At Mindapples, we believe that mental health education should be accessible, positive and part of everyday school life. Many young people already have strategies in place to manage their mental health, so instead of telling them what to do, we work with them to find out what they’re already doing, encourage them to do more and help them to understand why it helps.
Our approach is participant-led, informed by psychology and shaped by people’s own experiences, to help make mental wellbeing something everyone can talk about and take part in. Our Feed Your Mind workshops invite young people to explore what already supports their minds and understand why it helps.
Last month, Mindapples trainer, Andrea Corbett visited Beckmead College to deliver two Feed Your Mind workshops with Year 10 and 11 students. The sessions took place in the week leading up to World Mental Health Day and encouraged students to think about what they do to look after their minds and how they make a difference.
Feed Your Mind is part of Mindapples for Schools, our whole-school approach to mental health and wellbeing, we help young people to explore their minds in a positive and practical way. Rather than telling students what they should do, we invite them to share what’s already working for them and together we figure out why it helps and how to build on it.
“It’s not about prescribing ideas,” Andrea explains. “It’s about asking, what’s good for your mind? and exploring the reasons behind it. Everyone’s answer is different and that’s what makes it personal, relatable and real.”
An unexpected creative moment
The Beckmead students shared a wide range of unique and creative answers. Some spoke about playing football or going to the gym, others shared that spending time with pets and drawing were good for their mind. Others mentioned giving back to their community, dancing and listening to music, spending time with friends, and eating chicken wings (we agree!). One student told Andrea when he rides his bike in the forest it clears his head and helps him to feel free.
Later that afternoon, Andrea dropped into the school’s art room to thank Dawn, who helped coordinate the sessions. The students were absorbed in their creative projects and their artwork connected to the session’s discussions about finding ways to take care of our minds.
One student showed Andrea how he writes his name in graffiti lettering and explained that when he creates designs and experiments with colour, it helps him to focus and relax. Andrea joined in, learning to write her own name in graffiti style too – a shared moment that really captured a sense of Mindapples in action.
Another young person told Andrea how art helps her mental health and explained that drawing is a way she can express her emotions, even if she doesn’t want to talk about them. She talked about her use of colour, and perhaps more notably the lack of it, to express how she feels in the moment.
“If I don’t want to talk about how I’m feeling, I draw it instead. If my drawing has a lot of colour, it means I’m in a good mood. When it’s black and white, it’s more about remembering how I was feeling before.”
Her insight shows how Feed Your Mind works in practice, to encourage people to notice what already helps them and understand why those things make a difference. For this student it was drawing that helped her to explore and express feelings that otherwise might stay inside. Creative activities like this can help young people to build confidence, regulate their emotions and express how they feel in healthy ways.
As Andrea reflected afterwards:
“You could see the pride when they spoke about what helps them. Those small moments of self-awareness are the start of something powerful.”
The moment in the art class was a significant reminder that taking care of our minds looks different for everyone, which is why we work with people to help them discover their own ways to support their mental health and wellbeing.
Wellbeing at Beckmead
At Beckmead, supporting the students’ wellbeing is part of everyday school life and Mindapples Trainer, Andrea, brings a calm and person-centred approach that helps young people feel comfortable sharing what’s on their minds and what helps them the most.
Dawn Fortt, Senior Mental Health Lead and Teaching Assistant at Beckmead shared her reflections on the session:
“What stood out for me was that the Mindapples format gave the students and staff a chance to really think about how they look after their own mental health. Writing on paper apples led to great discussions and realisations, and when placed on the Mindapples tree in the reception area each class were able to read each other’s responses.
Andrea Corbett is an asset to Mindapples, providing awareness and information around mental health through a kind, jovial and approachable manner which has left a lasting impression with the students.”
Making wellbeing part of everday school life
We believe that mental health education isn’t just about lessons or campaigns, it’s also about relationships, creativity and helping young people to feel seen and understood.
Feed Your Mind is part of our Mindapples for Schools programme, a whole-school approach to promoting mental health and wellbeing for everyone. It supports the Department for Education’s Whole-School Approach to Mental Health and the RSHE curriculum by helping schools to build everyday wellbeing into teaching, learning and the wider school community.
The session helps people to understand how their minds work and what affects how they think and feel. We explore how habits, environments and relationships can shape our wellbeing and we encourage people to find simple, personal ways to take care of their mental health.
If you would like to bring Feed Your Mind to your school community, find out more about our Mindapples for Schools programme here.
(With thanks to Dawn, the wider team at Beckmead College and Beckmead Trust for their support).