communication, whilst having fun and exploring the woods.
Schools Project / Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week
This week took place between the 6th – 12th February 2023 and the theme was ‘Let’s Connect’. As part of our ongoing Build Together Breckland Schools project, we visited a local secondary school to promote Cup-O-T, this project and the drop-in sessions planned over a 6-weeks along with the brilliant Lily and Louise.
The aim of this project is to raise awareness of mental health problems whilst connecting young people with their local community, whether that is services, clubs, events, etc… Connecting is part of the five ways to wellbeing, along with learning, giving, keeping active and taking notice! These sessions are funded by Breckland Youth Advisory Board and Norfolk County Council.
Here are some early warning signs that someone might be struggling with their mental health. Look out for these in yourself or your friends/family:
- Struggle with getting out of bed in the morning,
- Feeling worried and not wanted to go to school
- Feeling lonely, like no one understands or feeling like there is something ‘wrong’ with you,
- Not know who to talk to,
- Feeling worried about the future.
If any of the above resonate with you or you think a a friend or family member is experiencing these have a look at our Resources page to see what support is available. No problem is too big or small 🙂
We hope you enjoyed reading our blog, and finding out about everything we have been getting up to.
Beth and Mel
