SD61 and the YMCA have formed a partnership to bring the Y Mind Teen program into our schools.
Y Mind Teen program is a 10-week school-based mindfulness group that has been developed to help teens aged 13-18, manage their mild to moderate stress and anxiety and support them in developing healthy coping strategies to manage stress. Y Mind Teen is grounded in the evidence-based principles of Mindfulness and Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT).
A 2-day training is provided by the YMCA through SD 61 at no cost to participants and covers the program curriculum for the 10 weekly sessions. The training is meant to be as experiential as possible, and participants engage with the materials, take part in discussions and practice some of the program delivery methods.
Since 2019, 25 GVSD staff have been trained under the program’s former name, Y Teen Mindfulness, and the curriculum has been implemented by 3 Middle and 4 Secondary schools to date. The program has since rebranded as Y Mind Teen (fall 2020) and revised its curriculum to include an updated manual, a new workbook for students, and Indigenous adaptations.
For more information on training contact:
Jen Aston – jaston@sd61.bc.ca
