Back to School blues

Going back to school, or starting uni, can be a nervous, depressing, or exciting experience. With all these mixed emotions, sometimes we can use a little extra info or support to give us a bit of an anchor.

On the ReachOut Forums next week, we'll be talking all things study related - from what course you've picked, to how you're feeling about sitting through another year of tough subjects.

Monday 6th February, 8:00pm AEST

LINK: http://forums.reachout.com/forumdisplay.php?6-Getting-Real-open-every-Monday-Night-from-8.00pm-AEST

Getting aboard the final year roller coaster

Starting the final year of school can be a hugely nerve-wracking experience. This is the year when you need to get your life together and decide what it is that you're going to do with your life, and work hard to be ready / able to do it.

One young person shares their experience, and their top tips for the year ahead.

Share their story: http://au.reachout.com/connect/blog/rolling-in-the-deep-blue-hsc

The ReachOut.com Forums

The ReachOut.com forums are a safe space where young people are encouraged to connect with other young people who have been through similar issues and talk about these issues in a positive productive way. The forums provide a valuable support community for young people seeking to improve their mental health and wellbeing, and can provide additional support between sessions for young people you are working with.

Get facts and resources for supporting young people in the transition to school / university. Visit the Tafe / Uni resources on ReachOut Pro

Unfortunately, cognitive behaviour therapy requires specialists and intensive sessions, and can be time consuming. It makes sense to solve this problem by creating online resources and programs that can be done outside of therapeutic sessions, with support from professionals, but does it really work?

A team of Australian researchers say yes - and that it can be just as effective as face to face CBT therapy. Highlighted in a recent article by Prevention Action - an online news publication on youth health and development - research led by psychologist Susan Spence at Griffith University indicated that:

"When the program was complete after 12 weeks, both the web-based and traditional CBT groups showed significant improvement over the waiting list control group, both on the primary diagnosis of anxiety disorder, and on other secondary anxiety disorders. Perhaps more important, there was no significant difference between the effectiveness of the traditional CBT and the web-based delivery."

Prevention Action, 26 January 2012

Read the full article online here, and find out more about what the researchers found.

Or, for an in depth run down on the online CBT program MoodGym and the evidence base behind using it with young people, watch a video from our recent webinar where Suvena Sethi (University of Sydney) shares her knowledge on MoodGym's impact.

For reviews of online CBT tools you can use in your practice, visit the reviews section of ReachOutPro.com.au

What is your experience as a health professional? Have you used online CBT programs such as MoodGym or eCouch, and if so how did they benefit young people's skills in managing depression or anxiety?

Share your experience via the comments below!

A spoon full of laughter?

Everyone talks about the benefits of fun and laughter, but when it comes down to it, it's often just not that simple. When you're in the depths of a crisis or struggling with a tough mental health difficulty, finding the positive or something to laugh about is hard.

Encourage the young people you're working with to join our discussion Monday night, and to help us nut out some strategies for finding the joy in tough times.

Monday 30th January, 8:00pm AEST

LINK: http://forums.reachout.com/forumdisplay.php?6-Getting-Real-open-every-Monday-Night-from-8.00pm-AEST

Where's the positive??

For every negative thought, and every negative situation, there's a different way of looking at it. Learning how to step back and look at things with a bit of perspective takes time, and a lot of practice.

One of the most popular areas of the ReachOut.com Forums is a discussion all about positive psychology, and turning positives into negatives. Check it out for helpful strategies that young people are sharing with each other.

LINK: http://forums.reachout.com/showthread.php?66-Turning-Negatives-into-Positives

The ReachOut.com Forums

The ReachOut.com forums are a safe space where young people are encouraged to connect with other young people who have been through similar issues and talk about these issues in a positive productive way. The forums provide a valuable support community for young people seeking to improve their mental health and wellbeing, and can provide additional support between sessions for young people you are working with.

Find out more about how young people seek help online, and why online forums such as these can be a valuable space. Visit the Help seeking online section of ReachOutPro.com.au

Dancing with myself - tips for meeting new people and making friends

Many of the young people we work with struggle to make social connections, and often the last person they want to talk to about it is us. So Monday night we're going to get our brainstorming caps on and share our stories, tips and advice for meeting new people and getting out of our comfort zone.

If you're working with a young person who's struggling to make social connections, get them to check out our Getting Real session on Monday night!

Monday 23rd January, 8:00pm AEST

LINK: http://forums.reachout.com/forumdisplay.php?6-Getting-Real-open-every-Monday-Night-from-8.00pm-AEST

Young people helping each other help themselves

Just last week ReachOut.com launched a new section of the ReachOut.com forums, where young people are supported and encouraged to talk about getting help when they need it, and to share tips and advice for looking out for yourself and managing tough life or mental health situations.

We have some awesome examples of young people supporting each other and pitching in with support, ideas and discussion around how people can turn tough times around.

If you haven't checked it out yet, it's a great way to get some inspiration for the arvo!

