Best Practice

Promoting summer holiday wellbeing

The long summer break can be challenging for students facing mental health or emotional wellbeing issues. Dr Pooky Knightsmith looks at how we can help students to prepare

While many of us look forward to the school holidays, for young people with mental health or emotional wellbeing issues they can be a difficult time.

For many young people school provides the routine and motivation to get up and out that they need to keep depression and anxiety at bay, and the support they need to keep their emotional wellbeing in check.

So it is important that you prepare students you are working with for the holidays ahead. Here are a few things you could discuss with them.

Discuss with the young person how they are feeling about the upcoming holidays and whether there is anything specific that is giving them cause for concern. In addition to the fact that they may not have access to their usual support network and the structure and stability of school, they may have specific concerns about:

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