A Toolkit For Your Mental Health
A ​Mental Health Based Curriculum
Our Mission and History
Changing Minds is mental health curriculum that combines lecture, storytelling, group discussion, and improv theatre to enhance emotional development—providing hope, help, and saving lives. Changing Minds was first developed for The College of New Jersey in 2015. The Mental Health First Aid Kit™ component was then added and piloted at the Southeast Missouri Suicide Prevention Conference in 2016.

Our mission is to create supportive environments that promote healthy and empowered individuals, families, and communities. We aim to teach the tools people need to address their own mental health effectively by providing an in depth and evidence based education on mental health, an understanding of brain and human development, teaching participants about coping tools, and showing the crucial steps to help oneself or a peer, colleague, or loved one in crisis.​
Testimonials
• "I cannot thank you enough for your willingness to share your message with those at TCNJ." - M.G., The College of New Jersey
• "There's no doubt that Josh changed lives" - D.H., New Prague (MN) Middle School
• "Good participation. Engaging. Real Stories. Curriculum for younger kids at school is a fantastic idea!" - M.R., SEMO 2016 Conference
• "Informative and personal and much needed moments of comic relief. Interactive portions are a big plus, also (there’s) plenty of Q&A." - D.B., SEMO Conference 2016
• "It was an amazing experience." - B.A., MSW University of Texas at Arlington
About
Changing Minds curriculum is broken down into six modules.
  • The Basics of Mental Health
  • Coping Skills
  • Storytelling and Support Systems
  • Living With a Mental Health Condition
  • Suicide Awareness and Prevention
  • ​Anti-bullying/Diversity and Inclusion
Each module has been adapted for:​
  • Grades 4-8
  • High school
  • College and University
  • Workplace
  • Faith-Based
  • ​Military
 Modules in development:
  • Living with Substance Abuse or Addiction
  • Finding Purpose
  • Suicide Postvention
  • ​Leadership development
Mental Health by the Numbers 
  • Serious (untreated/mistreated) mental illness costs America $193.2 billion in lost earnings per year 
  • Over one-third (37%) of students with a mental health condition age 14­–21 and older who are served by special education drop out—the highest dropout rate of any disability group 
  • Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S., the 3rd leading cause of death for people aged 10–24, and the 2nd leading cause of death for people aged 15–24 
  • Each day an estimated 18-22 veterans die by suicide 
  • Approximately 1 in 5 adults in the U.S.—43.8 million, or 18.5%—experiences mental illness in a given year
  • Only 41% of adults in the U.S. with a mental health condition received mental health services in the past year. Among adults with a serious mental illness, 62.9% received mental health services in the past year. 
How Changing Minds Helps
 As a result of Changing Minds, previous attendees have reported:
  • An increased understanding of what mental health is and is not
  • An increased comfortability in speaking openly about mental health
  • An increased comfortability in reaching out for help if experiencing a mental health breakdown 
  • An increased understanding that mental health conditions (sometimes called “illnesses” or “disorders”) are real conditions that can be helped and treated
  • An increased understanding of coping skills and their importance
  • An increased ability to turn a negative into a positive, or to turn a personal “failure” into success (reframing skills)
  • An increased understanding of the need for positive self-talk and self-coaching (self-soothing skills)
College/University
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​High School
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Grades 4-8
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Workplace
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