Posted on Oct 31, 2017 in
NEWSWORTHY
Joshua Rivedal.
The evening of October 11th at the Clements High School auditorium wasn’t just an evening to sit and listen to a presentation. Speaker Joshua Rivedal was there to engage and listen to the audience on a subject that is often considered taboo – mental health.
Fort Bend ISD’s Counseling and Postsecondary Readiness Department teamed up with Advocates of Healthy Minds to bring “Making Lemonade Out of Lemons: A Workshop on Wellness” to the community. Rivedal incorporated his project, the Changing Mind Series from The i’Mpossible Project to give parents, students and staff tips on how to deal with stress and anxiety reduction.
Rivedal shared personal stories on obstacles he encountered in his life, such as abandonment, abuse and suicide. However, through it all, he managed to overcome it. With personal storytelling, and a little improv acting, Rivedal provided the audience an entertaining, yet informative way to discuss ways to develop healthy coping skills and how to eliminate unhealthy ones.
Rivedal’s visit to the community is just a small part of FBISD’s Counseling and Postsecondary Readiness Department’s new initiative this year – FBISD Speak Up – which is focused on promoting mental health awareness and suicide prevention by reducing the stigma and fear associated with being an upstander and reaching out for support, either for yourself, a friend or family member.
“The vision is to grow the FBISD Speak Up initiative to include more campus activities for students, including lessons, school-wide campaigns and parent education,” said Heather Bowman, Elementary Counselor Coordinator. “We want students and parents to feel safe in talking about mental health and reaching out for support.”
Visit FBISD’s Counseling and Postsecondary Readiness Department’s webpage for more information. Learn more about Joshua Rivedal on his website www.joshuarivedal.com/ and at www.changingmindsstrong.com/fbisd to download handouts from Rivedal’s presentation.
