i like, like you: a healthy intimate relationships program for schools

A healthy intimate relationships program by

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Future-proof families and community safety

Service and content design

1. Congruence with clinical practice across spectrum of service provision.

2. Alignment between how services are delivered and practice.

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“I like, like you: Healthy Intimate Relationships”

• Primary prevention work.

• Collaborating with universal services.

• Linking mental health promotion and violence prevention.

• Knowledge, practical relationship skills and critical reflection.

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RAV context

Impact on family relationships of:

• Family violence

• Family law complexities

• Mental health difficulties.

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Service models

• Continuity.

• Integration - maximising complexity.

• Congruence.

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Staged-based model of service

Primary Prevention ServicesFor communities: in kindergartens, schools, child and maternal health centres

Preventative programs for relationship and emotional health

Early Intervention ServicesFor individuals and families

Programs to maintain good emotional health and relationships

Tertiary Services

For individuals and families

Programs with intensive

therapeutic & case management

responses

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Continuity, congruence and integration

• Co-occurring, historical and systemic issues.

• Both/And- explaining but not excusing.

• IPV- Intersectorial feminist perspective.

• Avoiding gender essentialism.

• The Self is political.

• Always safety first.

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Whole school approach

National Health Promoting Schools Framework:

Interacting spheres of a school environment include:• Curriculum, teaching and learning• Environment, school’s values and ethics• Partnerships and services.

Aims:• Address social and wellbeing issues• Forge strong partnerships between families, schools and

community agencies.

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Levels of intervention

• Attuning to school culture.• Curriculum.• Attuned to social and wellbeing needs of

children in the groups.• Referral source.• Welfare and discipline policies.• Collaborative continuum of care - joined up

services.

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Program aims of I like, like you 

• Provide a preventative program for young people that integrates mental health promotion with violence prevention, as historically these are areas of work in our sector have been polarised.

• Offer a preventative response to the core tertiary work of Relationships Australia Victoria (RAV) that relates to the impact of family violence, family breakdown and mental health issues on individuals and families.

• Form stronger relationships between RAV and schools, and to raise awareness of RAV's child, parent and family work.

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 Curriculum aims – I like, like you

• Promote the connection between healthy relationships, and emotional health and wellbeing.

• Provide students with an opportunity to consider the kinds of relationships they want to experience in their future.

• Provide practical skills for maintaining good mental health and healthy relationships

• Promote attitudes and behaviours demonstrated by equitable and respectful relationships.

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Four sessions

1. KNOWLEDGE2. SKILLS3. ATTITUDES4. INTEGRATION

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Critical realism

Truths / Evidenced-based research Invitational

practice Influences / Where do you stand?

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Relationship choices

“A major part of this program involves getting you to think about where you stand with these influences. We will focus on getting you to think about the kinds of experiences you want to have and build in your future relationships.”

“What kinds of experiences are you having now with intimate relationships? How are you going to know you are listening to yourself and living out your relationship values? How are you going to resist messages that don’t fit for you? What are your rules for people getting emotionally and physically close to you? How can you integrate some of our material into your daily life”.

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Key messages

• Conceptualising intimacy as moments of connection.

• Strong connection between emotional health and healthy relationships.

• Healthy and tricky/difficult moments in all relationships.

• There’s no one fixed identity that we are all working towards. Identity is who we feel we are, as a person, in one given time or moment.

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Topics

• What is intimacy and what does a safe and healthy relationship feel like?

• Identifying when a relationship is not safe for you.

• The connection between emotional health and healthy relationships.

• Healthy Minds: Practical skills for emotional health.

• Styles of communicating that harm relationships and what you can do instead.

• Managing the negatives and repairing after conflict.

• Boundaries: how to enjoy being together and still be yourself.

• Explore the construct of identity and what it means to young people.

• Attitudes and influences that support and harm relationships.

• Technology, safety and relationships.

• How to help yourself after a breakup.

• How to help a friend who is in an unsafe relationship.

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Mindsight

• Mindsight – connecting “me”, “you” and “we” moving between myself, you and the environment we occupy.

• Speaking for our feelings instead of our feelings speaking for us.

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Identity, attitudes and relationships

• Identity – gender and intimacy FSC bullying and homophobia.

• Thinking about “Exceptence” are you red or, green or, queen bee?

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