SAD Kids Project

What is the SAD Kids Project?

SAD stands for Stress, Anxiety and Depression, and the aim of the SAD kids project is to raise funds in order to provide evidence based programs and resource materials for teenagers.

The money raised by SAD Kids activities is used to fund services and research by the Health Psychology Unit, at the University of Technology, Sydney.

A major focus of the project is the “Taking Charge” program, which is an eight-week group-based psycho-educational program that teaches resilience and coping skills to referred teenagers. The program aims to equip young people with skills for dealing with stressful situations by teaching them evidence-based coping strategies. All the programs are run in group settings.

Other popular programs include “Managing HSC Stress” which is a four-session program for students experiencing anxiety in relation to the final year of school. In addition, the “Personal Power” program provides training in anger management for teenagers who have problems with impulse control, low tolerance of frustration and self-defeating behaviours.

The Health Psychology Unit has also developed programs for students with high level needs. These are students who are experiencing more serious mental and psychosocial problems, including attention deficit disorder, learning difficulties, poor impulse control, substance abuse, self-harm, mood disorders, low motivation and anti-social behaviour. Some of these students have been before the juvenile justice system and are at significant risk of suicide and development of further serious psychological disorders. The programs that are run for this population are often long term (15-30 sessions) and therefore very resource intensive.