Delivering courses on mental health is just one aspect of the service we provide. Along with our valuable CPD, we develop strong relationships with the schools we partner with.
We’ve been working with St Paul’s School, the British school of São Paulo, Brazil, since 2023. This is their story.
‘For our Mental Health First Aid provision it was important to the school to have somebody from outside with the right accreditations. George is a teacher too and is very personable. He brings liveliness and touching stories to a difficult subject and his voice is really empowering.’
Dr Laura Mack is Head of Safeguarding & Wellbeing at St Paul’s School, São Paulo, Brazil. She first heard about George Peterkin and Mind Your Health when he was referred to her by a colleague in 2023. Dr Mack had identified a need for external mental health provision to supplement the work she and her team were already doing.
St Paul’s School has a strong pastoral focus, but like many international schools, the staff and pupils are increasingly facing complex mental health challenges. As a trained psychologist, Dr Mack knows how important it is to seek the right expert advice.
‘We knew we could count on George as a sounding board and someone with experience’
St Paul’s School operates a whole-school, pupil-focused wellbeing and mental health prevention programme. Pupils can self-refer to their Wellbeing Hub if they are struggling. It is vitally important to the school to keep up to date and empower as many staff, pupils, and parents as possible.
Dr Mack originally brought in Mind Your Health for the Mental Health First Aid course in 2023. Following the success of this, Mind Your Health ran a Suicide First Aid workshop for parents and all the staff. As with all the courses George teaches himself, the school particularly valued George’s combination of counselling expertise and teaching experience.
“He’s personable, practical, and teachers really listen. He has this ability to simplify complex situations with practical steps and brings real-life examples to a difficult subject with energy and warmth.”
The Mental Health Warrior course and the senior school assembly were both great successes with pupils. A whole-staff workshop on mental health culture in the workplace explored resilience, kindness, belonging, and the importance of teachers taking care of their own mental health for both their own and their pupils’ sakes.
“Most pastoral staff aren’t trained in mental health – they need clear frameworks and boundaries, so people feel prepared, not overwhelmed.”
All the course leaders at Mind Your Health are highly rated by Dr Mack and she feels George brings in people she can trust to deliver. St Paul’s School has run Level 3 Principles of Safeguarding for staff, which Dr Mack describes as “highly relevant”. She has also completed the Senior Mental Health Lead in International Settings, an internationally accredited, 20-hour course designed to build leadership skills for one delegate per school.
The school also hosts a regional conference for schools across Latin America and Brazil where George delivered an insightful keynote speech in 2025 on eating-disorder awareness.
Staff, students, and parents have all had the opportunity to learn and grow from the Mind Your Health mental health provision. George is particularly good with pupils and student feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with sessions described as “engaging” and “impactful”.
Teachers now feel far more equipped to respond when pupils open up, including with disclosures of suicidal ideation. They understand what they can and can’t do and what they should or shouldn’t say. There is more warmth and understanding when dealing with feelings overall.
The Senior Mental Health Lead training allowed Dr Mack to make valuable connections with other international schools facing similar challenges. The course gave her the opportunity to discuss best practice and measure St Paul’s School’s provision against that of other schools. She now feels reassured that it matches or exceeds them.
“Mind Your Health really knows us as an institution and the excellence we aim for. George has recognised that the school are pioneers in mental health provision. Leading in the area of mental health can be lonely – it is vital to have support”
St Paul’s School is looking forward to repeating courses for new cohorts and adding new ones as and when they need to. They plan to continue to build on and maintain their excellent mental health provision. The school knows they can depend on Mind Your Health, George Peterkin, and his tutors.
It’s this level of trust and respect that means Dr Mack is always pleased to recommend George and Mind Your Health to other schools as well.
“George surrounds himself with good people. He recommended Ryan Parke to us and we have invited him to be a keynote speaker, talking about male mental health, at our next conference in March 2026. It’s a partnership that endures because George is so trustworthy.”