Reframing children’s mental health: A communications toolkit

As branding and communication planners of Mental Health Awareness Month this year consider the theme for 2024, we reflect on the 2023 theme. It was ‘We all have a role to play’, ensuring that we take some time to look after our own wellbeing, care for those close to us and learn when or where to seek professional help.

It’s important to understand that mental health is not the same as mental illness. The words we use make a difference, and research shows that child mental health experts and practitioners working with children, parents and families have different understandings about children’s mental health. How we communicate our messages, is key to bridging this gap.

Developed by the FrameWorks Institute and commissioned by the Emerging Minds: National Workforce Centre for Child Mental Health, this toolkit has been developed for child mental health experts and organisations who communicate about children’s mental health. It is intended to assist in creating messages that resonate and inspire positive change, and to provide support for policies to promote better mental health outcomes for Australian children.

The toolkit is freely available and we encourage you to visit, explore and share it with your colleagues.

An Emerging Minds resource.