The Hopeful Minds Programme: A Mixed-method Evaluation of 10 School Curriculum Based, Theoretically Framed, Lessons to Promote Mental Health and Coping Skills in 8–14-year-olds

ABSTRACT

This study is the first evaluation of Hopeful Minds: a novel school-based mental health promotion programme designed for children and pre-adolescents. Ten hope theory-based lessons were assessed. A mixed-methodology design was used with a sample of 127 participants (88 pre/post; 39 focus groups), aged 8–13 years. In the pre/post-study, there were significant improvements in anxiety and emotional regulation levels (primary school), coping and resilience levels (post-primary). Focus groups were conducted with three post-primary groups. The key overarching qualitative themes included developing a hopeful mind; increased emotional insight and awareness; improved resilience, confidence, self-belief, and developing new coping skills and a request to provide the programme to all transitioning primary school children. Outcomes provide preliminary evidence indicating that the Hopeful Minds programme, which utilises ‘Hope theory’ as it's foundation, has potential in preventing the development of mental health issues in pre and early adolescent children. Recommendations include adopting a whole school approach, include additional lessons on rumination and academic failure.

KEYWORDS:

• Mental health
• coping
• adolescents
• hope theory

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

The only funding available to support the editing of this paper was funding associated with a PhD scholarship for E.McGlinchey (60k), and Research Assistant Funds for G.McAnee (2k).

Notes on contributors

K. Kirby

Dr. K. Kirby has been a Senior Lecturer of Psychology, at Ulster University, School of Psychology, since 2004. Prior to this, she worked as a Counselling and Health Psychologist and practised in the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) with some additional consultancy work in Paediatric Psychology and Clinical Health Psychology departments within the Western H&SC Trust.

Karen is a full member of the Psychology Research Institute and has published widely in peer-reviewed journals. Her research interests are in the area of child and adolescent mental health research and evaluating the effectiveness of Low Intensity CBT approaches. For example, prevalence rates of common mental health issues in young people today, such as self-harm, anxiety, depression and cyberbullying etc; while also determining the various psychosocial predictors of these growing issues, along with evaluating preventative mental health approaches (coping, resilience and cyberbullying) within the school curriculum. However, her key focus of research currently is evaluating the Hopeful Minds programme for 8-14-year olds, and introducing Trauma Informed Compassionate schools to post primary schools in Northern Ireland. Karen teaches ‘Child, Adolescent & Family Mental Health' and ‘Cognitive Behaviour Therapy’ at MSc level, and Counselling Psychology (UG level). Dr Kirby remains registered with the Health and Care Professions Council and is a Chartered Psychologist with the British Psychological Society.

A. Lyons

A. Lyons is an Education Specialist with the Provincial Systems Support Programme at the Centre of Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Toronto, Ontario. She completed her MSc in Applied Psychology (Mental Health & Psychological Therapies) at Ulster University in 2017. She has been involved in the development and evaluation of mental health promotion, prevention, and early intervention programmes across the lifespan. Her research interests include mental health and cognitive behavioural therapy.

J. Mallett

Dr J. Mallett is a senior lecturer in psychology at Ulster University. His interests are in the areas of health psychology, mental health across the lifespan and healthy ageing.

K. Goetzke

K. Goetske is the founder of the 501(c) 3iFred, the International Foundation for Research and Education for Depression (www.depression.org). She is also the entrepreneur and innovator behind Mood-lites™, a new category of lighting in the $5 billion dollar U.S. lighting marketplace that just obtained nationwide distribution in Lowe's Home Improvement. She founded iFred based on her research that less than 25% of people with currently diagnosable depression are receiving treatment due to stigma (or, as she calls it, negative brand or positioning), and is dedicated to increasing the number of those being treated to 100%.

Kathryn, armed with an MBA in International Marketing, an undergraduate degree in Psychology, over twenty years of experience with small and large Fortune 100 companies, including The Gillette Company, Johnson & Johnson, Unilever, 3M, American Express, and General Mills, is spending much of her time developing iFred before she launches full time into Mood-factory and her plans to “Engage all the Senses.” Through her company, Kathryn is responsible for creating the first Nationwide Cause Marketing Campaign for depression with her launch of 25 products in Lowe's, a feat she accomplished using her business experience she learned from her brilliant father she lost to suicide when she was only 19 years old. Kathryn has appeared internationally to speak on behalf of iFred about the ‘brand’ history of depression, what it takes to create a positive brand, and solutions for destigmatising the disease by focusing on the hope and the high success rate of treatment. Kathryn has written for Psych Central, sits on the Global Mental Health Movement advisory board, and has been interviewed by a number of radio, television, and print publications, including NBC affiliates, the BBC, Psychology Today, Entrepreneur Magazine, and more.

M. Dunne

M. Dunne is a Registered Mental Nurse, Mental health Specialist and Director of ‘Resilio’Marie has worked in the Health Improvement Service WHSCT and held the brief for Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing. Throughout her career she has worked as a registered mental health nurse in a range of settings including acute, community and in addictions services.

