Resilience Academy Mental Health Classes for Teens

Pieta House is excited to have been supported 69 schools across 18 counties in Ireland this school year by delivering the Resilience Academy. In the first two years of delivering the programme, the Resilience Academy has supported more nearly 7,000 students by increasing protective factors such as coping methods, problem solving, decision-making, and cognitive skills. It allows students to recognize their strengths, identify techniques to remain calm ins stressful situations and to create a toolbox of practical strategies for enhancing their mental well being. The evidence-based progamme is run within a school environment.  Topics include family; friendships; bullying; managing school stress; substance abuse; sexuality body image; and mental health.

It specifically targets students in the 13-14-year-old age bracket - the ‘difficult/dangerous’ midpoint of adolescence, and the period that immediately precedes the age bracket (15-16 years) where Pieta sees many young people attending our intervention services in crisis point.In the years between 2011-2015 Pieta House saw a more than 163% increase in children under 18 accessing our services in crisis. In 2018, 33% of our clients were under 18, at nearly 2,427 individuals. 

Pieta House is thrilled to be delivering the Resilience Academy to a groundbreaking 123 schools and nearly 11,000 students in the 2019/2020 school year. Our 8 facilitators have just completed the first block of our 6 block school year. By the end of this school year, the 2019/2020 school year, the Resilience Academy will have been delivered to more than 17% of students in this demographic in all of Ireland.