Holistic Mentoring

Aims & objectives

The training course aimed to strengthen the professional competences of youth workers to support the empowerment, inclusion and well-being of young people with fewer opportunities, with a particular focus on mental health.

The main objectives were to:

deepen the understanding of mentoring as a holistic and youth-centred approach;

develop practical mentoring skills (active listening, powerful questioning, reflection and guidance);

introduce nature-based, creative and experiential methods applicable to youth work;

enhance participants’ capacity to design inclusive learning processes and follow-up actions at local level;

strengthen European cooperation and exchange of practices among youth workers.

The training directly responded to the needs of the partner organisations to improve the quality of their mentoring and support programmes for young people facing social and mental health challenges.

Target group & international/intercultural composition of the group & team

The training involved 27 participants (25 youth workers and 2 trainers) from 8 European countries:
Italy, Romania, Estonia, Greece, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain.

Participants were youth workers, mentors and project coordinators working with young people with fewer opportunities, including young people experiencing mental health difficulties. The international composition ensured strong intercultural learning, peer exchange and networking.

Training methods used & main activities

The training was based on non-formal and experiential learning, combining theory, practice and reflection. Methods included:

mentoring simulations and role-plays;

mindfulness and body-awareness practices;

nature-based learning (outdoor activities, sensory exploration, land-based reflection);

creative and artistic methods (storytelling, poetry, symbolic drawing, intuitive writing);

group dynamics, team-building and intercultural activities;

guided reflection, learning journals and Youthpass-based self-assessment;

peer learning, discussions and action planning.

All methods followed the experiential learning cycle and were directly transferable to participants’ youth work practice.

Outcomes of the activity

As a result of the training, participants:

improved their mentoring competences and confidence in working with young people with fewer opportunities, including young people experiencing mental health challenges;

acquired practical tools for holistic mentoring, combining personal, social and environmental dimensions;

increased their capacity to integrate well-being, mental health awareness and nature-based approaches into youth work;

developed concrete follow-up plans and local dissemination activities.

In addition to participants’ learning outcomes, the project generated tangible dissemination and multiplication results, such as:

a booklet / educational resource collecting concepts, methods and practices from the training;

a 90-minute webinar on mentoring (published online and shared through partners’ networks, reaching 300+ views);

participants’ local multiplication workshops, involving at least 10 young people with fewer opportunities in each community;

further online dissemination actions (articles, social media posts, visuals and materials shared through partners’ channels).

The success of the activity was confirmed through daily evaluations, final feedback, Youthpass learning outcomes and follow-up implementation supported by the trainers and partner organisations.

Your tasks and responsibilities within the team

I worked as a coordinator, full-time trainer and co-facilitator, together with one other international trainer.

My responsibilities included:

co-designing the training programme and educational flow;

developing training materials and learning resources;

facilitating sessions on mindfulness, embodiment, nature-based mentoring and reflective learning;

supporting group processes and intercultural dynamics;

providing individual and group learning support to participants;

contributing to evaluation, documentation and follow-up activities.

I worked on this training for 7 days as a full time trainer.