The Power of Story and Art: Supporting Youth Mental Health Through Comics

This is a story about a comic book. How it came to be, how it reached thousands of young people, and how it gently and vibrantly and creatively opened doors to talk about mental health.

In 2015, Art Educator/Teacher Cara Bean started doodling about the big feelings she saw in her students and the skills she hoped they would learn – not just to handle big feelings, but also to thrive as they grew up. Over time, and in consultation with folks who know about mental health, Cara wrote, drew and published a 24-page graphic novel called “Let’s Talk About It: A Graphic Guide to Mental Health “ with the Center for Cartoon Studies in Vermont.

In 2020, on the other side of the country, System of Care Coordinator Jennifer Schwartz learned about “Let’s Talk About It” and saw a unique opportunity to put it in the hands of young people in Oregon, who were experiencing big mental health needs without enough resources.

This is the story about what happened next.

Participants will:

• Experience how arts-based educational approaches can be used to address health-related concepts.
• Be able to identify ways that art-based learning can be incorporated into mental health education programs.
• Be able to identify practical steps for reaching a school-aged youth with mental health education (specifically, in the form of a 24-page graphic novel).