Taylor’s Bachelor of Psychology and Master of Clinical Psychology students recently collaborated with the Green Ribbon Group to execute The GREAT Project. The GREAT Project is an initiative started by the Green Ribbon Group to educate and advocate mental health using the community centric approach to school and university students so they can, themselves, become advocates of mental health and are able to assist and support their peers to get psychological help.
Yang Amat Mulia Tengku Puteri Raja Tengku Puteri Iman Afzan Al-Sultan Abdullah, Co-Founder and President of Green Ribbon Group strongly believes that “We are our own agents of change. We can be the light at the end of the tunnel, both for ourselves and for those around us. A community approach to mental health simply means practicing kindness, compassion and understanding, because a little support goes a long way.”
The GREAT Project is one of the many missions that is purposed to inspire, encourage, and empower young adults to improve their own mental health care whilst advocating it to their community. Headed by Aishah Ahmad Firdaus, 1st year Bachelor of Psychology student and supported by Taylor’s Psych Society, Taylor’s Psychology students joined hands with Green Ribbon Group and took on this project with their own twist and came up with the tagline “It’s GREAT TU Help”. They recruited and facilitated around 30 other interfaculty undergraduates for the two-day workshop.
The workshop was aimed at expounding the difference between mental health and mental illness and provided skill training on empathy and Psychological First Aid, two important aspects of being able to provide mental health support. The trainings were provided by Mental Health Experts from Taylor’s University and Green Ribbon Group. Students were also coached on how to build mental health campaigns and advocate for it. At the end of the workshop, students proposed campaigns that they will be embarking on for the next 12 months.
Green Ribbon group will continue to guide and support these groups for the next 12 months so their campaign can be successful. Upon successful completion of their campaign, students will become Green Ribbon Group Ambassadors. As Taylorians, we take pride in our philosophy for education. Taylor's Students are exposed to not only real-life learning experiences, but they are also enabled to contribute to society, creating impact.
“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek” – Barack Obama
