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Student Empowerment - the MindMatters Process

Cathy Venning has worked in a variety of roles in the South Australian area and in highschools. As the MindMatters South Australian Project Officer, Cathy was involved with the implementation of the Youth Empowerment Process in regions of South Australia, and in other states of Australia. Cathy is passionate about working with and supporting young people to have a role in mental health promotion in their school communities.

Vanessa Houltby has worked in the youth, community, disability and education sectors. As the MindMatters Youth & Community Project Officer, Vanessa uses the strength-based approach to empower young people in leading mental health promotion. Vanessa also supports communities in the South Australian Anangu Pitantjatjara/Yankunytjatjara (APY) lands in adapting and using the MindMattters resources.

The empowerment of young people is seen to have five major processes, all of which should be present if a school is to undertake this journey seriously. A student empowerment process includes:

• Commitment The process must start with the school’s understanding of, belief in and commitment to the active role of young people
• Knowledge and skills The process must build the knowledge and skills of young people in areas of health and in particular of mental health. That is, it should aim to increase informed decision-making leading to young people being able to take more responsibility for their own attitudes and behaviours (especially in the area of mental health), but also in personal and social skills such as working together and the facilitation of others’ learning
• Confidence The process must build the confidence and capacity of young people to speak up, to present, to tackle issues, to make changes and to take appropriate risks
• Opportunities and responsibilities The process must identify opportunities and responsibilities for students within the school (and wider community) to do something of value for themselves and others as part of this approach
• Active support The process must receive active support, from teachers and others, for the participation and empowerment of young people.

While these components of empowerment can emerge in many different practical programs and processes within a school or within other groups, this resource describes one way to empower young people to take part in promoting positive mental health for themselves and others, based on the MindMatters initiative. 

Download the MindMatters Student Empowerment Information book (pdf, 2.44MB)