Mental Health Chat

Mental Health Chat is a program developed by NAMI Fox Valley and is a mental health awareness presentation given to elementary age students.

The target population is (3rd – 5th graders; the presentation is given by someone living with a mental illness or someone who is a family member of someone with a mental illness. The presentation is about 40 – 45 minutes with a curriculum follow-up for teachers provided.

The presentation is given in a fun and caring way with the goals:

• Educate elementary students about mental illness and NAMI
• Help elementary students understand that getting medical help for a mental illness is good and similar to getting medical help for a broken arm or the flu
• Educate elementary students that one in five people live with a mental illness
• Provide positive coping skills for dealing with strong emotions.
• Teach students how to help themselves or a friend identify an adult they can talk to if feeling sad/depressed/anxious

The presentation includes:

1. A description of mental illness and why it’s sometimes hard to understand and tell them about NAMI
2. Reading of a book about feelings/mood
3. A whiteboard presentation on mental illness, getting help, one in five using stick figure drawings
4. A relaxation exercise using Go Noodle
5. Follow-up curriculum for teacher to do an activity about feelings, coping skills and make a list of who they can talk to in the school or home about their feelings.