Join youth mental health advocates, batyr, in Melbourne Now’s Community Hall for a group Art Therapy and Gratitude session.

Mental health is one of the biggest issues for young people. Experiencing gratitude can enhance overall mental well-being and have positive effects on self-esteem, sleep patterns, emotional intelligence, empathy, and resilience.

In this workshop, participants can drop by and be introduced to the concept of gratitude mapping by batyr’s facilitators and hear true stories that highlight the benefits of gratitude in reducing stress and anxiety. Participants can then discover how artmaking can foster a sense of well-being during a self-guided drawing activity.

Presented by batyr

batyr is a preventative mental health organisation, which champions a peer-to-peer approach to encourage people to reach out for support. The organisation uses lived experience stories to show how students can access support, and how doing so can drastically improve their overall well-being. batyr’s role in Australia’s mental health system is to help prevent mental ill-health before it develops and to get young people the right support if it does.

The organisation has a passionate and growing team of 1000+ young storytellers who share their personal experience with thousands of people across the country every year to promote positive conversations about mental health and make young people aware of the support systems available to them.

OurHerd is a mental health storytelling app created by batyr. It provides young people a safe and supportive space to discuss tough times, learn from each other’s experiences and be reminded that they’re not alone. Created in collaboration with over 600 young people and 75 mental health experts, the app contains short-form videos and written stories about mental health, identity and relationships. Moderated to ensure a safe space, the app is designed for young people aged 14 – 30 at all stages in their mental health journey. OurHerd is available for free download on the App store and Google Play.

Hosted by Lucia Droga & Molly Farrell