“We teach children maths and reading because we know they’ll need those skills throughout life,” says Troy Elliott, chief executive of the charity Think and Be Me.
“Understanding their emotions, recognising unhelpful thinking and knowing how to cope when things get tough are just as important.”
Think and Be Me teaches mental wellbeing to primary school children. It has secured money from the Government’s Mental Health and Addiction Community Sector Innovation Fund, and the charity says this will take the programme into 80 more schools.
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey launched the Innovation Fund in Budget 2024, at $10 million over two years. It gives non-government organisations and community providers money to scale up time-limited projects.
The charity hasn’t said how much it received or when the new schools will start.
Troy says the funding recognises the case for early intervention and prevention.
“We shouldn’t wait until children are struggling with their mental wellbeing before teaching them how their brains work, how to manage big feelings and how to cope with life’s challenges,” he says. “Reaching another 80 schools is a significant step forward.”
Catch, check and change
Cat Levine founded Think and Be Me. The programme uses live interactive performances, recurring characters, stories and music, with strategies the charity says are grounded in cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and neuroscience.
CBT is a talking therapy built on the link between thoughts, feelings and behaviour, and the programme teaches that link directly. Children learn to recognise their feelings and to catch, check and change unhelpful thinking.
Cat says the aim goes further than managing emotions.
“No one is happy all the time, and that’s okay. We want children to know that it’s normal to feel worried, angry, sad or frustrated,” she says.
“What’s important is that they don’t keep their feelings a secret, that they know who to talk to, and that they learn ways to calm themselves and change their Stinking Thinking into Cool Cat Thinking.”
Support for teachers
The performances are only part of the programme. Teachers also get resources and professional development so they can keep reinforcing the skills in class after the show has left.
Troy says the funding backs the idea that wellbeing belongs in children’s education alongside the core subjects.
“Mental wellbeing is something we can teach, practise and strengthen,” he says. “This investment takes us another significant step towards ensuring more New Zealand children have access to these essential life skills.”
Schools interested in the programme can find details at thinkandbe.me.
