Technical Session - Innovation in Mental Health Education

Ms. June Veronica James

Social Worker, Educator and Trainer who specializes in Mental Wellbeing in Educational.

June Veronica James - Social Worker, Educator, Trainer. Specializes in Mental Wellbeing in an Educational context. June qualifications includes Post graduate certification from the UK in Embedding Mental Health in the School Curriculum, MA Education, BSc. in Social Work, diploma in Public Relations and Advertising. Her areas of expertise encompass youth development, individual and group counseling, designing workshops, developing and coordinating Homework Centers-competencies gained from a blend of extensive experience in the private and public sectors. Prior to her Undergraduate studies in Social Work she served as an HIV counselor with the National Aids Hotline and facilitated HIV/Aids Workshops in the workplace and for various religious organizations. June has had the privilege to work alongside the late Professor Courtenay Bartholomew in planning the first HIV/Aids Youth Awareness seminar at the then Crowne Plaza Hotel in Trinidad. After attaining her BSc. In Social Work, June teamed with Dr. Dorrel Phillip and the Soroptimist International of Trinidad and Tobago (SITT) and assisted in coordinating the first homework center in Trinidad and Tobago. This initiative was funded by the Rockefeller Foundation. She then joined the Ministry of Youth Affairs (MYA) and managed the Malick Youth Facility, a full- time skills training school. She subsequently accepted an opportunity to join the Ministry of Education (MoE) in 2002. June joined the Cipriani College of Labour and Co-operative Studies (CCLCS) in 2003 as an adjunct lecturer and lectured there for 17 years, (two as Coordinator of General Education). Taught courses included Critical Thinking, Fundamentals of Writing, Fundamentals of Communications), Incident Report Writing, (Emergency Management) and Technical Report Writing (Project Management). Ms. James also served as Guidance Officer for 18 years, Project Lead for the Ministry of Education’s initial 14 Homework Centers, Facilitator of workshops on Sexual Reproductive Health entitled ‘Not just basketball’ an initiative of the National Gas Company (NGC). June also assisted in the implementation and coordination of the first Home Work center that was opened on the North Coast at Las Cuevas, an initiative of energy giant British Gas (BG). Ms. James believes that re-tooling educators would go a long way in assisting them to enhance rather than erode the mental wellbeing of their learners, as well as, themselves. This transformation would give them an opportunity to engage in best practice. With this in mind she set out on her own crusade to help educators better understand their learners by facilitating simulation workshops in several schools on the topic ‘An Awareness of Learning Challenges – A Student’s Perspective’. In 2017 she registered her consultancy, Towards a Focused Future (TAFF). This training and development consultancy provide workshops in Education development, Grief Recovery, and Mental Wellbeing. She continues to study and use research as an important tool in helping to improve the quality of life for those with whom she comes into contact.