Gizmo's Pawesome Guide to Mental Health

State of CT's Early Childhood Suicide Prevention Program

Gizmo’s Pawesome Guide to Mental Health (Copyright © 2017) takes an upstream approach to support the mental health and wellness of youth. It is evidence-informed, data-driven & approaches mental health & wellness in a nonthreatening way that encourages the self-identification of warning signs and when to apply the use of internal and external coping strategies to help reduce risk. It introduces the characteristics of trusted adults, who may be or how to identify one, how to practice talking with a trusted adult, and promotes proactive communication and healthy interpersonal communication development.

During Gizmo sessions, youth have the opportunity to create a personal mental health action plan that they can use daily or in a time of need, that can help them avert crisis.

The Guide’s message is child-friendly and is presented by Gizmo, a 3.5 Miki dog who lives in Manchester, CT. He is a K-9 First Responder and Therapy Dog who is the mascot for the Connecticut Suicide Prevention Campaign: 1 Word, 1 Voice, 1 Life…Be the One to Start the Conversation. Their website is http://www.preventsuicidect.org/.