Pilot Programme for strengthening/enhancing the mental resilience of learners and young people in vulnerable groups – refugees in Greece

Due to the difficult economic situation experienced by Greek society, it is absolutely necessary to ensure effective and high-quality child protection services for children and young people who experience problems of abandonment, domestic violence and abuse, or who are generally unable to receive care from their families due to poverty, delinquency or psycho-social problems.

Many learners are socially excluded, which can, among other problems, lead to early school leaving. Research has shown that this vulnerable group of learners is more at risk of developing self-defeating and anti-social behaviour. Studies have also shown that self-destructive behaviour is linked to personality disorders and alexithymia, a characteristic of which is the inability to be aware of and express feelings or to acknowledge the feelings of others or understand what causes them.

Recent SSP&MH mental health awareness and prevention programmes in schools in Attica have focused on these issues. They confirmed the direction that prevention programmes in Greek schools need to take.

The work of the awareness and prevention programmes and addressing the general population identified the need to approach vulnerable learners in their ‘natural’ school environment. This environment has complex needs, in which refugees, among other vulnerable groups, suffer multiple social, psychological and interpersonal pressures.

Refugees face difficulties in participating in social and economic life, either because of social and economic problems or physical or mental disabilities, or because of unforeseen events that affect the proper functioning of the local or wider regional economy.

The number of school classes, varied curriculum requirements, the complex needs of the learners and the difficulty for teachers of diagnosing emotional needs and complex dynamics that develop, particularly in segments that accommodate learners from vulnerable environments, create a problem that is concentrated at class level and is geographically enlarged at the level of schools and the local communities they serve.

Existing interventions are now deemed insufficient to cover demand. There are limitations on the resources required to ensure the implementation of integrated actions and their expansion on a larger scale, to holistically address needs and involve learners, their parents and classroom teachers in a reverse dynamic chain which promotes equality, psycho-emotional support, solidarity, reciprocity and smooth adjustment for vulnerable learners.

SSP&MH accepts more and more requests for the implementation of interventions in schools. These requests focus on violent outbursts, learners’ emotional difficulties, bullying cases, lack of communication between learners and teachers, excessive stress due to exams and pressure from the family. These issues are not expressed, and learners need to express them and share them with their peers.

Intervention is developed in at least 20 school units, and work is geared towards all three key stakeholders: learners, parents and teachers. More specifically, it includes:

1. The implementation of thematic workshops with learners, focusing on the potential of the target group to use the pro-active motivation model

The workshops are implemented according to approval of workshops taking place within school hours, received each year from the Ministry of Education. This ensures learners’ universal participation and teachers’ active involvement. There is also close collaboration with the educational community and the school administration in organising workshops, to ensure that actions fully respond to the learners’ needs.

The content of the classroom interventions generally relates to themes including:

• acquaintance and establishment of relationships with specialists;
• emotional expression – prevention of psychosomatic symptoms;
• intervention to resolve the ‘dynamics’ of the class;
• development of effective communication;
• development of appropriate coping strategies;
• dealing with stress and loss, etc.

Learners can engage energetically and emotionally by formulating their own desires and proposing themes that interest them. Proposed themes are recorded and taken into account in the continuation of the intervention programme, ensuring learners’ continued interest and active participation.

The project phases can be outlined as follows:

a. Preparation Phase: At least one preliminary meeting with the teachers in each school takes place, to clarify and evaluate the request. The head teacher of each school processes and addresses a specific request for intervention in specific classes of the school, in co-operation with teachers and/or parents. The needs of the classes undertaking the intervention are recorded.

Intervention planning takes place based on the results of this preliminary meeting with teachers and parents, taking into account their specific requests for intervention. The request is then processed, and the terms, objectives and content of the intervention are analysed in detail. The school and SSP&MH sign a co-operation agreement, which completes the process.

b. Intervention Phase: Three psycho-pedagogical interventions of two hours’ duration take place with learners in specific classes. Psycho-pedagogical interventions are carried out in experiential workshops, covering the following topics:

• Healthy relationships
• Communication skills
• Recognising and expressing emotions
• Developing positive methods of communication.

A team of two or three mental health professionals co-ordinates the workshops in each class. The experts identify learners with specific needs and suggest an intervention plan or proper referral to community mental health services in the next phase.

c. Integration Phase: At least one intervention assessment meeting is planned, in which school teachers must participate. The process results in the proposal of the necessary follow-up interventions.

2. Implementing psycho-education in parent groups

Parent groups are provided with the necessary knowledge, skills and resources to respond more efficiently and effectively to their parenting role. Interventions with parents last for two hours and take place monthly.

