A growing number of Kiwis are struggling with their mental health. Many excellent services, such as counselling and helplines, are available but the services and their staff are often stretched and access can be a problem. Fortunately, there are programmes to help our tamariki develop the skills needed to navigate tough situations and improve their mental health and resilience. Pause Breathe Smile is a locally developed mind health programme that has now been accessed by more than 125,000 kids in more than 440 schools. Latest survey results show the programme is effective at helping children to develop lifelong skills.
Pause Breathe Smile is available free to all kura, primary and intermediate schools in Aotearoa New Zealand. The programme trains teachers to deliver simple, practical mindfulness techniques to help them manage challenging emotions, such as self-doubt, and encourage positivity.
These include mindful breathing and eating, a “body scan” (reflecting on how your body feels), a “happy heart” for developing kindness, and ways to connect with the wider environment. The training is focused and available online. It has excellent resources and a great support team. If children learn and master skills to manage ambiguity, frustration, and tension they have a strong foundation for a healthy, happy and productive childhood, as well as in later in life.
The programme was developed by Grant and Natasha Rix working with the Mental Health Foundation. At its core is Sir Mason Durie’s model of te whare tapa whā or four-walled house, which has four key pou (pillars): taha tinana (physical dimension), taha hinengaro (emotional), taha whānau (social) and taha wairua (spiritual).
The programme has been shown to be equally effective for all children and has recently been released in a full te reo Māori version, Whaiwāhi Mauri Tau. There is now also a free Pause Breathe Smile app that includes mindfulness practices for adults and tamariki. Both will extend the reach of Pause Breathe Smile to more New Zealanders.
Before I joined the Pause Breathe Smile initiative as an ambassador and champion, I wanted to be sure of three things: it addresses an important issue; there is good supporting evidence for its effectiveness; and the programme’s values align with my own. It’s three ticks from me.
Pause Breathe Smile is funded by Southern Cross Healthcare as its flagship social responsibility initiative. The most recent follow-up study across two years indicates positive impacts for our tamariki, which extend to their schools, whānau and wider communities.
The results of surveys by researcher Reuben Rusk show statistically significant improvement where students are “flourishing” and a decrease in students “languishing”. Importantly, the latest results show these positive impacts are sustained and, in many cases, continue to increase after two years of follow-up.
The results indicate tamariki are learning to understand and regulate their emotions, embrace better ways to resolve problems and deal with conflict. Another of Rusk’s findings is that children who have been through the programme show improvements in the way they engage with wellbeing practices and mention wellbeing ideas. This suggests they are aware of and implementing techniques themselves beyond what they are taught through Pause Breathe Smile.
Children learning to understand what works for them to maintain their mental health is important. Being able to describe how they feel and taking great delight in something are positive signs. The research findings give me hope our young mindfulness practitioners will lead the way in developing better mental health outcomes for generations.
Former director-general of health Sir Ashley Bloomfield is mind health ambassador for Pause Breathe Smile.
