Mental health affects everyone, including teenagers.
In the past few years there has been an escalation in the number of teenagers suffering from anxiety and depression. Mental health disorders manifest in different ways in teenagers.
Symptoms include a persistently depressed mood or loss of interest in activities, as well as thoughts and behavioral patterns that impact negatively on the teenager’s wellbeing and general functioning.
Beth Mackay, a social worker with 18 years’ experience in areas of mental health and Debbie Deutchmann, a yoga teacher, will present four workshops in Bloemfontein on how to cope with stress and anxiety.
It is estemated that 60% of youth felt they needed mental health support over the past year according to the latest Unicef South Africa U-Report poll in 2023.
The findings show a 15% reduction from a similar poll in 2022 but little change among the age group 15 to 24 years, of whom 70% still needed help to improve their mental wellbeing.
“Keeping these stats in mind we have designed a workshop to help teenagers develop a coping toolbox based on evidence-based practices and techniques,” Mackay says.
“The workshop will comprise four sessions spanning roughly two months. Each session will have different topics with a strong focus on understanding how your nervous system works and how to use mindfulness and yoga practices to cope with stress and anxiety.”
The activities of the day will be fun, interactive and practical.
Mackay is also a Mindfulness Practitioner who gained her certification in mindfulness-based interventions through the Institute for Mindfulness South Africa (IMISA) in collaboration with the University Stellenbosch.
Deutschman holds a 200 hour Hatha/Ishta Traditional Yoga Teachers Training certificate from the Pathways Academy of Life. She is the author of her memoir Precious Gem, and has used yoga as a means of self-healing for her own trauma.
The sessions will be presented from 09:00 to 16:00 on the following Saturdays: 18 March, 6 April, 20 April, and 4 May.
The cost is R400 per session or R1 400 for all four sessions. Only 15 spaces are available.
Call Deutschman to book on 082-467-1640 or send an email to workshopbfn@gmail.com.
