School staff invited to new webinar around adolescent mental health

Walk in My Shoes (WIMS) is delighted to partner with Willow Grove Adolescent Unit to host a webinar on managing challenging conversations around adolescent mental health.

Taking place from 7pm to 8pm on Tuesday, 12 May, this webinar is designed to support teachers and school staff address a range of concerns and challenging conversations relating to adolescent mental health.

The webinar will be presented by Carol McCormack and Petrina Tighe, who are both Clinical Nurse Managers in Willow Grove Adolescent Unit. Willow Grove is a dedicated service within St Patrick’s Mental Health Services to provide mental health care and treatment to young people aged 12 to 17.

This is the last event for the 2025/26 school year in a new mental health webinar series for school staff that WIMS and Willow Grove have been hosting together since November 2025. The first three webinars of the series offered tailored information and practical tips to teachers and school staff around recognising and supporting students who may be experiencing anxiety, low mood or depression and eating disorders.

What the webinar will cover

In this hour-long webinar, which is aimed at teachers and school staff working with young people aged 12 to 17, the presenters will cover a number of topics around adolescent mental health, including exam stress. They will focus on common areas highlighted by teachers in the first three webinars of this series, covering concerns such as eating disorders, low mood, depression and self-harm. Teachers will also learn of some of the supports available if they do have worries or concerns over a student.

Teachers have the opportunity to send questions to the presenters ahead of the webinar, and the presenters will answer a selection of these at the end of the webinar. Questions can be emailed to info@walkinmyshoes.ie.

Following the webinar, teachers and school staff who joined the live event will receive fact sheets relating to the webinar content and a certificate of attendance.

Please note, a recording of the webinar will not be available following the event.

What this webinar series aims to do

This webinar series began earlier in the 2025/26 academic year after our 2025 survey of secondary school guidance counsellors found a rise in mental health concerns among secondary school students. The survey results pointed to the need for more mental health training of school staff, with early intervention among a range of training priorities identified.

This webinar series was designed to help equip schools and their teaching staff with the tools to nurture young people’s mental health, to recognise the signs of mental health difficulties, and to respond appropriately. Through the series, WIMS and the Willow Grove team hope to build understanding, reduce stigma, and promote positive mental health and wellbeing within school communities.

How to register

This webinar is free to attend, but registration is required.

You can register for the webinar here.

If you have any queries around or accessibility requirements for attending this event, please email info@walkinmyshoes.ie.