Radius Mighty Minis

Mighty Minis & Relaxed and Resilient Workshops

Mighty Minis & Relaxed and Resilient Workshops Mighty Minis and Relaxed and Resilient are emotional education workshops run by Wendy Hamilton to children and teenagers, using a combination of psychological theory, art, movement and craft. Relaxed and Resilient is for young people aged 8+ years. Workshops can be adapted for children with autism/ additional needs. Workshops can be facilitated with schools, community groups, nurseries and day centres in Northern Ireland. Developing good relations through focusing on mental wellbeing and developing personal capacity. Good Relations We understand that Good Relations can only be progressed when people understand themselves and have the confidence to engage with others. Through these programmes we hope to build wellbeing through focusing on emotions and how we communicate these. The next stage of good relations will be bringing groups of children / young people together on a cross community basis who have participated on one of these programmes. Mighty Minis is aimed for 3-7 year olds.

Mighty Minis

Course Duration 7 sessions – x1 hour long. Weeks 1-6 with children. Week 7 parents/carers.

Week 1 Mighty Minis circle of Sharing and Connection:

A chat and activity about emotions with a focus on ‘sharing’ & ‘re-connecting’ with peers and missed family members. Mighty Movement Therapy© consists of fun movement to music to foster ‘cooperation and re-connection’. Mighty CBT based art and craft Mighty Minis Story Week 2 Mighty Minis circle of Confidence and Bravery: Circle chat and activity about emotions, with a focus on ‘feeling nervous,‘confident’ and ‘feeling brave’ with a focus on building resilience. Mighty Movement Therapy© consists of moves to foster ‘strength and confidence’. Art and craft Story

Week 3 Mighty Minis circle of Calm and Quiet:

Circle time chat and activity about emotions with a focus on ‘feeling angry’, ‘feeling impatient’ with a workshop to foster self calming and to developing patience. Mighty Movement Therapy© consists of dance moves to foster ‘calm and quiet’. ‘Mindful munching’ fun task to deal with anticipation and introduction to ‘Crabby the crabbit crab’. Art and craft Story time

Week 4 Mighty Minis circle to Energize and Empower:

Circle time chat and activity about emotions, with a focus on feeling too tired and sluggish to do things. Workshop is to foster Motivation and try your best. Mighty Movement Therapy© consists of moves with music to Energize and Empower. Mighty Art and craft Mighty Story

Week 5 Mighty Minis circle on Focus and Concentration: Circle time chat and activity about emotions, with focus on improving concentration and focus. Mighty Movement Therapy© consists of moves with music to foster Focus and Concentration. Mighty CBT based art Mighty story Week 6 Mighty Minis Circle time chat recap and the final week includes a graduation ceremony: Mighty Movement Therapy© a mini disco Week 7 Parent’s week: Parents will be gently guided through all of the relaxation & wellbeing tips that their children have been taught. We are aware that Parents have had restricted contact with usual support networks including grandparents, school teachers and friends. Relaxation tips will be given on mindful reconnecting with a variety of social institutions including schools, work and shops. Relaxation tips will be given to help mitigate Covid19 health fears. Emotional awareness exercises will be given on how to mitigate effects of masks & social distancing on connection. Mighty art and craft Graduation ceremony

Mighty Minis: Learning Outcomes

• To increase self confidence. • To help children self regulate and to communicate their emotions. • To aid focus and concentration. • To encourage and support parental connectivity and emotional regulation with their children.

Relaxed and Resilient Workshop for older kids/teens/younger adults Duration 6 workshops – x1 hour

Each session includes exploration & discussion, visual aids, mindful movement, mindfulness and CBT based activities, guided relaxations, positive affirmations & breath work.

Week 1 Neuroscience of emotion:

Explore what is going on in our brains, the ‘why’ of how we feel. When we understand how our bodies and brain work the knowledge we gain, it gives us better understanding of our own mental processes. This gives us more control of our emotional health, helping us make positive choices and creating resilience. Conversations on becoming aware of faulty thinking loops. CBT based tasks.

Week 2 Friendships and relationships:

Protecting ourselves and others and navigating conflict and resolution. Focus on the dynamics of relationships both at home and with our peers. Exploring our freedom of thought and healthy versus toxic relationships including what is empathy and relevant tasks.

Week 3 Social media: An exploration of our online selves. The real versus the unreal. Exploring the idea of the metaphorical masks people wear and the inhibitions of anonymity created in an online world and the issues this can create. Conversations on staying safe, cyber bullying and taking time out. CBT based tasks.

Week 4 Our place in this world: Sense of self. Who am I? Who I want to be.

Awakening potential. Self care is a skill that is learned, knowing what our needs are from the base level of food and shelter to the need for social interaction in order to reach our full potential, with emphasis on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. We will explore what this means to them and the hurdles associated with not recognising and being able to ask for what you need. Finding your voice. CBT based tasks.

Week 5 Worry & anxiety:

Fight or flight symptoms & tips to mediate the effects. This includes breathing and movement based exercise. We look at when anxiety is useful, the reactions in our body to these feelings and tools to navigate anxiety in a productive way. Using techniques such as the worry tree and taking aspects of programmed patterns of behaviour to create new pathways in our brain. We also look at how our bodies react to stress and include activities which promote a methodic way through times of anxiety using self care and awareness. Week 6 Re-cap of all work: In the final week of the course we will recap on all the learning over the past 5 sessions. Reinforcing the tools and techniques we have been looking at. We will look at reaching out and knowing when to ask for help and how to recognize these things in others.

Relaxed and Resilient: Learning outcomes

• To develop a deeper understanding of self. • To increase good mental health practices. • To develop self esteem and resilience. • To facilitate personal and social educational development

Biography Wendy Coulson Degree BSc (hons) in Psychology and a Master of Science MSC (hons) in Psychology.

Wendy is a Mindfulness teacher, breath coach, Tools for Schools’ yoga teacher and is qualified in all massage techniques. She previously was an Autism lecturer for Northern Regional College. ‘Causeway Coast Calm’ is the name under which she runs workshops for PTSD, stress and anxiety relief, baby and special needs reflexology and sensory massage and movement classes. She currently works for WAVE Trauma Centers providing workshops for stress & anxiety.

t: 0330123 0888 e: info@radiushousing.org w: radiushousing.org

@RadiusHousing /RadiusHousing radiushousing

This programme is funded by Radius Housing through the Department for Communities ‘Housing for All’ Shared Housing Programme which has its origins in the NI Executive T:buc strategy.