Every Art Opening Minds Class touches on mental health—which means Participants may feel vulnerable, emotional, or unexpectedly activated. While these Classes are designed to stay in the education lane (not therapy), it’s important to have a plan in place in case someone needs additional support. That’s where your Participant Safety Plan comes in.
This article helps you think through what safety tools to have on hand, so you can focus on leading your Class with confidence.
It’s a set of supports and resources you identify before your Class that help you respond compassionately if someone is emotionally activated or needs help beyond what the Class can provide.
You may never need to use it—but just having one in place increases the safety of the space.
Here are a few options—choose what works best for your setting and your facilitation style:
Invite someone you trust to be there during the Class. This could be:
Before your Class, reach out to counseling services on campus:
Prepare a handout (or end-of-Class slide) with campus and community resources. Include:
Have something extra ready in case the Class feels heavy at the end:
You don’t need to explain the full plan at the start—but it’s helpful to let people know that support is available:
“Because we’re talking about mental health, you might feel more than you expect. If anything comes up for you, I’ll have some resources available at the end—and I’m happy to chat or point you in the right direction.”
This helps normalize the idea that needing support is okay—and expected.
