A healthy intimate relationships program for schools

Relationships Australia Victoria, known as RAV, is a valued provider of specialist family

and relationship services.

Our vision is for positive, safe and respectful relationships for couples, families, schools,

workplaces and communities.

Contents

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About Relationships Australia Victoria 3Rationale 4 Program aims 4Target group 4Program facilitators 5Structure 5 The curriculum 5Key messages 6Topics explored 6Pedagogy 7Session outlines 8 Session 1 8 Session 2 8 Session 3 9 Session 4 9Risk management 10 Group screening process 10 Debriefing 10Communication to the school community 11Contact us 11

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About Relationships Australia Victoria

Relationships Australia Victoria (RAV) is a valued provider of specialist family and relationship services. We provide services from 12 centres in metropolitan Melbourne andregionalVictoria,ourCentralOfficeinCamberwellandvariousoutreachlocations.

Our vision is for positive, safe and respectful relationships for couples, families, schools,workplacesandcommunities.Ourobjectiveistorelievesuffering,distressand helplessness and to enhance physical, social and emotional wellbeing. We are a community-based,not-for-profitorganisationwithnoreligiousaffiliations.Ourservicesare for all members of the community, regardless of religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, lifestyle choice, cultural background or economic circumstances.

RAV has a long history and established reputation in providing therapeutic counselling, psycho-education and other support services to children, families and communities. We provide counselling for all aspects of relationships, including counselling for couples, families,children,menandwomenaswellaspre-marriagecounselling.Weofferfamilydispute resolution services (FDR) including child-inclusive FDR.

Through our Registered Training Organisation (RTO), we provide accredited training and professional development education. We also provide relationship education, parenting skills training, family violence prevention, support and recovery services, whole of family and child-focused programs, workplace services and programs which support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and culturally and linguistically diverse communities.

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Closeandintimaterelationshipsinfluenceusacrossourlifespanandplayacrucialrolein our growth and development. Learning about the fundamental ways our connections to others enrich our lives and our wellbeing can guide us to make good choices.

I like, like you: A healthy intimate relationships program for schools is a preventative initiative developed by RAV that utilises a whole school approach to promote the connection between healthy intimate relationships and emotional health and wellbeing. The program, run in high schools, has been designed to build strong partnerships between schools, health and community agencies, families and young people.

Current approaches to violence prevention emphasise early intervention to encourage respectful and equitable relationships and promote non-violent and non-coercive strategieswhendealingwithdifficultiesinintimaterelationships.

Early adolescence represents an important opportunity for preventative intervention and the promotion of healthy intimate relationships. Cashmore (2000) argues that preventative initiatives targeting early adolescence are crucial, as this is a time when a young person is at increased risk of movement into “harmful pathways” or ways of conducting themselves that may be destructive to themselves and their relationships.

Rationale for the program

Program aims

• To provide a preventative program for young people that integrates mental health promotion with violence prevention as, historically, these are areas of work in our sector have been polarised.

• Toofferapreventativeresponseto RAV’s core tertiary work, that relates to the impact of family violence, family breakdown and mental health issues on individuals and families.

These program aims help to provide a more integrated support service to connect schools, families and communities and thereby help to identify and prevent unhealthy relationships, family violence and mental health issues.

Giventhesignificantpositivecorrelationbetweenhealthyintimate relationship and general health and well-being, (Kiecolt-Glaser and Newtown, 2001; Prouix, Helms and Buehler, 2007) there are strong grounds for a whole school approach curriculum that assists young people to develop knowledge, skills and attitudes that promote the connection between healthy minds and healthy intimate relationships.

Prevention programs can use a range of strategies across a number of levels; primary, secondary or tertiary.

I like, like you utilises a primary prevention method that aims to introduce knowledge, skills and attitudes that promote healthy relationships.

