Angst: Building Resilience Initiative

The Angst: Building Resilience Statewide California Initiative Equitably Provides Vital Mental Health Support to the Youth of Our State

"This fall with students returning to classrooms and mental health needs at an all-time
high, our goal is for California schools to have robust and historic levels of mental health
programming to provide critical support to students and families." said State
Superintendent Tony Thurmond. "Angst: Building Resilience and its accompanying
easy-to-use curriculum will help elevate the voices of students who are living with
emotional distress, so they will feel heard, validated, and supported"

Tony Thurmond

State Superintendent

Mental Health issues among young people have been magnified by recent conditions
Angst: Building Resilience is a proven program that helps students understand how they're feeling, develop coping skills and strategies and encourages them to open up and get support. Learn More.
Angst: Building Resilience distributor, iNDIEFLIX, can efficiently and equitably distribute all aspects of the program to every public middle and high school in California. Learn More.
Bring this impactful program to your school district this year. Learn More.

Angst: Building Resilience is a film-based mental health support program, endorsed by educators, psychiatrists and mental health advocates. Distributed by education veteran, iNDIEFLIX, it has transformed lives across 64 countries.

In collaboration with the California Department of Education (CDE), The iNDIEFLIX Foundation, CalHOPE, and Blue Shield of California, this initiative will:

Directly address anxiety, its causes and solutions

Help develop long-term resilience, strength and emotional well-being

Provide strategies and techniques to help deal with the mental health impacts of COVID-19

"Angst is not only appropriate for students in this demographic but NEEDED because it offers practical tips that are accessible to ALL walks of life. Helps them understand the brain science behind anxiety symptoms and be equipped with powerful tools that empower them."

Tinesha Parker

ASCA Chair

“Right now when anxiety is at an all time high, SEL support is needed more than ever and we’re excited about this opportunity to bring mental health resources to our students across the state”

Monica Nepomuceno

California Department of Education

Why California, why now?

The need for this program has never been more critical:

Pre-pandemic all-time record of anxiety amongst young people
COVID has made students more stressed, isolated, sad and overwhelmed, with many more needing emergency treatment for mental health problems.

As highlighted in the Children Now’s 2020 California Children’s Report Card, the mental health of our youth is of major concern and calls for immediate, increased mental health services to relieve the pressure on schools.

Parents and Guardians

Watch Angst from Home

The Angst film is available for California parents, guardians, and school staff to watch on the first and third Wednesday of every month from 5-9pm PT through June 30th. You will need to register for a free account to gain admission to the film, please click the button below to register and watch the film. Please take a few minutes to complete the 3 minute viewer survey.

About The Angst: Building Resilience Program

What it Is

A plug-and-play mental health support program for students, parents and teachers
Combines the classroom-period length Angst documentary with a discussion guide, tip sheet, classroom exercises and a library of support links and materials
Delivered virtually to both virtual and hybrid classrooms in English or Spanish, as well as to parents and families at home.

What it Does

Helps California’s youth understand what anxiety is, and what it feels like, through the reflections of other young people who have experienced it
Integrates mental health and educational specialists (Stanford, Child Mind Institute), who break down all aspects of anxiety, and provide practical tips on how to manage it
Shows how common anxiety is, that anyone can suffer from it, and that everyone can use tools to manage it

The Impact

De-stigmatizes and creates space to open up the conversation around anxiety and mental health
Demonstrates that anxiety is 100% treatable
Encourages students to reach out for support
Helps identify silent sufferers
Connects ALL students and families to vital California mental health resources
Guides students in creating a personal action plan of support, providing them with hope and resilience
Offers practices and techniques for developing healthy coping strategies

"I never knew that what I was experiencing was severe anxiety. I'm so grateful to know that there is treatment."
— 10th grade Student

"Middle and high school student anxiety in our community is very real, this was an excellent way to educate us about the brain, our feelings, and reactions to anxiety, what challenges it can cause in individuals and family life, as well as some helpful solutions!"
— Parent

California youth:

What is your word?

See the Impact:

What People Say About Angst

"I welcomed the opportunity to be a part of Angst to further the dialogue around mental health and to help people understand the impact anxiety has on our mental state and encourage people, especially kids, to ask for help."

— Michael Phelps, Olympic Gold Medalist

Making Angst: Building Resilience Available Across California

Reaching Students Through School

All middle, high and charter schools will equitably receive:

Classroom Program

A classroom program which includes the 43-minute Angst film in either English or Spanish, plus interactive classroom activities, including a discussion guide, tip sheet, action plan of activities and a library of audio, visual and readable mental health resources, as well as click- through links to find support.

Educator Support

Guidelines for principals and teachers on how to easily promote and implement the plug-and-play program, from a full set of promotional materials to all support materials for discussion, activities and further research. Everything is organized and delivered through one central Angst landing page and dashboard.

Parent Presentations

The 43-minute Angst film and program are available for districts and schools to present to parents/caregivers in the evening. The program provides knowledge and information to help parents/caregivers better understand anxiety and support their children and families.

ADMINISTRATORS REGISTER HERE

"I'm seeing so many students suffering right now, Anxiety is becoming the new pandemic. I’ve implemented Angst in our district and found it to be an impactful SEL opportunity that is easy for teachers to share in a class period. Angst offers help and hope and helps our youth feel seen and understood. This film should be shared in all school communities!"

Jessica Colvin

Wellness Director Tamalpais Union High School District

Campaign Rollout

Angst: Building Resilience will be available to schools starting early October, and throughout the 2021-2022 academic school year ending in June 2022.

Be Part of the Solution

Through your school district, we could provide equitable mental health support to impact more than 3 million youth, their parents, and families in California

"A recent Blue Shield of California BlueSky survey of California middle- and high-school students revealed that more than half of them talked about their mental health with a friend this past year and just under half said the same for parents/guardians. This is a good sign. These conversations continue to be important, and the Angst documentary will help further guide them."

Jennifer Christian-Herman, Ph.D.

Executive Director of Behavioral Health at Blue Shield of California Program Sponsor

Sponsor Branding Benefits

Inclusion on all marketing and promotion materials reaching more than 4,500 schools and 3,000,000 students, plus their parents, families and teachers across the state of California.

Inclusion in press releases to be sent to the California education press and general media, and promoted by the CA Department of Education to statewide school districts.

Sponsor to receive credit for bringing the program to the state of California on the opening title and end cards of the film ie: “Generously brought to youth and families across the State of California by XXX”.

Sponsor logo on the recorded webinar panel.

Sponsor logo on the Angst: Building Resilience landing page, educator dashboard, and all in-classroom and at-home program materials.

"Learning to cope with stress in a healthy way will make you, the people you care about, and those around you become more resilient."
— Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Resources

California Surgeon General's Stress Relief Tips

Click to open as a PDF.

CalHOPE Resources

Safe, secure, and culturally sensitive emotional support for all Californians.

California Department of Education Resources

Strategies, resources, and training in psychological and mental health issues, including coping with tragedy, crisis intervention and prevention, school psychology and suicide prevention.

iNDIEFLIX Angst Resources

Resources on anxiety and depression.

Bring this program to your schools to provide critical support to the youth of California.

Help bring this impactful mental health support program to California youth across the state in public schools. The Angst: Building Resilience program will be available through school districts this fall while students adjust to being back in school, with access continuing throughout the school year. Register to bring these essential tools to your district to help stabilize our youth and build resilience during the time they need it the most.

administrators register here

Have questions?
Email us and start the conversation.