Mental Health awards recognition for The Guide’s Janine Thomas

Association of Child and Adolescent Mental Health (ACAMH) nominate Janine Thomas in the ‘Education of CAMH professionals’ category in this year’s ACAMH awards.

One of our key Guide practitioners in Wales has been recognised for her work by the Association of Child and Adolescent Mental Health (ACAMH).  Janine Thomas, Clinical Lead for The Guide Project in Schools was nominated in the David Cottrell ‘Education of CAMH professionals’ category in this year’s ACAMH awards.

The nomination was for ‘an educator who as had a significant impact upon the education or training of child and adolescent mental health professionals about topics related to child and adolescent mental health’.  The Guide programme was developed in Canada and provides Go-to Educator training for teachers in comprehensive mental health literacy, along with a complete set of online resources for schools, proven to increase the understanding of mental health and mental disorders.  The Guide has also been shown to decrease the stigma of mental illness and increase the ability to seek help, in both teachers and students.

Action for Children brought the evidence-based initiative to high schools all over Wales in 2018 and have been funded by Welsh Government to broaden the scheme out on a digital platform free until March 2021.

Janine said: ‘I was very proud to receive this nomination as the Guide has made a great impact in Welsh schools.  It has now been adopted by schools in every corner of Wales and teachers have embraced the training so enthusiastically as there is great awareness of the need to improve mental health literacy in our young people.  It’s been a pleasure meeting and training professionals who have such a crucial role in shaping how young people view their mental health.  This ACAMH nomination underlines the great work we have done as the Guide goes from strength to strength.’