Mental Health Awareness Game - Schools & Young People

In many places, a culture of silence still exists in relation to talking about mental health, with many people feeling uncomfortable discussing their mental health. But mental health is just as important as physical health, and mental health conditions can have a big impact on motivation and performance at work.

To help break the culture of silence and help organisations support young people's mental health, we’ve developed the Mental Health Awareness Game. It is an online educational board game for small groups that encourages lively discussions and personal reflection. Anyone can run a game session without external help or training, it is easy to manage and easy to play. It is fun with a serious purpose and clear outcomes.

The game encourages a safe space for players to explore and discuss mental health issues. Playing the game will help players increase their knowledge and facilitate informal learning through the discussions generated by playing the game. The game is ideal for helping young people in schools, colleges and universities learn about vital mental health issues.

Mental Health First Aid Training

The game supports Mental Health First Aid training at levels 1 & 2.

The game has been mapped against typical learning objectives and outcomes for level 2 to build an understanding of the prevalence of mental health problems, knowledge of mental health conditions and looks at supporting people experiencing difficulty with their mental health.

How does it work?

The game is an online board game for between 4 and 12 people. Groups are divided into between 2 and 4 teams that compete to win points by answering questions correctly. These questions and scenarios cover a wide range of mental health issues that help players develop a better understanding.

It is an engaging educational activity for groups that works through a web browser on any device. It can be played remotely during Zoom, Skype and Teams meetings and can also be used face-to-face via a big screen.

Anyone can run a game session without external help or training, it is easy to manage and easy to play the facilitator just shares their screen with the group. Games usually last for between 20 and 60 minutes.

It can be played by anyone at any level in an organisation but is especially useful for Mental Health First Aiders.