DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES.
MY STRENGTHS TRAINING FOR LIFE (MST4LIFE™)
All young people have the capacity for growth and personal development. On this page you can find a summary of our My Strengths Training For Life™ programme, which has been an ongoing research project for over 10 years.
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My Strengths Training for Life (MST4Life™) uses a distinctly strengths-based approach informed by clinical and sports psychology to support young people to achieve their goals. The MST4Life™ programme has become a central component of a large housing provider's support and wellbeing offer to young people. Those who are currently NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) are particularly encouraged to take part in the programme.
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MST4Life™ uses similar techniques to those used by sports coaches to help young people establish aspirations, set goals and utilise support networks to develop confidence, teamwork, problem-solving, and a range of other mental skills. All this is aimed at helping residents, many of whom have complex needs and are at risk of isolation, social disadvantage and poor mental health.
Just as successful sportsmen and women develop their mental skills to reach new heights in their sport, the programme helps young people develop the mental skills to navigate the job market, build healthy relationships, and manage their mental health.
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Read the MST4Life™ impact case here.
THE PROGRAMME
In Phase 1 of the MST4Life™ programme, participants engage in 10 experientially-oriented sessions informed by both sports and clinical psychology.
These sessions are designed to be fun, allow participants to engage in a variety of ways, and focus on developing an awareness and practice of mental skills.
After Phase 1 of their MST4Life™ training programme, participants have an opportunity to attend a four-day residential in the Lake District.
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Alongside a range of outdoor adventure activities, participants take on a challenging hike in the mountains, putting their physical and mental skills to the test.
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You can access all of our published academic papers relating to MST4Life™ on our academic dissemination page and via SPRINT Project Director Prof Jennifer Cummings' Twitter (X) page.
MOVING INTO DIGITAL APPLICATIONS
We recently translated My Strengths Training for Life™ mental skills training into the digital space to increase its reach and impact. Below you can find an overview of our collaborative work on the development of the matchFit app.
During the COVID-19 pandemic we worked with award winning sport-for-change charity Street Soccer and youth homelessness charity St Basils to integrate our My Strengths Training for Life™ (MST4Life™) into a smartphone app called matchFit.
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The matchFit app was aimed at young people experiencing homelessness in the UK at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Through our partnership with Street Soccer and St Basils, we were able to find out how best to train mental skills via an app, and share our findings with other community-focused organisations.
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Our key findings related to the importance of co-creation, app design and content considerations when translating MST4Life™ to the digital space. In addition, digital poverty and safeguarding concerns were highlighted as key factors to consider when creating mental health focused apps with those experiencing homelessness.
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Tap on the PDF icon to download our report on the creation of the matchFit app and associated community organisation knowledge sharing events.