LINK: http://forums.reachout.com/forumdisplay.php?85-Helping-Me-Help-Myself

The ReachOut.com Forums

The ReachOut.com forums are a safe space where young people are encouraged to connect with other young people who have been through similar issues and talk about these issues in a positive productive way. The forums provide a valuable support community for young people seeking to improve their mental health and wellbeing, and can provide additional support between sessions for young people you are working with.

Find out more about how young people seek help online, and why online forums such as these can be a valuable space. Visit the Help seeking online section of ReachOutPro.com.au

For young people using social networking sites, knowing how their information is being used, and how to protect their privacy, is a vital part of staying safe online. Now there is a new online resource to make that easy and simple for anyone - regardless of age.

Last week the Federal Government launched the new Easy Guide to Socialising Online website. Developed in response to advice from the Government's Youth Advisory Group on Cybersafety, the site was developed with direct collaboration and input from industry experts, representatives of key social networking websites, and the advisory group of young people.

This website is far from being your average government information website. It provides simple and easy information on the privacy and cyber-safety features of 26 social networking sites, search engines, and online games. For each site, it provides information on how to manage privacy and tips on how to stay safe on the website. Each section also contains step-by-step instructions on how to report abuse, cyberbullying and inappropriate content.

To access the site and get quick, simple information on the social networking sites you or young people you work with use, go to:

http://www.dbcde.gov.au/easyguide

It's fantastic to see an online resource for cybersafety that has been developed in direct collaboration with young people, and with direct input from social networking sites. A simple and matter-of-fact resource on the web such as this is a useful tool for professionals and young people that might actually be used.

For more information on online safety, and how to support young people to stay safe online, visit our Online Safety resources.

Helping Me Help Myself - New Subforum on ReachOut.com!

Today ReachOut.com is launching a new section of the ReachOut.com forums, where young people are supported and encouraged to talk about getting help when they need it. Forum users can share their strengths and lessons learnt, and share tips and advice for looking out for yourself and managing tough life or mental health situations.

This section will be a continuing area of the forums where people can go to get information and advice from other young people, moderated by our trained Community Builders.

LINK: http://forums.reachout.com/forumdisplay.php?85-Helping-Me-Help-Myself

Monday Night: Finding work - Getting Real Discussion

Every Monday on ReachOut.com, we facilitate a discussion on a practical issue or aspect of life. Next week we'll be chatting about getting work - encouraging people to share their experiences, tips and advice for finding a job.

Monday 16 January, 8:00pm AEST

LINK: http://forums.reachout.com/forumdisplay.php?6-Getting-Real-open-every-Monday-Night-from-8.00pm-AEST

It's only natural! January Community Challenge

We know getting outside and taking time out in nature is good for our wellbeing, as highlighted this week in one of our articles on the positive benefits of sunshine! This month on the ReachOut.com Forums we are challenging people to get back to nature - by sharing photos and stories on the topic, and by getting out in the sun!

How many of the young people you work with would benefit from getting back to nature now and then? Send them over to the forums for tips and ideas!

LINK: http://forums.reachout.com/showthread.php?1944-Jan-2012-Nature-natural-challenge!

The ReachOut.com Forums

The ReachOut.com forums are a safe space where young people are encouraged to connect with other young people who have been through similar issues and talk about these issues in a positive productive way. The forums provide a valuable support community for young people seeking to improve their mental health and wellbeing, and can provide additional support between sessions for young people you are working with.

The ReachOut.com forums are a safe space where young people are encouraged to connect with other young people who have been through similar issues and talk about these issues in a positive productive way. The forums provide a valuable support community for young people seeking to improve their mental health and wellbeing, and can provide additional support between sessions for young people you are working with.

This week we're bringing you the last discussions and activity happening on ReachOut.com for 2011. Thanks to all professionals who supported young people engaging in these discussions this year - these valuable sessions allow young people to work together to build resilience, coping skills, and strategies for dealing with tough life situations.

On behalf of everyone at ReachOut Pro and ReachOut.com, we wish you a happy festive season, and look forward to supporting you in helping young people in 2012!

MONDAY: Money Matters - Getting Real discussion

Each Monday night ReachOut.com hosts discussion sessions on general issues and topics that affect the mental health and wellbeing of young people.

Next week Getting Real talks about money - how to get it, how not to get stressed about it, and how to manage financial problems and independence! At this time of year a lot of young people are transitioning to independence. Encourage them to come along to share tips and strategies for managing money.

Want more information to share with young people about money? Check out this article by ReachOut.com Reporter Marlia!

Date/Time: 8.00pm AEST (5pm in WA), Monday 19th December

Link: http://forums.reachout.com/forumdisplay.php?6-Getting-Real-open-every-Monday-Night-from-8.00pm-AEST

Community Challenge - Get motivated!

December community challenge is under way, the challenge is to make your own motivational poster and we've had lots of fantastic contributions so far.