Theprogramisspecificallydesignedtobeappropriatefor year 9 and 10 students, however it can be customised for other age ranges as required. Its core idea of the connection between emotional health and healthy relationshipscanbetailoredtodifferentagegroups,developmental family stages and communities. I like, like you UP is our successful adaptation for upper primary school students, focusing on healthy close relationships. We have also developed programs for post-natal parents and students with a mild intellectual disability.

Target group

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The I like, like you program is run by trained facilitators experienced in working with children, adolescents and families with training in social work, psychology and family and couple therapy. All RAV facilitators are required to have completed Police Checks and Working with Children Checks.

Program facilitators

This program utilises elements of a whole school approach, in that the groups are run in the curriculum either in conjunction with a teacher or alongside a teacher. The program generally encompasses weekly sessions that run over four weeks during class time.

Facilitators consult with principals and/or teachers about needs of the school and students, and design the program to meet these needs.

The curriculumThe curriculum, which has a mental health promotion and violence prevention

Structure

“A major part of this program involves getting you to think about where you stand with these influences.

We will have a strong focus on getting you to think about the kinds of experiences you want to have and build in your future relationships.

What kinds of experiences are you having now with intimate relationships? How are you going to know you are listening to yourself and living out your relationship values? How are you going to resist messages that don’t fit for you? What are your rules for people getting emotionally and physically close to you? How can you integrate some of our material into your daily life.”

emphasis, integrates contemporary and evidence based knowledge about healthy minds and healthy relationships. The curriculum aims to:

• Promote the connection between healthy relationships and emotional health and wellbeing.

• Provide students with an opportunity to consider the kinds of relationships they want to experience in their future.

• Provide practical skills for maintaining good mental health and healthy relationships

• Promote attitudes and behaviours demonstrated by equitable and respectful relationships.

The program has four main themes: knowledge, skills, attitudes and integration.

Students are introduced to knowledge and practical skills and then actively encouraged to think about where they stand (or where they wish to stand) in relation to this knowledge,byreflectingontheirownexperiencesandinfluencesaroundthem.

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The program helps students to focus on how we experience ourselves and our relationships, what our bodies can reveal about our emotions, how our thoughts caninfluenceouractions,andhowideasandbeliefscaninfluenceouridentity.Bylearning how to have a better relationship with ourselves, we can learn how to have a better relationship with people who are close to us.

• Intimacy in relationships can be conceptualised as people forging moments of connection through mutual understanding, as opposed to intimacy being conceptualisedasaglobalfixedstate.

• The strong connection between emotional health and healthy relationships.

• In most circumstances, relationships are not necessarily ‘healthy’ or ‘unhealthy’. There can be healthy and unhealthy (unhelpful) moments in all relationships.

• We feel better when we are in relationships where there are more healthy than unhealthy moments. The key is making sure there are more good times than difficultortrickytimes.Studentsareintroducedtowaysto‘spot’unhealthymoments and given ideas as to how to address these times in their relationships.

• Relationships where there are more unhealthy moments can change to become healthier if both people are committed to this occurring, and it is safe to do so.

• Therearemanyinfluencesonhowweexperiencerelationshipsincludinggender,power, culture, media, our own family experiences. It is important to be aware of theseinfluencesandthinkaboutwhereyoustandinrelationtothem.

Key messages

• What is intimacy

• What a safe and healthy relationship looks like

• How to identify when a relationship is not safe for you

• Attitudes that support and harm relationships

• Practical ways to maintain good mental health

• Howtomanagethenegativesandrepairafterconflict

• Technology safety and relationships

• How to help yourself after a breakup

• How to help a friend who is in an unsafe relationship.

Topics explored

Group work sessions have been designed to utilise a combination of learning, experientialanddidacticactivitiesthatwillpromotecriticalreflection;relationshipskillsbuilding, empathy, assertion, analysing and evaluation of self and other. Sessions run for100minutes.Inthefirsthour,studentsparticipateinactivities,smallandbiggroupdiscussions, role-plays and watch videos.

