BODY-BRAIN WISDOM – Stress management for NFE practitioners

Why start from YOU(W) when building a safe and stress-less learning environment? What are the basics for youth workers, facilitators, leaders and mentors to be the model for emotional regulation of young people? How to create SEL activities for the promotion of mental health and wellbeing by using NFE to design stress management workshops for young people

Young people look to their youth workers, facilitators, mentors not only for knowledge and for information but they also look at them how they handle emotions, stress, and challenges. If an educator is emotionally aware and models self-regulation, it signals safety and trust. This is essential for establishing supportive relationships with youngsters. Otherwise would be almost impossible to engaged them because-no connection, no learning. Only more stress and more pressure.

This training course focuses on developing two main competences of emotional intelligence: self- awareness and self-regulation of educator. This 2in1 are fundamental for stres-managment and development of resiliencein youth work. Starting from positive approach in mental health in which dealing with daily stress is a skill that can be learned and improved, through a holistic blend of body-brain based techniques, tools for development of emotional literacy we incorporate all  in non-formal education (NFE) practices. It offers youth workers a space to reflect, recharge, and learn how to empower young people to cope with the challenges of daily life. Participants will explore the existing realities of mental health education opportunities for young people across participating countries and examine how youth work and NFE principles can promote positive mental health. Through interactive methods, the course delves into different standpoints and perspectives about stress, the causes of stress, its psychological and physical manifestations—including the GAS model—as our body’s way to solve the problem perceived by the brain. Throughout the training, participants will experience and practice a variety of stress regulation techniques, from conscious breathing and body awareness exercises to emotional regulation tools and other social-emotional learning (SEL) strategies. These methods are designedto help youth workers support both their own well-being and that of the young people they engage with A significant focus is placed on applying what is learned: participants will work in small teams to co-create small SEL based methodologies, stress management workshops and anti-stress fitness activities. All these can be later implemented in their local communities or virtual settings, ensuring real-world application.

The training course is developed in line with Youth Goal 5: Mental Health & Wellbeing, and contributes to:

Encouraging the development of self-awareness and less competitive mindsets by fostering appreciation for individual skills and strengths.

Providing all professionals working with young people as well as family and friends with quality mental health first aid training.

Fighting stigma about mental health issues by developing awareness programmes.

Objectives:

To deepen participants’ understanding on importance of the emotional intelligence of an educator in creating  social-emotional learning (SEL) environments

To raise participant’s’  knowledge about science based know-how in creating connections to foster readiness for learning

To explore the current realities and approaches for the promotion of mental health  both in formal or non formal education, in youth work and/or other supportive environments for young people acrossparticipating countries

To learn the essentials of stress—types, stressors, reactions and psychological and physiologicalresponses (GAS model)—and to explore a range of body-brain based techniques for stress regulation and burnout prevention

To point at existence of different personal coping styles as well as different approaches to conflicts when being in supportive relationships with young people

To strengthen the competences of youth workers to design and facilitate workshops for youngpeople using social and emotional learning (SEL), emotional intelligence, regulation (both self and social) tools and adapted from neuroscience, positive psychology and coaching

To foster a supportive community of youth workers, educators, and trainers dedicated to mutuallearning, peer support, and collective resilience in mental health and wellbeing practices

To support participants in applying acquired knowledge into concrete workshop designs and local-level educational initiatives, enabling transfer of learning outcomes into their own youth work practice.