Purpose: This activity is an icebreaker to get people involved and to bring their attitudes about mental health out for discussion.
For this activity you will need:
· A flip chart and some markers
Step 1: Place two flip chart sheets side-by-side and draw a square inside each one, creating an inner "mirror" and an outer "frame" as illustrated below.
Step 2: Tell participants that this is a word-association game. Ask them to call out the first words and feelings that pop into their heads when you say the words "mental health." Encourage them not to give it too much thought or worry about the "correct" answer.
Step 3: As participants start calling out their word associations, place the words in the frame areas of the flip chart.
On the first flip chart, place all the associations that reflect a wellness-oriented, positive approach toward mental health in the "frame" section. On the second flip chart place all the word associations that reflect a deficit approach toward mental health in the frame. (An example of how the text should be written in the "frames" is illustrated on page 12.)
Remind people that this is a word-association exercise that has no right or wrong answers.
Trainer's note:
Sometimes a group will be reluctant to call out word associations. If you sense that this is happening, invite them to call out associations that they imagine some parents in their program might have. This allows participants to attribute the attitudes elsewhere and still brings the full spectrum of associations out for discussion.
Step 4: After group members have had enough time to call out their associations, ask them to imagine that each blank square is a mirror, and the words around it are a frame. When a Head Start program refers a family for mental health consultation or a supervisor refers a staff person to see a counselor, they are holding out a mirror and asking the people being referred to look at their reflections.
Have participants imagine themselves in the place of the person being referred to a counselor. Ask them: Would you prefer...
A: A mirror that places mental health in a context that is positive, supportive, constructive, and oriented toward the wellness that all of us strive for;
B: A mirror that places mental health in a negative, deficit context of stigma, fear, and blame?
The frames represent prevailing social attitudes about mental health.
Step 5: Discuss the process of filling in the frames.
- Does one frame have more words than the other?
- Do negative associations come more easily than the positive health promoting ones? Why is that?
Points to Consider
- This activity is a good springboard to discussing the stigma associated with mental health services. It allows the training to start with the attitudes the group has rather than impose a perspective that may be out of line with the prevailing attitudes.
- Ask participants if their associations with "mental health" are different from those of parents in the program or the same. If the associations are very different, some groundwork may be needed to reach a common vision before all players feel comfortable with the mental health component of the program.
- Imagine
sitting down for a first consultation with a mental health professional.
How would your attitude about mental health affect how you would feel sitting
in that room? Imagine
referring parents to seek consultation from a mental health professional
concerning their child's challenging behavior. How would your attitudes
about mental health influence the tone of your referral?
Activity 1-3 |
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