Her Journey in health improvement gave me the opportunity to become a specialist in the field of mental health promotion and this has been involved supporting the implementation of the Regional Mental Health Promotion Strategy within the WHSCT area. She has worked regionally, locally and on a cross-border basis on numerous initiatives including ‘getting it together' a peer-led emotional health programme, which received the Prince’s Trust recognition award. She facilitates a range of training programmes including mental health first aid, cognitive behaviour life skills training, stress management and mental health promotion training. She has been involved in supporting the community to develop a mental health charter, which is the first of its kind in this area.

She has established Resilio, a voluntary organisation in Northern Ireland that prides itself on delivering evidenced-based programmes that build hope and resilience at individual, community and organisational level in partnership with the University of Ulster. These include Hopeful minds which she brought to NI and has been instrumental in its roll out and Trauma Informed Compassionate Schools Training. She has dedicated her whole career to the field of mental health which spans 40 years and is very passionate about this area. Marie believes there is ‘'no health without mental health'’ and it should be the corner stone for all that we do.

W. Gibbons

W. Gibbons has been the Strategy Manager for The Outer West Neighbourhood Renewal Area and has been one of the leading community partners in the implementation of hopeful mind in Northern Ireland. She worked in the Computing, Business and Education industries for over 20 years mainly in the Business and Digital-Media sectors and also taught as a lecturer in Computer Science at the University of Ulster.

More recently, she became involved in Community Development and in that context, has worked as Project and Operations Managers of many diverse social, economic and physical development projects. She is utilising her knowledge and skill in the areas of Urban Regeneration and Social Innovation of Strategic and Locality Community Planning Process.

Á. Ní Chnáimhsí

Á. Ní Chnáimhsí is a Research Assistant with Verbal at Bishops Street Within, Londonderry, BT48 6PU.

She holds an MSc in Applied Psychology and is a qualified Psychological Well-being Practitioner. Her area of work involves evaluating the effectiveness of the Reading Rooms programmes in promoting well-being in children, young people and adults across Northern Ireland.

J. Ferguson

J. Ferguson is currently a Behaviour Assistant working for the Western Region of the Education Authority in Northern Ireland. She works within a nurturing environment with pupils diagnosed with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. Jill completed the MSc in Applied Psychology at Ulster University, Magee in 2017.

T. W. Harkin

T. W. Harkin is a Psychology Researcher at The Verbal Arts Centre. Her areas of interest are mental health prevention and the comorbidity of mental health disorders in victims of trauma. Tara completed the MSc in Applied Psychology at Ulster University, Magee in 2017.

E. McGlinchey

Ms E. McGlinchey (MSc, BSc) is currently completing her PhD in the area of adolescent mental health, and is based at Ulster University, Coleraine, Northern Ireland. Prior to this, Miss McGlinchey completed her BSc degree in Psychology and MSc degree in Applied Mental Health and Psychological Therapies also at Ulster University. Miss McGlinchey is also a BPS-accredited and certified Low-Intensity Cognitive Behavioural Therapist, having completed her certification at Ulster University during her MSc degree. Miss McGlinchey's main area of research centres on child and adolescent mental health. Specifically, with regard to how symptoms of anxiety and depression are expressed among adolescents within community-based samples and the role emotional regulation plays in relation to internalising disorders in adolescence.

G. McAnee

G. McAnee is a Research Fellow at The Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast. Her interests are epidemiology, quantitative research methods, dementia, ageing populations, and childhood trauma.

M. L. Belfar

M. L. Belfer, MD, MPA is a Professor of Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry, Children's Hospital Boston, Harvard Medical School. He is on the Affiliated Faculty of the Harvard Center for the Developing Child. Dr. Belfer led the child mental health programme at the WHO from 2000 to 2005 where he developed the child mental health Atlas. He is the past-President of the International Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions (IACAPAP). He founded Boston Children's Hospital Global Child Mental Health Observership Programme and directed for the Harvard Center on the Developing Child a comprehensive child mental health needs assessment in schools in Shanghai with Chinese colleagues. He was a consultant to the Temasek Foundation (Singapore) project on child mental health capacity building for disaster response in Indonesia. For the IOM and WHO he worked in Thailand and Indonesia after the tsunami. His current interest is in building global mental health capacity. The latter currently involves the development of a comprehensive child mental health program in Shenzhen, China. As a clinician he worked closely with plastic and reconstructive surgeons on understanding the development of body image in children. He has written 150 scientific papers and chapters.

K. L. Stark

K. L. Stark, M.A., Ed.M., BCBA. Kristy is a Behavioural Scientist, licensed K-12 Administrator, Board-Certified Behaviour Analyst, Consultant, and Entrepreneur. Kristy has served as the Clinical Director of a non-profit organization for children with neurodevelopmental disorders, and as a consultant to state mental health agencies and university teaching centres.

Kristy was an instructor in Clinical Psychology at the University of Michigan and is now adjunct faculty in PA. Kristy holds an Ed.M. in Human Development and Psychology from Harvard University, where she co-founded an education technology start-up at the Harvard Innovation Lab. She has served as a board member on the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Innovation and Ventures in Education Organization, and on the leadership team for the Behavioral Insights Student Group at the Harvard Kennedy School. She additionally holds an M.A. from U of M and a B.A. from OSU. Kristy has presented her work at Harvard University, the University of Michigan, and the United Nations headquarters in NY. She has spoken internationally on child development, mental health, and behavioural insights and design. Kristy is passionate about disseminating evidence-based, prevention-focused programmes for children and families.