Inthefinal40minutes,studentsintegratetheirexperienceoftheprogrambydevelopingtheir own promotions tool using a mixed media method. In small groups, students are encouraged to write a story, song or dance, develop a video or poster, perform a role-play.Thesepromotionaltoolsaresharedinthefinalsessionoftheprogram.Healthteachers are encouraged to integrate the development of the promotions tool into an assessment piece.

The development of the promotions tool gives students an opportunity to think about where they stand with the knowledge and content of the program, to integrate the material into their own language and culture and to create a group process where they have to discuss the material from their own standpoint.

Pedagogy

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Topics• Introduction to group

• What is intimacy?

• What does a safe and healthy relationship look like?

Learning Objectives• Introduction to the group topic

• Establishing group rules and responsibilities

• Confidentiality

• Planning for self-care

• Disclosure and safety during the group

• Knowledge acquisition in relation to healthy relationships

• Criticalreflectiononattitudesthatsupport unhealthy relationships

Session 1 - Knowledge

Topics• How to identify when a relationship

is not safe for you

• Practical ways to maintain good mental health

• How to manage the negatives and repairafterconflict

• Technology safety and relationships

Learning Objectives• Knowledge acquisition in relation

to the connection between healthy minds and healthy relationships

• The acquisition of relationship skills, in relation to maintaining healthy relationships

• Skills for keeping your mind healthy

• Criticalreflectiononattitudesthatsupport unhealthy relationships

Session 2 - Skills

Topics• Attitudesandinfluencesthatsupport

and harm intimate relationships

• Where do you stand with these influences?

• What are your (developing) relationship values?

Learning Objectives• Identifyinginfluencesandafocuson

personal choice

• Acriticalreflectiononattitudesthatinfluencerelationships-media,gender, culture, and power issues

Session 3 - Attitudes

Topics• How to help yourself after a breakup

• How to help a friend who is in an unhealthy relationship

• Small groups showcase their Promotions tool to the larger group

Learning Objectives• Resiliency skills in respect to grief

and loss issues

• Personal boundaries in friendships and child and adult responsibilities

Session 4 - Integration

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Through our facilitation of I like, like you, we use a whole school approach with the administrationandschoolsupportstafftoidentifychildren,youngpeopleandtheirfamilies who are at risk, or who are already living in families that are unsafe.

Group screening sessionRAV group workers meet with teachers/coordinators prior to the group to establish any students that are known to the school as having particular vulnerabilities or are currently identifiedas‘atrisk’.

DebriefingEarlyinterventionprogramsaremoreeffectiveifspecificriskfactorsaretargetedandappropriate methods are implemented to address those risk factors operating at all levels, including the student, the school, the family and the community. RAV group workers are available to support schools with ideas to enhance the above principle.

RAVgroupworkerswillbeavailableforface-to-facedebriefingwithstudentsand/or teachers following the session every week as required. In the event of a personal disclosure during or after the group, RAV workers are available to undertake a risk assessmentanddebriefingwithastudentand/orteacherandadviseandsupportanappropriate referral.

RAV workers will also be available to support warm referrals to RAV individual, couple and family therapy counselling programs.

Risk management

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We welcome the opportunity to discuss how our I like, like you program can be provided at your school and tailored to meet the needs of your students. Please contact our I like, like you Program Coordinator, if you have any questions or require further information.

Phone: (03) 8573 2222Email: illy@rav.org.au Websites: www.rav.org.au | www.connectedspace.com.au (for young people)Facebook: www.facebook.com/RelAustVic Twitter: @RelAustVic

Contact us

We advise that parents are made aware of the program. We evaluate our group work programs following the completion of each group. It is envisaged that both teachers and students will participate in the evaluation by completing a post-group questionnaire. Feedback will subsequently be provided to the Principal of the school.

RAV has recently completed an outcomes evaluation of I like, like you. Preliminary results indicate that teachers and students report positive outcomes in relation to new knowledgeandskillsthatstudentsfeelconfidenttheycanuseinthefuture.Theseinclude an awareness of their feelings, understanding of good communication and abilitytorepairdifficultiesinrelationships.

Communication to the school community

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