“Before becoming the facilitator of the teens’ support group, I was a writer for CandleX. I wrote about my struggles with mental health and my recovery, and found it to be a therapeutic process and a cool way to learn more about myself. We believe writing and seeing your articles published is an incredibly empowering experience, and I can attest to this.”
Alison Qiu
That’s why we’ve decided to start this monthly writing project for teens. We want to encourage you to share your personal experience in connection to key dates on the calendar related to mental health, such as World Suicide Prevention Day, World Bipolar Disorder Day, or even Thanksgiving.
If you feel bold enough, we also offer opportunities to partner you with someone who you can interview about their experience with mental health. Interviews are a great way to get to know people, hear their unique stories, and learn that you’re not alone in your experience.
You get to decide how and what to write about, because we want you to tell your story in your own authentic voice. Of course, CandleX will provide guidance along the way, from brainstorming to polishing your article. You’ll learn so much more than just how to write. More importantly, we intend to offer an opportunity to for you to process your emotions and significant life events in a therapeutic way. We believe sharing our own personal struggles and experiences is a form of healing that can help others see the light.
Your voices deserve to be heard.
Interested? We are glad to hear that! Please take a look at the following guidelines. They will help you to write a story that best fits the style and needs of the CandleX audience.
How long should it be?
We recommend writing 2-3 pages (without pictures) with font size 12, single space.
What should we write about?
Anything related to mental health. This could include your own feelings, experiences, and perspectives. It could also be about how you assisted a family member, friend or colleague suffering with depression. Anything, as long as it’s a story based on your personal experiences (note: please do not share other people’s story without their consent).
We will post monthly themes in the group chat at the beginning of the year, and you can choose which one(s) interest you! Use these as a starting point for brainstorming, and branch out into the story you’d like to tell. Remember, instead of your worldview or tips, we’d love to read about your own personal experience.
What if I don’t know what story I want to tell?
We believe every person has interesting stories to tell. If you’re struggling with brainstorming, feel free to reach out to us and we can come up with something together!
How often will we write?
We are aiming for one article/video per month (group total), but the more people who join, the better!
What should I do if I want to learn more about the program?
A good place to start is reading articles other teens have written in the past, which you can find on the official CandleX WeChat account or from our website. https://www.candlex.cn/teens
Who will I interview? I don’t know anything about video production
Members of the adult support group, school counselors, family members, etc. Anyone who can offer insight into mental health.
In terms of interviews, the video quality doesn’t have to be great! It doesn’t matter what the video of the interview looks like — content matters more than format.
2 more things to keep in mind:
● Stick to only one key message! This will help the audience digest it and make a bigger impact on the reader. If you have more than one key message, submit more than one article.
● It’s not a requirement, but you can add pictures if you’d like. Adding pictures makes the article more appealing to the reader. Be aware that if it’s a picture from you, you automatically grant us the consent to use it. Please make sure that all people (whose faces are recognizable) consent to the use of the picture.
We also have a Teens’ Learning Group Project that offers learning opportunities on mental health. It is exclusively and strictly for people aged 15-22. For more inquires and questions, please add our teen admin Alison (see wechat ID below).
“在成为青少年互助小组的引导者之前，我曾是始然心理CandleX的一名写手。我写下了我在康复道路上与心理健康方面的斗争，发现这本身就是一个很治愈的过程，也是一个有趣的了解自己的方法。我们相信，撰写并看到自己的文章发表是一次难以忘怀并塑造自己的经历，我可以为此作证。”
-朕钰
这就是为什么我们决定开始启动这个青少年的每月写作项目。我们希望鼓励分享与心理健康相关的日子的个人经历，例如世界自杀预防日、世界躁郁症日，或者甚至感恩节都可以。
如果你够大胆的话，我们还提供机会让你与可以采访的人合作，谈谈他们的心理健康经历。访谈是一个很好的方式去了解别人，听听他们独特的故事，并了解到在人生道路上的你并不孤单。
你可以决定写什么、如何写作，因为我们希望你用自己真实的声音讲述你的的故事。当然，始然心理CandleX会提供指导，从与你头脑风暴到帮助润色你的文章。你将不仅仅学到如何写作。更重要的是，我们打算为你提供一个机会，让写作以净化内心的方式来帮助你重新看待一些重要的个人经历。我们相信分享自己的种种挫折与奋斗经历是一个治愈的过程，可以帮助自己和别人看到希望与光明。
你的声音值得倾听。
有兴趣吗？我们很高兴你有！那么请看下面的指南。这些将帮助你写出你的故事，并找到最适合始然心理CandleX观众的风格与需求。
需要写多少？
我们建议写2-3页（没有图片），字体大小12，单间行距。
我们应该写些什么？
任何与心理健康有关的事情。这可以包括你自己的感受、经历和观点。它也可以是关于你如何帮助患有抑郁症的家庭成员、朋友或同事。任何事情都可以，前提是基于你个人经历的真实故事（注意：未经他人同意，请不要分享他人的故事）。
我们将在2021年初在始然心理CandleX群聊中发布每月的主题，你可以选择任何一个你感兴趣的话题！把这些作为头脑风暴的出发点，并把话题延伸到你想讲的故事中。记住，比起你的世界观或小建议，我们更想读你自己的经历。
如果我不知道我想讲什么故事呢？
我们相信每个人都有自己有趣的故事要讲。如果你对写什么还不确定，欢迎随时联系我们，我们一起想出办法！
我们将多久写一次？
我们的目标是每月一篇文章/视频（整体总和），但加入的人越多越好！
如果我想了解更多关于这个项目的信息，我应该怎么做？
建议先开始阅读其他青少年过去写的文章，你可以在始然心理CandleX官方微信账号或我们的网站上找到。
https://www.candlex.cn/teens
我可以采访谁？我不知道怎么制作视频
成人互助小组成员、学校辅导员、家庭成员等等。任何能提供心理健康见解的人。
视频质量不一定要最好！访谈的视频看起来怎么样并不重要 – 比起格式内容才是核心。
还有两件事要记住：
· 保持在一个中心思想上！这有助于观众消化内容，对读者产生更深远的影响。如果你有一个以上的中心主题，可以提交多篇文章。
· 这不是一项要求，但如果愿意，可以添加图片。添加图片的文章将更吸引读者。请注意，如果这是你的照片，这代表着你自行同意我们使用它。请确保所有人（其面部可辨认出来）都同意使用这张照片。
CandleX’s Resources
Are you or a friend in a Crisis?
Your questions on mental health | CandleX Classroom
https://www.candlex.cn/classroom
Depression stories from our community members (both adults and teens)
CandleX Column | Community Writing
https://www.candlex.cn/community-writing
CandleX Wechat Groups
all ages, add our admin: niama_elazzab
for 15-22 year old, add our admin: amaraprenderyya
Peer Support Group
