Experienced youth counsellors and psychologists have become an ongoing priority among the team of experts supporting The Abbey's workshops on youth ministry training each year, and this August 22-24, four workshops trained Anglican youth leaders to respond well to common youth mental health challenges.

Between 60-80 youth leaders turned out for two Abbey workshops on dealing with serious mental health issues facing young people: 'Working through anxiety', was led by school counsellor and Praxis youth leadership trainer Miriam Bucknell, and 'Tools to interrupt self-harm (for the church)' was led by psychologist and youth leadership trainer Dr Kirsty Moore. 

Miriam Bucknell took her group on a journey through the impact of anxiety attacks, sharing insights on the chemical reactions in the human brain, helping youth workers understand what happens to a young person's body when they meet a frightening, stressful or overwhelming situation. 

The Abbey organisers have chosen to focus on anxiety in response to the disturbing statistics for mental health in Aotearoa New Zealand, which show that unmanaged anxiety is too often a major factor leading to youth deaths from suicide. 

Workshop goers left with plenty of helpful tips, for example, "The cortisol from a panic attack can remain in a young person's body and cloud their thinking for up to two hours," plus a useful slate of practical responses and prevention measures – from deep breathing to practiced self-distraction – to help young people (and their leaders) deal with anxiety and avoid crisis effectively and safely. 

In her workshop on interrupting self harm, Dr Kirsty Moore zeroed in on the connection between emotional regulation and self-harm, dispelling some of the myths around what causes self-harm, before going into practical strategies for helping young people interrupt self-harm patterns.

Sophie Kane from St John's Timaru couldn't believe how many young people had at some time intentionally hurt themselves.

"I was shocked at the statistics of how many youth were struggling with self-harm." 

"We heard that it has gone from 1 in 10 young people who had engaged in self-harm, to now 1 in 5. I felt really sad to hear that." 

Sophie was also shocked to hear how unscrupulous individuals had promoted self-harm online.

"It was scary to see the role of social media [in the growing statistics]. And it really showed me how important it is for young people to have someone who is there for them."

Two further sessions centred on advance planning for youth work where support for young people's psychological health played a major part. 

One workshop titled "Blurred Lines and Big Calls: Youth Ministry Ethics" was led by youth leadership trainer Zara Maslin and looked deeply into the Mana Taiohi - Youth Work Aotearoa professional code of ethics. 

Zara Maslin invited youth leaders to interrogate specific scenarios where caring for a young person's wellbeing might require them to consider the Code's 24 ethical standards and decide which (sometimes surprising) principles to apply.

Diocesan Youth Coordinator for the Diocese of Polynesia 'Alokoulu 'Ulukivaiola said applying the ethical guidelines to real examples was a valuable exercise. 

"It got us to think ahead of difficult things that might happen with young people, so that we can plan beforehand who to go to for support if that situation comes up." 

Finally a workshop led by Kelly McLeod from Cornerstone Church in Christchurch challenged church youth workers to care for the mental and social health of neurodiverse young people in their care. She encouraged leaders to take the time to understand and plan for neurodiverse young people's needs, while creating spaces and activities that drew on their strengths. The Abbey team has decided to offer this workshop to support youth ministries in Aotearoa where up to 20% of young people can be identified as 'neurodiverse'.

"Choosing not to work with neurodivergent young people is not an option." Kelly McLeod told her workshop on Saturday 23 August in Waikanae.

"We have been commanded to 'Go and make disciples of all.'...So we start by celebrating what is, instead of focusing on what isn't." 

Kelly shared a range of helpful resources and practical ideas for youth leaders working with young people who process social cues and information from different angles, including those who are influenced by Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Dyslexia, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Tourettes, or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder(OCD) to name a few neurodiversities that youth may bring with them into a ministry.

Beni Boi-Savage from All Saints' Palmerston North found the neurodiversity workshop helpful and practical.

"There were some good reminders around some of the things that go on for young people subconsciously. One thing I took away is to make sure there's always visuals to cater for the people who are visual learners."

Workshops looking into mental health issues were amongst the total of 23 youth worker training workshops at The Abbey in 2025, which also focused on skills to develop creativity and communication, enhance spirituality and worship, work with young people and engage young people in advocacy for justice and peace. 

For more information on the workshops and keynote talks at The Abbey 2025, go to:The Abbey website

Next year's Abbey is scheduled for 31 July - 2 August 2026. For more information contact Tikanga Pākehā National Youth Facilitator Lorna Gray: nationalyouthfacilitator@gmail.com