Precision beats intensity
'Overwhelmed before assessments' is actionable. 'Bad' is not, and 'depressed' used casually makes the real word harder to say later. Literacy starts with a wider vocabulary for ordinary difficulty.
Our frameworks
A shared language for mental health
Young people ask for help in the words they have. A community that shares those words hears the ask earlier.
Destigmatisation and mental health literacy are the same coin seen from either side: knowing the signs and how to talk about them, and having the words to describe your own experience. Neither works if the adults and the young people are speaking past each other.
Describe, do not diagnose
Adults are trained to say what they noticed rather than label what it is. It keeps the conversation open, keeps the adult inside their role, and keeps the record accurate.
The same words in every room
A phrase used in a wellbeing lesson should survive the corridor, the tutor meeting and the email home. Consistency across those rooms is what makes the language feel safe to use.
Language that lowers stigma
When mental health is spoken about routinely rather than only in emergencies, disclosure stops being a dramatic act. That shift is the mechanism behind most of the help-seeking evidence.
Two languages, one meaning
In bilingual and international communities, some phrases simply do not carry. We deliver in English and German and name the places where a direct translation changes the meaning.
Where it is taught
Across the mental health literacy modules for students and the NOTICE, HOLD and LEAD tiers for adults, so both sides of the conversation are learning the same terms in the same term.
Common questions
- What is a shared language for mental health?
- An agreed set of words a school community uses for feelings, difficulty and help, so students, staff and parents mean the same thing when they say it.
- Why does the wording matter so much?
- Young people ask for help in the words they have. If the only available words are 'fine' and 'depressed', most of what is happening in between never gets said out loud.
- Is this about avoiding certain words?
- It is less about banned words and more about precision and consistency: describing what you see, avoiding casual diagnosis, and using the same terms in a lesson, a corridor and a parent email.
- How do you teach it?
- Inside our mental health literacy modules for students and the response tiers for adults, with rehearsal rather than glossaries. People practise saying the thing.
- Does it work across two languages?
- Yes. We deliver in English and German and pay attention to where a phrase does not carry across, which matters in bilingual and international communities.
Related pages
Ask us about this programme
Tell us a little about your school or family and we will reply with dates, formats and pricing - usually within one working day.
Give your community one set of words
We will show you how the student modules and the adult tiers line up so both sides learn the same language.