Australia is currently facing a mental health crisis.  According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), mental illness significantly impacts areas such as education, achievement, relationships, and occupational success across the country (WHO 2021).

Unfortunately, schools are not exempt from these concerns.  Despite the significant and ever-increasing mental health concerns faced by Australia’s youth, significant obstacles still hinder vulnerable individuals from receiving the proper care and support they require for optimal functioning.  These obstacles can often take the form of a simple lack of educational awareness regarding these mental health concerns.  Persistent negative stereotypes and misinformation about mental illness also continue to perpetuate this lack of understanding (Marinucci, Grové, & Rozendorn, 2022; Radez, 2020; Radez, 2021; Teng, Crabb, Winefield, & Venning, 2017).

This problem is further complicated by a lack of knowledge about how to seek or receive help, even after an issue has been identified.  Perhaps most concerningly of all, evidence suggests that a desire to pursue mental health interventions decreases as individuals reach adolescence (Warren & Daraganova, 2017).

Fortunately, there is a developing awareness of how significant these impacts are on the lives of affected individuals.  As societal awareness continues to develop, it is becoming increasingly important for Australian students to keep pace with this changing culture of mental health skills development and understanding.  This can be achieved by developing greater mental health literacy in students, thereby bolstering understanding and resilience personally and interpersonally.  Mental health literacy is defined as “knowledge and holistic understanding of mental health to obtain good mental health and develop positive coping behaviours” (Australian Institute of Family Studies).

Learning environments such as schools provide a fantastic opportunity to establish these skills early in life.  Emerging evidence indicates that school-based interventions, focusing on mental health literacy that target coping and help-seeking behaviours can be effective (Marinucci, Grové, & Allen, 2022; Riebschleger, Costello, Cavanaugh, & Grové, 2019).  Considering the decrease in help-seeking behaviours exhibited as students reach adolescence, significant resources supporting youth mental health should be implemented early in children's development through programs that deepen student understanding of mental health and the appropriate available avenues of support (Jorm, 2020).  Additionally, many students desire to deepen their understanding of these concepts during their schooling years.

This is why the REFOCUS program exists: to teach and apply evidence-based strategies to address the dire need for mental health literacy amongst Australia’s youth in a fun and informative way.  Through this process, REFOCUS seeks to foster in students a supportive framework that combines practical skills and nuanced understandings of wellbeing.  This combination equips them early in life with the tools required to support their wellbeing and, to an extent, the wellbeing of those around them throughout their lifetime.