As depression and anxiety among children and adolescents emerge as a social challenge, the Busan Metropolitan Government is accelerating efforts to build a prevention-focused mental health support system. The plan aims to reduce blind spots in mental health care by training specialists who help children's emotional development in schools and local communities.
Busan said it will conduct training for the social and emotional learning (SEL) program "Mind Journey to Find Myself" on the 5th at the Busan Metropolitan Independent Living Support Center, targeting about 40 workers from children's and youth facilities.
This training is a follow-up project to the "Children and Youth Mental Health Promotion Agreement" signed in January by the Busan Metropolitan Government, the Busan Metropolitan Office of Education, and the Korean Committee for UNICEF. It focuses on training specialists who will support the emotional development and relationship-building of children and adolescents in local communities.
"Mind Journey to Find Myself" is a social and emotional learning program developed by UNICEF, operated for students from the fourth grade of elementary school through high school. It consists of a curriculum that systematically develops social and emotional competencies such as self-awareness, emotional regulation, empathy, and communication skills.
The city has moved to expand its social and emotional learning program because of the recent intensification of depression and anxiety problems among adolescents. Moving away from the previous approach that concentrated on counseling and treatment after crises occurred, the city is shifting its focus to prevention-centered policies that develop children's and adolescents' ability to understand and healthily express their emotions on their own.
Indeed, since April the city has been promoting the "Do-Dream That Builds a Healthy Mind" campaign using video content, devoting efforts to raising awareness of the importance of mental health care. This training is also seen as a measure to establish a foundation for field workers to detect children's emotional difficulties early and provide support.
The training is being conducted in cooperation with the Korean Committee for UNICEF. Beginning with mindfulness education for workers, it will continue with children's rights and well-being, an introduction to program operation methods, sharing of cases applied in school settings, and a question-and-answer session.
Workers who complete the training will go on to operate the program directly at community child centers, all-together care centers, and youth facilities. Through this, more children and adolescents are expected to access mental health education in their daily lives.
"Children's and adolescents' mental health is the starting point for healthy growth and the formation of social relationships," said Park Seol-yeon, director general of the city's Women and Family Bureau. "We will strengthen the support system together with the local community so that children can form a positive sense of self and build healthy relationships with others."
