Wellbeing tips from Clinical Psychologist Dr Hazel Harrison

Transcript

Hi there, my name's Dr. Hazel Harrison and I'm a clinical psychologist.

Now pupils are back in school, it's so important to help them connect with one another having spent time apart from their classmates and community.

But how can you help them to reconnect?

Here are my five top tips.

Number one.
Encourage children to complete acts of kindness. Helping others has the power to reduce stress, increase self esteem and help pupils to feel closer to one another. The Premier League Wellbeing Stars challenge is a great way to put this into action. Encouraging pupils to carry out five kind actions across a wellbeing week.

Number two.
Provide opportunities of meaningful connections and interactions. Even if it's just a short moment, having a positive conversation or simply making time to listen, is a great way to help pupils feel valued, accepted and connected.

Number three.
Ask children what they're grateful for. By regularly asking them to think or write about the good things in their life, pupils can create a strong sense of connection, experience positive emotions and help to build a community based on appreciation.

Number four.
Help children to articulate their character strengths. So, encouraging pupils to notice their character strengths, so that they feel more connected to themselves and others.

And number five.
Suggest a social action project that they can work on. So, Premier League Wellbeing Stars is a perfect example of this. Encouraging pupils to work together, to make a positive difference in their community and feel a sense of belonging.

Head to PLPrimaryStars.com for more information on Wellbeing Stars and how you can get involved in the challenge from school or from home.