KeepCool: Helping adolescents deal with strong emotions
During the COVID-19 pandemic, access to many of the support systems that young people could normally rely on has been limited. School closures, reduced access to GPs, university wellbeing services, and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), and restrictions on face-to-face contact with friends and family have meant that many young people have had nobody to turn to for advice when they have felt worried, low, or angry – the emotions that have been shared by many, regardless of age. In addition to that, the constant exposure to distressing information on the news and social media have caused some young people to feel guilty about being dejected and downplay their emotions.
Earlier in the pandemic, we worked with eNurture Leadership Team member Professor Edmund Sonuga-Barke, the Maudsley Charity, and the production company TOAD to create a series of educational videos, Families Under Pressure, aimed at equipping parents with practical tools to help their children deal with negative emotions. We have also collaborated with the BBC to produce two Bitesizes: How to boost positivity for your family at home and How to help your child feel better about being back in school. However, based on the epidemiological evidence, we became more and more concerned about the mental health of young people secondary-school-age and older and thought about how to adapt our work to address their needs.
We decided to focus on common emotions, such as anxiety, sadness, and anger, instead of mental health disorders, since they are universal and experienced by anyone at some point. Besides, we wanted to reduce shame and stigma around those emotions and facilitate an open discussion about them.
“The KeepCool project has been such an innovative, creative, and collaborative experience. I felt so valued, listened to, and appreciated throughout and I’m so proud of the final products! ”
With that in mind, we have launched the KeepCool project, funded by UK Research and Innovation, in collaboration with McPin Foundation, TOAD, and the social media agency Passion Digital. Over the past few months, we have worked with a Young People’s Advisory Group (YPAG), part of the McPin Young People's Network, to co-create educational materials for 14-24-year-olds about how to deal with strong emotions. They include short films featuring young people talking about their experiences of anxiety, sadness, and anger and coping techniques that they have found helpful as well as advice from mental health professionals. We have also consulted the Young Person's Mental Health Advisory Group hosted by the Service User Research Enterprise (SURE) at King’s College London and NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre (BRC).
Working in collaboration with young people has been central to the project. In the changing world where information on any topic of interest is just a few clicks away, adolescents tend not to enjoy being passive recipients of advice. Instead, our main aim has been to provide a platform for them to share their experiences while our academic and clinical teams have ensured that the advice shared by the young people is in line with best clinical practice. Besides, adolescents often see peers as more important than parents and other adults in providing support, so bringing the voices of young people to the forefront has been important in spreading our message.
Our collaboration with the McPin YPAG started in autumn 2020, during the time of the second national lockdown in England. We began by discussing with the young people how they had been feeling over the previous few months and prioritising the emotions we would be covering in KeepCool. Then we had extensive conversations about what the emotions feel like, when the young people tend to experience them, and how to deal with them to feel better. Based on those discussions, we have worked with TOAD to produce educational videos and with the Maudsley NHS CAMHS Clinic for Trauma, Anxiety and Depression (TAD) to develop additional materials with coping advice. The YPAG have reviewed the materials to make sure that they are accessible and engaging. In addition to that, they have provided feedback on the films, written blog posts, and created beautiful art and poetry as a way of expressing their emotions.
“This was an intriguing project to work on. I gained a real insight into the state of mental health among young people, and from there we were given a chance to help make a positive impact in dealing with negative emotions – which I enjoyed.”
KeepCool lives primarily on social media, which helps us reach the young audience more effectively than conventional media. Besides, it means that we can connect, share ideas, and learn from each other quickly in the current rapidly changing environment.
Our aim is not only to make sure young people have easy access to evidence-based advice to help them look after their mental health and cope with overwhelming emotions, but also to facilitate an open conversation about emotions. We are currently calling for young people aged 16-24 to submit their contributions discussing coping strategies that they find helpful. Selected contributions will appear on our Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter pages and their authors will receive £10 vouchers as a thank-you for their time. If you would like to take part, please visit the KeepCool website for more information.
Professor Andrea Danese and Meg Kiseleva
Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience
King’s College London
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