Youth Recovery and Wellbeing College Launches Podcast

Our Youth Recovery & Wellbeing College has expanded its digital offer to reach more young people with the creation of an engaging, youth-focused podcast series called “On the couch with…”.

The podcast episodes are hosted by Mez Sanders-Green, Senior Youth Recovery & Wellbeing Practitioner at the Youth Recovery & Wellbeing College. Mez works in collaboration with various teams from our Children Services (CAMHS), as well as schools, colleges, and young person hubs from Hull & the East Riding, to produce a range of support programmes aimed at young people.

He said, “Finding new and more accessible ways to engage with young people allows the Youth Recovery and Wellbeing College to offer enhanced support for mental health. By incorporating podcasts into our digital offerings, we can provide engaging and relatable content that empowers and educates in a modern, convenient format”.

The Youth Recovery & Wellbeing College is a unique platform offering a 24/7 programme designed to engage and support the mental health of young people through a range of non-clinical and creative face-to-face sessions. This new element of podcasting is yet another way in which practitioners can reach out to young people and engage with them on topics that are most relevant to them.

The first episode is now available on YouTube for young people and their families to access. It was recorded at Stockwell Academy in Hull with students and practitioners working with the school. The podcast features an engaging conversation that highlights the pivotal role the pupils of Stockwell Academy had on shaping and coproducing the practice of the Mental Health Support Teams across our local area. Hull and East Riding Mental Health Support Teams support children, young people (aged 5-18), and those who care for them with their mental health and emotional wellbeing.

Episode 1 highlights how young people have worked with practitioners to shape mental health support work at their school and influence the delivery and practice across Hull. This episode is entitled, “I was an iceberg but now that’s melted away…” and can now be viewed on our YouTube channel here.

The young people and staff involved in creating the episode held a private early viewing party for the premiere. Using coproduction as a therapeutic method to engage young people in creativity and personal expression, means that those involved in the process benefit hugely. With the result being something that their peers and other young people can in turn benefit from listening to.

These youth-led podcasts will launch a new episode once a month and feature voices from across the young person community within the area. Featuring brand new content recorded with a range of young people, youth groups and mental health practitioners sharing supportive practice and insights into how best to support young people’s mental health.

Young people, as well as youth and community groups, educational establishments or adults wanting to share their insights into parenting or living with a young person, are invited to contact Mez to discuss opportunities to be involved in upcoming episodes of the podcast series.