Mental Wellness Conversation Curriculum

About the Mental Wellness Conversation Curriculum (MWCC)

Stressors are inevitable. Whether those stressors come from having financial worries, a disagreement with a family member or friend, or simply not having enough time in the day to get everything on your task list done, stressors can often seem endless and overwhelming. Although we often cannot control the severity or timing of these stressors, we do have control over our reaction to them. Learning ways to positively manage our stress can increase the likelihood that these stressors do not negatively impact our mental wellness.  

While mental wellness so often becomes the overlooked component of health, it does not exist in isolation. It is inseparably linked to all other components of our health, including our physical health and our social health (our relationships with others). Therefore, in order to make improvements to our overall health, it is critical to give mental wellness appropriate attention. 

Although there are many ways to learn some of these positive stress management tools (e.g., via continuing education classes or stress management literature), this project relies on community volunteers (such as yourselves!) to learn this evidence-based information and pass along the knowledge in a non-judgmental way to others in your community via informal, conversation groups.  

The Mental Wellness Conversation Curriculum was designed as a two-part tool to support community volunteers in facilitating conversations about mental wellness. The first part is a standard deck of playing cards; the second part is a conversation facilitation curriculum, to be used as a companion guide to the deck of cards.  

The deck of cards is structured in such a way that every card (Aces, Twos, Threes etc.) contains information about a particular positive stress management tool. For example, the Eights cover hydration, and provide information about why this is an important part of mental wellness as well as includes strategies to increase hydration. The cards are organized around the following 13 stress management themes:  

• Aces – Manage
• Twos – Move
• Threes – Connect 
• Fours – Breathe
• Fives – Eat  
• Sixes – Reduce  
• Sevens – Sleep  
• Eights – Hydrate
• Nines – Get Help  
• Tens – Relax  
• Jacks – Play  
• Queens – Calm  
• Kings – Learn 

Each suit in the deck also corresponds to a specific prompt:  

• Hearts – Tips/suggestions  
• Diamonds – Resources  
• Spades – Information  
• Clubs – Discussion questions 

All of the information presented on the cards is research-based. To provide more context to the information on cards, the conversation facilitation curriculum was designed as a companion guide. The information and resources in this curriculum provide community volunteers with additional content, examples, and resources for each of the 13 stress management themes. Additionally, at the end of each section, there are three discussion questions listed to assist in facilitating further conversation, as well as references. 

Beyond providing research-based tips and suggestions for supporting stress management and overall health, the ultimate goal of the Mental Wellness Conversation Curriculum Project is to encourage conversation at the community level about mental wellness. We believe that as informal, mental wellness conversations become normalized, this will aid in stigma reduction surrounding this topic and simply make it easier for folks to reach out if they, or a loved one, need some assistance or just want to talk.  

Please contact us with the form below if you are interested in volunteering to become a mental wellness advocate in your community.  

Be well,
The MWCC Team

Contact Us to become a Mental Wellness Advocate in your community:

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The Mental Wellness Conversation Curriculum was developed by MSU Extension under the Western Regional Agricultural Assistance Program (WRASAP) grant. For more information about WRASAP visis farmstress.us.