Ongoing

Link: http://forums.reachout.com/showthread.php?1811-Demotivate-to-motivate-December!

Dealing with holiday stress

Zen-Den and Toolbox are the two areas of the site that provide practical things to do to improve your well being or get through a tough day. Zen-den contains user generated activities to do in the forums mostly based around positive psychology and mindfulness. Toolbox contains user generated activities to do offline, and helpful practical suggestions and ideas around help seeking.

Zen Den: http://forums.reachout.com/forumdisplay.php?43-Zen-Den

Toolbox: http://forums.reachout.com/forumdisplay.php?23-Toolbox

Want to learn more about what young people are getting out of using online spaces like ReachOut.com?

Read Helen's story about her help seeking experience and how she uses online spaces to support her mental health and wellbeing.

Based in Melbourne, the Young and Well CRC is a world first collaboration that brings together over 70 researchers, not-for-profit organisations, government and industry partners with young people, to explore the role of technology in young people's lives, and how those technologies can be used to improve the mental health and wellbeing of young people.

According to the Centre's CEO, youth mental health expert Associate Professor Jane Burns, we as a community need to learn to help young people at risk in their own language - that of digital technology.

"Adults can talk about worrying issues such as cyber bullying, binge drinking and youth suicide, but the solutions can only come by working directly with young people to understand their needs and to develop creative technology solutions that are most helpful to them."

Bronte, a twenty-year-old member of the YAW-CRC's Youth Brains Trust, has lived with bi-polar disorder and believes technology has the capacity to help young people receive access to quality mental health care at the right time.

"Identifying the ways in which support and the promotion of wellbeing can be offered through technology is vital in a society where technology is so important to how we learn, connect and interact," Bronte said.

ReachOut Pro will be working with the Young and Well CRC to highlight tools and learnings from the CRC that can help health care professionals support young people's mental health, and to translate that research into practical case studies that you can use in practice.

Find out more about the Young and Well CRC, and get the transcript of the Minister's speech, over at http://yawcrc.org.au/

Click here to find out more about the Research Projects that will be conducted by the CRC.

In addition to a broad range of health care professionals in many professions, the conference also included over 40 young people who were sponsored to attend the conference and share their experiences of the health system in Australia.

We wanted to know more about how they seek help, and what they get out of being online, so we asked some of our young ReachOut.com Youth Ambassadors to interview young people at the conference, and to gather their perspectives to share with health care professionals.

Here's what they said!

(Thanks to ReachOut.com Youth Ambassador Helen for collecting these interviews)

For more perspectives on how young people seek help and engage online, visit the Interviews with Young People section of ReachOut Pro.

Each week on ReachOut Pro we highlight the discussions and activities happening on ReachOut.com that you can encourage young people you work with to get involved in. Click here to learn more about ReachOut.com - Australia's leading online youth mental health service.

The ReachOut.com forums are a safe space where young people are encouraged to connect with other young people who have been through similar issues and talk about these issues in a positive productive way. The forums provide a valuable support community for young people seeking to improve their mental health and wellbeing, and can provide additional support between sessions for young people you are working with.

MONDAY: School / Uni / TAFE Results - Getting Real discussion

Each Monday night ReachOut.com hosts discussion sessions on general issues and topics that affect the mental health and wellbeing of young people.

Next week Getting Real talks about getting results from school/tafe/uni: how to deal with result anxiety, how to tell your family and friends what you got, what if they're not what you expected, how to deal with your family's reaction to your results and how to keep things in perspective.

Date/Time: 8.00pm AEST (5pm in WA), Monday 12th December

Link: http://forums.reachout.com/forumdisplay.php?6-Getting-Real-open-every-Monday-Night-from-8.00pm-AEST

Community Challenge - Get motivated!

December community challenge is under way, the challenge is to make your own motivational poster and we've had lots of fantastic contributions so far.

Ongoing

Link: http://forums.reachout.com/showthread.php?1811-Demotivate-to-motivate-December!

5 Things!

Zen-Den and Toolbox are the two areas of the site that provide practical things to do to improve your well being or get through a tough day. Zen-den contains user generated activities to do in the forums mostly based around positive psychology and mindfulness. Toolbox contains user generated activities to do offline, and helpful practical suggestions and ideas around help seeking.

The 5 things game is in Toolbox and has been viewed nearly 8,000 times. It's a grounding activity that asks you to name things you can see, feel, hear, smell etc. A user posted this activity saying that: It's a good one to do if you are heading off into a bad headspace and need to come back as it helps to make you aware of your surroundings. It can be hard if you are having a really tough day but it is good to try.

It's a great example of young people sharing coping strategies and helping each other to understand their experiences.

Link: http://forums.reachout.com/showthread.php?69-Five-Things-Game

Want to learn more about what young people are getting out of using online spaces like ReachOut.com?

Read Beck's story about her help seeking experience and how she uses online spaces to support her mental health and wellbeing.