Kiera Milling of Coláiste an Átha, Kilmuckridge, Co Wexford, joined 122 Transition Year students across Ireland to graduate as a Walk in My Shoes mental health ambassador during a special online ceremony held to celebrate the class of 2022/2023.
For over 12 years, Walk in My Shoes, the flagship education and awareness-raising campaign of St Patrick’s Mental Health Services, has run a Transition Year Programme, with over 100 students from across Ireland taking part annually. The week-long programme runs five times during the academic year between October and March, with 20 to 25 students per programme.
This year, the programme took place in a hybrid format, with students beginning their week with a day spent onsite at St Patrick’s University Hospital campus, and the remainder of the week’s sessions attended virtually. Students receive first-hand insight into how a mental healthcare service operates and the experiences of those with mental health difficulties. They meet mental health experts and clinicians; hear from people who have gone through mental health difficulties and their experiences of mental health recovery; and discuss mental health stigma and ways to tackle it.
The programme is hosted by the adolescent mental health team and staff at St Patrick’s Mental Health Services, who deliver approximately 20 sessions to students across the week. This year’s participants undertook a range of activities which included viewing a mock multidisciplinary team meeting with psychiatrists, psychologists, occupational therapists, pharmacists, nurses and social workers; taking part in sessions with the medical director and the CEO; and participating in group presentations. Students were also given the opportunity to contribute to design concepts for a large-scale mental health promotion project that is being progressed by St Patrick’s at present.
To celebrate their completion of the programme, students were joined in an online graduation ceremony by CEO of St Patrick’s Mental Health Services, Paul Gilligan, who said: “Congratulations to the 122 students who completed the Transition Year Programme this year and returned to their schools and communities as ambassadors for mental health. Transition Year can offer wonderful learning experiences for young people, but it can often also be a challenging time for students as they prepare to start into their final years at school and consider future career choices. Through our TY Programme we offer students the opportunity to get a real sense of what it’s like to work in mental healthcare, to learn about career pathways and the various opportunities for a career in this sector, while also building mental health awareness and skills. It is fantastic to see so many young people benefit from this programme by exploring a future career in mental healthcare and embracing mental health awareness.”
Jeremy Clarke, TY Coordinator in Kilkenny College said: “The Walk in my Shoes TY programme is a wonderful blended learning programme that has had a remarkable and positive effect on the college course choices of the students who I was lucky enough to accept a place for. It gives students a wonderful opportunity to build their mental health awareness and to develop the tools to act as mental health ambassadors in both their schools and local communities. It is encouraging to see young people learn about the importance of positive mental health. Long may it continue!”
To date, over 1,100 students have completed the Transition Year programme. The 2023/2024 programme is now open for applications. For more information visit walkinmyshoes.ie.
