Children have struggled with mental wellbeing over the past two years.
Half of all mental wellbeing conditions present by the time a child reaches 14 but often remain undetected and untreated.
Covid policies have created an anxiety pandemic amongst all age groups. Free elementary resource teaches simple brain hacks that can last a lifetime and turn around a child’s negative thinking within a month.
Half of all social and emotional wellbeing conditions present themselves by the time a child reaches 14 but most cases remain undetected and untreated. Research by RTT Method within UK schools found anxiety often went hand-in-hand with a lack of confidence resulting in a crippling effect on children’s lives. The combination prevented them from enjoying school, impacting their learning and social skills.
That’s why a free new mental wellbeing resource called ‘I Can’t to I Can’ aims to provide elementary school children throughout Nevada with the tools they need to overcome anxiety, build confidence and take control of their emotions. It has been created by the RTT School in response to the tsunami of anxiety Covid has created and features a specific set of mind hacks that can provide immediate help - skills which can help a child throughout life.
‘I Can’t to I Can’ takes just a week to instill positive new approaches in children aged 7 to 10. Available online, the free resource is based around the RTT concept of installing the inner cheerleader. Everyone is born with an inner cheerleader - without that driving force babies would never doggedly persist to learn and instead give up each time they failed. However, that inherent positivity soon changes with children as young as 5 starting to doubt themselves and listening to their inner critic instead of their cheerleader. This is why the skills taught in ‘I Can’t to I Can’ are so key.
Tina Gearhart, Special Programs Coordinator at Greater Albany Public Schools in Oregon and who piloted the challenge last year across different classes, commented:
“We used the program for a week and found it very successful. All of the students who took part have goals in the area of behavior and social/emotional regulation. Many of them struggle with mental illness and trauma. Our students really connected with the activities and will likely start each month with a refresher lesson from the 5 Day Challenge.”
Schools can sign up to the I Can’t to I Can 5-Day Challenge by completing the sign up form at: https://rtt.com/5-day-challenge-us/
For further information, a copy of the resources, additional imagery or an interview with Dr Sian Peer, Director of RTT Method, please email elise.mcdonald@marisapeer.com
Everything needed to run the 5 Day Challenge is available online once a school signs up. Each day focuses on a different power for the children to develop so that they can bring them all together to build resilience, confidence and self-esteem.
Day 1 - focuses on bringing the cheerleader within us to life through visualization using the Power of Imagination
Day 2 - looks at how our cheerleader speaks to us through the Power of Words
Day 3 - considers how we get stuck in circular thinking and how this affects our feelings, behavior and thoughts with the Power of Looping Thoughts.
Day 4 - is about learning to create positive neural pathways through the Power of Repetition
Day 5 - is when we consolidate everything that has been learnt to bring the Class Cheerleader to life and Power Up.
By taking part in the challenge, the suggested achievable outcomes include:
• Identifying and talking about feelings
• Understanding how feelings affect behaviour
• Strategies to manage feelings
• Managing uncertainty
RTT Method
Improving interventions through research
Our aim is to ensure our independently reviewed research will give more people access to RTT via service providers such as the NHS by proving its effectiveness in treating a range of issues at speed.
What is RTT?
RTT is an approach drawing upon powerful tools and techniques to provide people with the tools for change.
Its roots come from within traditional areas including aspects of Gestalt, Solution Focussed, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy alongside techniques such as mindfulness. Its personalised approach works with clients to help them reframe any negative beliefs, values, habits and emotions - many of which they have carried with them since childhood. Often these have been so deeply buried in their subconscious, they are unaware of the past issues affecting them
By giving the client the potential to alter the way they think and put an end to negative self-talk, they can approach life in a positive way.