The “Mind the Mind – to Combat the Stigma of Mental Disorders” campaign, aims to educate primary and secondary-level students (aged from 13 to 14, and 15 to 18) as well as the general public, about mental health and mental disorders while working to decrease negative beliefs and stigma toward individuals affected by mental disorders.  The stigma of mental disorders is a widespread phenomenon in Europe, causing substantial harm to the wellbeing of the individuals with mental disorders and society collectively.

Taking advantage of their psychological background and implementing the pre-existing research in the area, the Social Impact Initiative team created a kit on the topic of stigma of mental disorders; with detailed instructions on how to organise and deliver a workshop. The workshop materials have been reviewed by experts in the field of stigma and are specifically tailored for three target groups: primary and secondary-level students, and adults.  The purpose of this workshop is to help students understand complex topics such as mental health and mental health problems through the use of videos, role-play, games and discussions. There are two types of workshops with a duration of 45 or 90 minutes.

Additional Material on Mind the Mind:

• Position Paper
• Event Organisation Guide on Mental Health Awareness

Campaign Structure

 The campaign coordination involves several channels:

1. The Social Impact Initiative Team
2. National Coordinators within different European countries help Local Coordinators to organise the campaign locally
3. Local volunteers who conduct the workshops

The Social Impact Initiative Team provides assistance and mentorship to all national coordinators. The National Coordinators’ tasks include: translating materials from English to their national language, helping Local Coordinators with their tasks and recruiting new National and Local Coordinators for the next wave of the campaign.  The Local Coordinators’ tasks include: promoting the campaign in their respective country and region, recruiting volunteers, contacting schools to schedule workshops, as well as organising training for volunteers. A ‘trainer’ is responsible for preparing the volunteers to deliver the workshop properly. During the training, volunteers review the workshop material, practice it, enhance presentation and communication skills, discuss potential problems and assess how the workshop will unfold with a specific group. The volunteers are then equipped to be the ones delivering the workshop to the students.

Workshops

 The workshop starts with an introduction on mental disorders and encourages students to discuss their perceptions of it. Afterwards, volunteers facilitate a discussion about mental disorders while providing examples and basic facts. The workshop also presents causes of mental disorders using the multifactorial model of mental disorders’ development,  and challenges the common misconception that the individual is to be blamed for their mental health problems. To illustrate some daily experiences of people affected by mental disorders and the irrational fears of society towards these people, videos of individuals who experience mental disorders are shown. These videos are used as prompts to encourage discussion regarding what kind of role the social environment has in regards to how a person manages mental disorders. Finally, students are provided with guidelines on how to approach individuals struggling with a mental disorder and information about where to seek help.

History of Campaign

 The “Mind the Mind – to Combat the Stigma of Mental Disorders” campaign was launched for the first time in October 2014. In total, 19 European countries participated in the first wave of the campaign, out of which 13 finished the campaign. The first wave ended in June 2015, with about 250 workshops being delivered across Europe. The start of this campaign was considered a big success.

The Social Impact Initiative team analysed the feedback given by the Local Coordinators and the volunteers involved, in order to improve the workshop material. The changes introduced in the second wave consisted of new videos and interactive games, such as role-play activities. Taking into consideration the interests of students according to their age, the activities were divided into two groups: for older students (17 to 18 years old) and for younger ones (15 to 16 years old). The team also included more materials and handouts displaying myths and facts about  mental disorders to share with students. Lastly, a shorter version of the workshop lasting 45 minutes was introduced to make it easier for the schools to fit it into their schedules. The entire material of the new workshop was reviewed and approved by experts once again.

The second wave of the campaign started in August 2015 with 23 European countries participating. The coordinating team decided to adapt the materials also for primary school students (11 to 14 years old) and adults (18+ years old). The latter one can also be divided into two groups, based on their previous knowledge of psychology and mental disorders: non-psychology students and students of  psychology and related professions.

After the second wave, the evaluations were collected from local coordinators, volunteers and trainers, as well as from high-school students who were involved in the campaign. The evaluation showed a general reduction in stigmatising beliefs of students, and this decrease was especially prominent in those students who had very stigmatizing beliefs at the beginning of the workshop (Cohen’s d= 0.84). A large majority of them also saw the workshop as interesting, useful, pleasant and educational. Around two thirds of the students agreed with the statement that they would like to have a workshop like that again.

The third wave of the campaign started in 2016/2017. The materials were further improved according to the participants’ evaluations and the suggestions from experts. The third wave included 23 countries, in which 54 LCs were responsible for running the campaign. Around 1150 volunteers were involved, out of which around 400 eventually got the certificates for participation after they had participated in the training for volunteers, held at least 180 minutes of workshops (i.e. two longer workshops, four shorter ones or corresponding combinations), and filled in the evaluation questionnaire.

The fourth wave of the campaign started in 2017/2018 when the materials were again revised based on the evaluations from the previous wave, and the experts’ suggestions. An important addition to the workshops were leaflets distributed afterwards, informing the participants about the places providing free professional mental lth advice and help. The purpose is to facilitate help seeking behavior in addition to lowering the stigma as the main goal of the workshop. The leaflets offer specific behavioral measures for children and youth with mental health issues. It has been known that half of all mental health problems develop before the age of 14 and the sooner young people act upon them, the more successful the treatment outcomes typically are. The campaign has grown bigger than ever starting with 26 countries and involving 75 Local Coordinators, but only 48 Local Coordinators carried on their work together with a total of 1250 volunteers.

The fifth wave started in 2018/19. As in the previous years, the materials were adapted according to the received feedback. There were 27 countries with 70 LCs in the beginning of the wave, but only 47 Local Coordinators continued with their work in 47 countries. There were 1182 volunteers involved.

The sixth wave started in 2019/20. The materials were again adapted and 77 Local Coordinators from 28 countries started to make an impact. This wave was also special as the EYF grant was awarded to the project, which enabled the SII team to cover more expenses but also to create its own merchandise. The merch, consisting of water bottles, markers, pins and stickers, was sent to Local Coordinators for them to distribute it among their volunteers and promote the campaign. The wave ended with only 46 LCs and 1273 volunteers from 24 countries, as the covid-19 pandemic completely stopped our activity from approximately February until the end of the wave.

The seventh wave (2020/21) ended in July with the contribution of 16 out of the 19 countries which participated in the campaign. This wave had for the first time in Mind the Mind’s history a position of National Coordinators. Our National and Local Coordinators, and volunteers did not stay put this year and created new ways to interact with the public via flyers, lectures and events about mental health and a lot of social media activity!!  Even with the pandemic our volunteers were still able to deliver in-person workshops!

Organised Acts of Kindness (OAK) is one of newest campaigns from the Social Impact Initiative. It takes a step further towards the positive influence on European society by using scientific psychological methods. The campaign aims to bring people together while enhancing their well-being by encouraging individuals to take part in random acts of kindness. In contrast to the Mind the Mind and the Better Together campaigns, OAK runs solely online. It is regularly active on Facebook where it has 407 likes and on Instagram where it has 1069 followers.