Stress can manifest itself in a variety of different ways. In teenagers, the stress of adolescence is often added to by school, exam and family worries and these are often overlooked by teachers, parents and carers. Experts from Royal Holloway University of London, Thames Valley University and the University of Westminster have teamed up to research levels of stress in teenagers and find out how best to tackle these.
The ‘Solutions on Stress (SOS)’ project worked during 2006-7 with the Notting Hill and Ealing High School (NHEHS) and Ellen Wilkinson School (EWS) to create a pilot project and now plans for larger-scale projects are underway. The scheme was set up to investigate how mental health problems are often overlooked in children of a certain age. Its goal is to empower young people to deal with stress using a range of psychological and holistic tools.
The SOS scheme offers a series of stress management sessions based on feedback from students around what they felt were the best and worst ways to deal with stress and what information, training or products would increase their well-being. The scheme offers therapies and solutions during PHSE (Personal Health and Social Education) lessons or after school, with a range of relaxation techniques from Indian Head Massage to Breathing to Positive Thinking.
The next step is to take SOS to areas where social exclusion and other factors mean that stress levels among young people are higher, and to use SOS tools in other settings such as businesses and care homes.
For more information click on our news page or refer to our recent publications:
- Bunn, A., Bifulco, A., Lorenc, A., & Robinson, N., (2007). 'Solutions on Stress (SOS): programmes, packages and products for helping teenagers'. Young Consumer, vol 8 (1); 29-35. Download the submitted article text here (PDF File)
- The SOS project has also been featured in the Nursing Times. Download the article here (PDF file).
Click here to see a selection of resources for schools.
