batyr is a for-purpose, preventative mental health organisation focused on reducing stigma and increasing the numbers of young Australians who seek help for mental ill-health, and they are about to bring a free, Being Herd Workshop for 18 to 30-year-old's to Armidale.
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Workshop coordinator Courtney Cross said some would come along to the workshops to gain the confidence to share their experiences, but all would have to fill out an Expression of Interest form to gain further details.
She said for 30 students in Australia, seven will be dealing with mental health issues. From of those seven, only two will reach out for support and five will suffer in silence.
"People might be looking to better articulate some of the experiences they've had to health professionals," she said.
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"Then we do have people who are interested in becoming mental health advocates in the space, and are looking to share their stories in public and in a formal setting.
"And we do have a number of speakers based between Armidale and Tamworth who share in our program regularly."
Courtney said workshops were typically small and intimate groups of seven to 10 people.
"Because of the nature of sharing such personal moments of the journey, we want to take the proper time to do that with everyone and make sure we take that safe and supportive environment to everyone," she said.
"We talk about the power of storytelling and also do some work around speaking with confidence, and do some activities around mindfulness.
"We also talk about how to share your stories safely, so the story you might be telling will not have any negative impact on yourself or the person you are telling the story to."
Courtney said the workshop would run for a-day-and-a-half across a weekend to accommodate people with full-time schedules.
"As an organisation, we were born and bred in Sydney," she said.
"But we have offers who run these workshops right across Australia. In NSW we do quite a lot of work regionally.
"We do ask those who wish to attend the workshop to fill in an expression of interest form.
Expression of Interest forms can be found here. or on the batyr web page under Being Herd and on the "Tell your story to help others" tab.
batyr have a 'herd' of over 700 young, lived experience speakers (18-30), the largest in Australia and possibly the world.
batyr is not a service provider. If you or someone you know is in need of support, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
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