Wellbeing Education that Feels like a TREAT, Rather than a Treatment Plan

Designing school-based wellbeing education so it feels like a treat, and not a treatment plan, can be challenging. The alarming statistics on youth mental illness can make it very tempting to focus primarily on responding to mental illness and fixing what’s gone wrong.

However, if we introduced wellbeing education that was a TREAT to learn about – Tangible, Relevant, Evidence-based, Alluring and Transformational – young people may want to learn and practice wellbeing skills, retain more information that they can apply throughout their life, and feel better supported, motivated and confident about managing and promoting their mental health.

Wellbeing education in schools needs to improve by dovetailing best practices in health, sport and wellbeing science as well as technology and education. It should strive to equip, inspire and empower young people to be proactively involved in shaping their own well-being destiny. Applying the TREAT framework can help with achieving these desired outcomes.

Inaugural Professorial Lecture presented by Professor Dianne Vella-Brodrick Gerry Higgins Chair in Positive Psychology, Centre for Positive Phychology, Melbourne Graduate School of Education.

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