What mental health prevention teaches communicators about behaviour change

Sarah Manley, Chief Executive of Mitey (part of the John Kirwan Foundation)

Mental health prevention in Aotearoa New Zealand is, in many ways, a success story. Decades of sustained campaigning, leadership, advocacy and storytelling have helped reduce stigma, normalise language and bring conversations that were once taboo firmly into the mainstream.

That success has changed the communications task.

As Sarah Manley, Chief Executive of Mitey (part of the John Kirwan Foundation), puts it:“Awareness is the starting line, but not the finish line.”

For communicators working on complex social issues, mental health prevention shows what happens after awareness has done its job - and offers some of the clearest lessons about how communications can move from conversation to lasting behaviour change.

Lesson 1: Awareness alone doesn’t change behaviour

One of the most persistent assumptions in communications is that if people understand an issue, they’ll know what to do next. In mental health, that assumption quickly falls apart.

“We’ve done a pretty good job in Aotearoa New Zealand of getting people to say the words ‘mental health’… but saying the words doesn’t automatically mean people know what to do next.”

Sarah is explicit about where meaningful change actually happens.

“Meaningful change happens when awareness turns into everyday life skills.”

For communicators, this is the critical shift. Campaigns that stop at recognition or understanding often stall. Campaigns that equip people with practical next steps - language, behaviours, actions - are far more likely to stick.

Lesson 2: Practical skills beat abstract messaging

Mitey's work is built around skills that can be used in ordinary moments, not just in crisis.

"When people, especially children, learn practical skills: how to recognise feelings, how to talk about them, how to support a friend and how to ask for help before things spiral.

"Less 'be aware' and more 'here's what to do on a random Tuesday when life feels a bit hard,’” Sarah says.

For comms teams, the lesson is transferable. Messages that live in theory or aspiration fade quickly. Messages that help people navigate real, everyday situations tend to travel further and last longer.

Lesson 3: Stigma doesn't disappear, it changes shape

It's tempting to declare progress once an issue becomes visible. Sarah urges caution.

"We've absolutely shifted the conversation in public spaces… all those things matter and show progress."

But stigma hasn't vanished. "It's just gone quieter."

She sees it now in subtle, everyday contexts.

"It shows up in classrooms where kids don't want to be 'the problem'. In workplaces where people still worry that honesty will cost them credibility. And in whānau where mental health is acknowledged… but not always talked about out loud."

For communicators, this is the hardest phase of change. When silence becomes subtle, surface-level messaging no longer works.

"The silence now isn't 'mental health doesn't exist'. It's more like: 'It exists… but maybe not here. Or not with us.'"

At this stage, communications has to move from visibility to normalisation - reinforcing new norms until they feel unremarkable.

Lesson 4: Skills stick longer than attitudes

Mitey works with children in Years 1–8, embedding mental health education across whole school environments rather than treating it as a one-off programme.

The reason is simple.

"Attitudes matter, but skills stick."

Sarah puts it plainly: "A child who can say, 'I'm feeling anxious and I need a break,' is far more protected than one who just knows anxiety exists."

For communicators, this is a powerful reframing. Attitude change is often treated as the gold standard. But capability-building - giving people words, confidence and permission - is often more protective and more durable.

Lesson 5: Culture change can be slow, unglamorous and nonlinear

Prevention work rarely delivers quick wins - and it doesn't reward impatience.

"Social change is either glacial or frantic and we don't seem to have anything in the middle. It's also deeply unglamorous most days."

This creates a real risk for teams measuring success through short-term indicators.

"If you're waiting for big, obvious wins to stay motivated, you'll burn out fast."

Momentum, Sarah says, comes from a different place.

"Trusting the long game and knowing that today's quiet classroom conversation might matter ten years from now."

For communicators, this is a reminder to design strategies for endurance, not novelty - especially when the goal is cultural or behavioural change.

Lesson 6: Consistency builds trust, chasing moments doesn't

In a media environment driven by spikes and cycles, Sarah is clear about where organisations should anchor themselves.

"Mental health education belongs in schools, just like literacy and numeracy. That doesn't change depending on the news cycle."

When moments arise - media attention, political windows, public debate - they should reinforce the same core narrative.

"When moments come along… we use them to reinforce that same message, not reinvent it."

She's equally clear about the risk.

"The danger is chasing attention instead of building trust."

For communicators, this is a useful test: are short-term tactics serving a long-term story - or replacing it?

Lesson 7: Match responsibility with power

One of Sarah's strongest reflections is about where responsibility for mental wellbeing is placed.

“We are expecting too much of young people. And we are expecting too much of our educators and our school system."

Mental health, she argues, cannot sit solely with individuals.

"Kids learn emotional norms everywhere: at home, in sport, online, at work, watching adults cope (or not cope)."

Her point is clear: "Mental health isn't something children should be responsible for managing in isolation."

For communicators, this is a reminder to interrogate messaging that subtly shifts responsibility onto those with the least power - and to ensure systems, leaders and institutions are clearly called into the frame.

The bigger takeaway for communicators

The clearest lesson from Sarah Manley’s prevention work is that behaviour change is built slowly.

It relies on practical capability, consistent messages and systems that make healthier behaviour easier - not one-off campaigns or awareness spikes.

This kind of communications work doesn’t chase attention - it builds results.