Mental wellbeing for young people

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Alumina Workbook

A groundbreaking course for young people who self-harm

“Teenagers are experiencing a gathering crisis in their mental health linked to conflict with friends, fears about their body image and pressures created by school work and social media.” (Simon Stevens, Chief Executive of NHS England). As many as a fifth (22%) of teenage girls self-harm, whilst rates in boys are 9%. How can we help young people deal with this issue?

Alumina is a groundbreaking course developed by a team of professionals and youth workers over the past ten years at Youthscape. Its aim is to help young people understand why they are harming and find better ways of coping with what are often overwhelming emotions. Hundreds of teenagers all over the UK take part in the online version of the course every year.

We are thrilled to bring together everything we have learnt through running the course online and to make it accessible to more young people, and anyone trying to support them. The Alumina workbook is designed for young people themselves and can be used alone; it works best, however, when an adult and young person can work through the sessions together. Youth workers, teachers, parents and other professionals will find the material clear and easy to use in many settings. The book contains seven sessions which explore topics like why people self-harm, why it becomes addictive, how we make sense of emotions, how to challenge negative thinking and why we need support from other people. It draws on the latest insights from neuroscience and psychology.

Whether you're looking for a book to work through to understand why you self-harm or something to use in supporting someone else, the new Alumina workbook is a fantastic resource.