Children’s mental health week campaign under fire

"Find your brave" is the campaign slogan for this year’s awareness week, set up by the charity Place2Be, which runs from 3 to 9 February.

The campaign is seeking to raise awareness of early support and focus on children’s "bravery" as they deal with mental health challenges.

Place2Be said its aim was "to help children and young people understand that talking about feelings and asking for help is brave".

But a number of critics on Twitter, including those who help young people and children in care with mental health issues, have said the campaign’s use of the word “bravery” and messages surrounding the slogan are "misplaced".

They say it implies that symptoms of mental illness are a choice and puts undue pressure on those struggling with emotional wellbeing.

Family barrister Lucy Reed believes the focus on bravery could reinforce “a sense of personal failure” among young people with mental health issues.

Foster carer Martin Barrow said he is “troubled” by the theme.

“Our foster children have already spent too much of their lives being brave. I don’t want them to be brave any longer,” he said.

“I don’t think ‘brave’ should ever be used in connection with mental illness".

He is particularly concerned that this theme is being used more widely by other charities.

As I mentioned earlier, I'm troubled by the 'Find Your Brave' theme to this year's children's mental health week. Especially when it is supported by messaging like this: pic.twitter.com/e61uVQVn28

— Martin Barrow (@MartinBarrow) February 4, 2020

Barrow added: “I think it is wrong to frame any mental/physical health in terms of 'brave' or, by extension, battle, fight etc.

“In this case, the error is compounded by the fact that the messaging was largely left to people like teachers and carers far removed from Place2B, so any rationale for the original slogan is lost.”

Jayne Dillon, a former midwife and Labour councillor in Trafford, branded the campaign's choice of words “utterly disgusting”.

Agree with this. Absolutely shameful. Utterly disgusting use of words. https://t.co/qel0ZWNor2

— Jayne Dillon (@JayneDillon1) February 5, 2020

However, the campaign’s message around "bravery" has been praised by Dr Katie Hunt from the British Psychological Society’s division of clinical psychology’s faculty for children, young people and their families. She described it as “very welcome”.

“Finding your brave might mean just getting up every day and facing the thing that you most fear, yet still it defeats you. It might mean not getting to school,” she said.

“It might mean not being able to hold it all together throughout a whole day at school when everyone else around you seems to be able to get it right.”

A number of primary schools praised positive lessons taken from the campaign on Twitter.

We found our inner superhero and discussed how we can look after our mental health. #keeptalking #FindYourBrave @mesne_lea pic.twitter.com/633wS6h6fK

— Miss Gibson 🐝 (@MissGibson_ML) February 4, 2020

A tweet from Stamford Bridge Primary School read: "Today, we had a positive chat about bravery and situations in which we would need to find it. We offered each other advice and acted out role plays to demonstrate it in action."

Discovery Primary School in south London added: "We all have our own fears but being brave and overcoming those fears is one of the most courageous things we can do, find your brave, just something simple like talking to someone about it can make a world of difference."

A Place2Be spokesman said: "Children’s mental health week is a campaign we launched in 2015 to shine a spotlight on the importance of children’s mental health.

“This year we are focusing on the theme of bravery to counteract the idea that it is about ‘holding it in’ or ‘pulling yourself together’, and to help children and young people understand that talking about feelings and asking for help is brave. It’s not about doing it alone. 

“One of the messages highlighted by the campaign is that being brave is often about taking small brave steps every day. For some people, getting out of bed in the morning or getting through the day can be an exceptionally brave act.

“Feedback from schools across the country has been very positive, with record numbers downloading our resources. They are really embracing the week and its theme, by opening up conversations with pupils about mental health and finding healthy ways to cope with life’s inevitable ups and downs. 

“Children and young people’s wellbeing is Place2Be’s utmost priority, and we hope that children and their families will feel empowered by the message of the week. Professionals who work with children and young people can play a role in this by creating environments where children are supported to develop strategies to manage the challenges that they face.”