In particular, intervention at this level will include:

• Mapping needs: one meeting with parents and guardians to map their needs.
• Two parent group meetings, lasting for two hours.

Mapping determines the topic of the group meetings. Each meeting has two parts: theoretical and experiential. The teams are co-ordinated by two mental health professionals.

3. Implementing informal training workshops in teachers’ groups

These experiential workshops and seminars aim to support and empower teachers to respond more effectively to the complex needs of the learners that they are responsible for.

Teachers’ group meetings inform teachers about the objectives and the content of the experiential intervention proposed for their pupils. Teachers have the opportunity to discuss their pupils’ mental health needs with specialists. They can also discuss their role in promoting pupils’ mental health in special workshops.

Generally, they have the opportunity to explore in more depth issues that affect the management of daily communication with their pupils. Management of the class dynamics, communication in the classroom, co-operation with parents, internet safety issues, sexuality and other issues are recorded. These issues are then taken into account in preparing the final programme, by organising training programmes, informative seminars, seminars with special themes, etc.

Finally, it is worth noting that an integral part of the methodology of this work in schools is the availability of SSP&MH mental health specialists running young people’s groups in schools throughout the school year. The multi-disciplinary team directly communicates and co-operates with teachers and parents for support whenever necessary.

In particular, the proposed pilot programme includes at least the following actions for each school:

• One counselling meeting with the teachers to map their needs.
• Selection of the topics to be dealt with, based on the mapping of needs.
• Implementation of two informal educational meetings with teachers. Each meeting will include two parts: theoretical and experiential. The teams will be co-ordinated by two mental health professionals.
• Closing and evaluation of the intervention.
• References to relevant community mental health services, if needed.

These actions are organised and implemented through collaborative learning models between parents, teachers, learners and mental health professionals. Interventions with teachers are of two hours’ duration and take place monthly.

The use of interdisciplinary approaches and multi-modal means/techniques is necessary to support both learners with difficulties and their families.

The team responsible for implementing the actions is multi-disciplinary. It consists of psychologists, pedagogues, speech therapists, special therapists (art therapists, drama therapists, etc.) who are trained in experiential interventions and in managing team dynamics.

Duration of the programme

The duration of the pilot intervention programme will be 12 months. In 15 schools over a 12-month period, there will be:

• 675 psycho-pedagogical meetings with learners/per section of on average 25 learners, over two years, to be co-ordinated by three or four therapists;
• 50 two-hour psycho-educational group meetings with parents;
• 50 two-hour informal education meetings for teachers;
• a one-day start-up conference disseminating the programme;
• a one-day conference presenting the results;
• evaluation through special tools;
• promotion activities in electronic and printed media;
• networking actions.

The programme strengthens the inclusion of refugee learners and their families in local society. It contributes to abolishing stigma and prejudice in local societies and to alleviating differences that make it difficult for learners from different cultures to adapt and be integrated into the local community.

In addition, the programme is expected to protect learners from the general population, by giving them the social, emotional and interpersonal skills necessary to respond to the demanding socio-economic environment that has emerged in Greek society, which is plagued by a generalised crisis evolving as a humanitarian crisis as it spreads at the level of morality, values and vision.

The whole school system is expected to become more supportive of people’s difficulties. Learners will develop the attitudes of active citizens with respect to diversity, solidarity, equality and inclusion.

The development of better resilience skills allows all members of the school system (teachers, learners and parents) to create a supportive network around all vulnerable people. Moreover, it provides the basis for a better psychological environment in schools, based on the principles of communication and mutual respect.

Questionnaires are used to evaluate the interventions. They record the attitudes of learners, parents and teachers in specific areas before and after the intervention.

The number of workshops with the three target groups will be an important indicator of the programme’s success and a measurement of its social impact.

The project will be partly sustainable. The organisation has on-going activities and projects for awareness-raising in young people, through community awareness-raising activities. The organisation will include material from this project in its on-going interventions and will mainstream the idea of increasing resilience in the school environment. This project also spreads the message of tolerance for diversity and respect for human rights, including the rights of the most vulnerable, i.e. refugees.

The organisation plans to seek funding to continue the project and to co-operate with its European Union partners to establish the project as best practice for schools.

The following actions are planned for publicity:

• activities will be posted on the official SSP&MH website and on social media networks (Facebook, Twitter, etc.);
• press releases – interviews;
• printed information material (brochures, posters, banners, etc.);
• official opening of the programme: Attica health education officers, primary and secondary education consultants, school leaders, institutional and social agents, parents’ conference to disseminate the results after the pilot programme has been completed.