Participants' commitment and dedication are crucial to getting the most out of the Mind Wellbeing program. Achieving mental wellbeing is a comprehensive journey, and every part of the Mind Wellbeing workbook is designed to contribute to this goal.
To maximise their benefit from the program, it’s essential for participants to complete 100% of the workbook. This ensures they gain the full spectrum of insights and practices intended to enhance their mental wellbeing. Facilitators should encourage participants to commit to completing all sections, as each component plays a vital role in the overall process. Consider the following:
Each section of the workbook builds on the previous ones, building towards holistic mental health outcomes. Skipping sections can leave gaps in participant understanding and healing.
The exercises and reflections are carefully crafted to provide maximum benefits when completed in sequence. Skipping sections may mean that participants won’t fully grasp or benefit from any subsequent sections that build on the ones they've missed.
There are several strategies suggested within the Mind Wellbeing workbook to help participants stay on track and ensure they don’t miss any important sections. These strategies are built into the workbook and will be covered as part of the study. As facilitators, it would be beneficial for you to reinforce these methods during group sessions and support participants in fully engaging with the material. We will list these strategies below for your reference:
“Take Advantage of Group Support: If you're studying with a group, make a pact to support each other in staying on track. You could even set up a buddy system where if a member misses a session, another member can support them to catch up with the reading and exercises. Discuss with your group how this system could work and who might pair up with whom.
Celebrate Milestones: Set yourself goals and reward yourself once you achieve them. For example, decide on a reward for yourself when you reach certain percentage points in the book, when you complete the book, or if you manage to organise a Mind Wellbeing group and bring everyone together (see pages 226-230 for more insight about how you could organise and lead a group of your own).
Get Excited About Highlights: You could also get motivated by looking through the table of contents and marking any sections that excite you or would be particularly helpful to your circumstances. This can motivate you to keep reading so that you can get to the chapters you're looking forward to. Here are three topics within the book that we consider to be key highlights and particularly impactful:
Learning the technique of emotion exposure in Chapter 5 can be considered a game-changer for mental health. Let's face it, most of us don't know what to do with our emotions and how best to handle them!
Learning about our self-image—how we view and treat ourselves—is another game-changer. You'll learn about these topics in Chapters 6 and 7.
Our final highlight is Chapters 10 and 11, which are packed full of essential skills you're going to need in your communication toolbox if you wish for happy and long-lasting relationships.
Set a Schedule: Set a regular schedule that fits your routine for your study sessions. Whether you are studying alone or with a group, having consistent times dedicated to reading and practicing can help you stay committed and avoid falling behind. For example, you might say to yourself, ‘every Saturday morning with breakfast, I will dedicate one hour to studying Mind Wellbeing.’ Set reminders on your phone or calendar to help you stay consistent. What would be a good time or day for your Mind Wellbeing study sessions?
Catch-Up Plan: If you’re studying with a group and miss a session, make a plan to catch up on the reading in your own time. This way, you won’t fall behind and can participate fully in the next session. Only tick the 'completion' checkbox at the end of each chapter once you've completed all the content in that chapter.
Certificate of Completion: Finally, motivate yourself by looking forward to your Certificate of Completion. To be eligible for a Certificate of Completion (which is located after the final chapter), you must complete 100% of the book. This means that if you are studying the book with a group and happen to miss a session, you need to catch up on the reading in your own time to be eligible for the certificate. This certificate is different from others because, when it comes to Mind Wellbeing, you are your own police. Based on an honour system, you can monitor your own progress and have the option of signing your own certificate of completion.”
