Supporting Student Well-being in the Outdoors: Emotional, Mental Health, and Psychological First Aid for School Camps and Expeditions
Damien Santer
As international school teachers lead students on outdoor programs—from day trips to multi-day expeditions—they encounter unique mental health challenges in environments without immediate access to traditional support systems. This session will equip educators with essential tools to provide emotional, mental health, and psychological first aid (EMHPA) for students of various ages in these dynamic and sometimes stressful settings.
Participants will gain an understanding of the typical emotional and psychological stressors students may face outdoors, including anxiety, homesickness, social stress, and reactions to unfamiliar environments. Teachers will learn how to recognize early signs of distress, provide age-appropriate interventions, and foster resilience within groups.
About Damien
I am a creative and entrepreneurial leader with a passion for ensuring access to high-quality, medical, paramedical and first aid education, globally.
I teach Prehospital Care, Emergency Medicine, Wilderness Medicine, Austere Medicine, Disaster Management, Social Sciences, and Bushcraft; and consult in emergency and disaster preparedness, travel and austere medicine, medical facilities and vehicle design, corporate and technology strategy, innovation, product creation and general engineering.
Over the last two-and-a-half decades, I’ve worked with organisations including global MNCs, telcos, FSI giants, Defence Organisations (both government and private), Government Departments, Universities, International Schools, Community and Volunteer Groups and Startups spanning 5 continensts.
