‘Hats on’ at Selby College for Mental Health Awareness Week

To mark Mental Health Awareness Week, staff at Selby College held a ‘Hats on for Mental Health’ Day.

As part of this, staff from across the College have been putting their best hats on for team meetings or for a whole day to raise awareness of mental health. Teams also organised their own virtual tea breaks to check in and see how everyone is, over a cup of tea and a cake.

Lorraine Fisher, Counsellor at Selby College, also arranged a College-wide catch up to encourage everyone to stay connected and keep talking. Lorraine also created a quiz for staff to take part in individually and within their teams, which included mystery photos from walks which staff took over Easter.

“Last year, staff at the College all wore green for mental health awareness. This year, it seems more poignant as mental health and wellbeing is a heightened part of our everyday conversations,” said Lorraine. “As we are physically distanced, I wanted to do something which would be visible on our video calls. The hats also provided a starting point for conversations in the team tea breaks, which we carried out to check in on each other and to encourage us to stay connected.”

This Mental Health Awareness Week has been different than previous ones, with people worrying about coronavirus and how it will affect us and those we love.

If you are a student or a staff member of Selby College and need someone to speak to, please reach out to fisherl@selby.ac.uk. As part of our confidential counsel services, a trained Counsellor is available to listen and try to help you clarify difficulties, explore choices or provide support.