The Mental Health Foundation says that there are two things we need to do to support our mental health:
Reduce risk factors
Increase protective factors – doing things that build us up because simply reducing risks is not possible – currently there is a lot that is outside of our control.
Check out the information in the image.
As part of our goal to grow a support community for wellbeing, we want to develop the capability of staff in mental health, a topic increasingly important for all New Zealanders to understand. The list below consists of offerings currently available. If you have any other ideas or comments to share, please get in touch with Sustainability and Wellbeing team via connect@unitec.ac.nz
Emotional First Aid book
- We sustain psychological injuries even more often than we do physical ones, and yet, even though there are scientifically proven techniques we could use to treat them, we don’t.
- Why do we favor physical health over mental health? Is it simply because we don’t understand it as well? Guy Winch, in his book ‘Emotional First Aid’, gives examples that parallel mental health to our knowledge of physical health. Even just browsing through the book and noting a couple of examples is a good start to developing this understanding.
- Copies of this book are available at our library. Check it out and tell us what you think!
Supporting distressed students at Unitec
This workshop will help you learn how to assist distressed students at Unitec within the boundaries of your role here. A three-hour workshop, offered by the Student Success team, covers how to recognise and respond to student distress and risk at Unitec, the current support options available to our students and how to safely refer students to these.
To enquire about upcoming sessions email studentwellbeing@unitec.ac.nz or abrockbank@unitec.ac.nz
Managing Risks to Mental Health: Structured framework for psychosocial safety in the workplace
- Dates TBC
In order to foster the organisational culture that contributes to staff engagement and wellbeing, this workshop will: help you identify the three categories of organisational hazards to mental health; give you time to explore the potential risks and corresponding controls; and highlight what tools and support are available. This workshop is intended for people leaders, or those aspiring to move into a people management role.
Support Options
For further information on support available via various channels, please visit the Staff Support page.
This will provide you with agencies/charities that can assist individuals and/or families and also offer tools to share and use as teams.