Building Emotional Resilience Through Play: A Mental Health Literacy Model

Author First name, Last name, Institution

• Agathi Argyriadi, Frederick University
• Olga Drakopoulou, University of Patras
• Efthymia Efthymiou, Zayed University, Abu Dhabi CampusFollow
• Alexandros Argyriadis, Hellenic Mediterranean University

Document Type

Book Chapter

Source of Publication

Experiential and Inclusive Pedagogies Mental Health Ethics and the Human Dimensions of Learning

Publication Date

12-23-2025

Abstract

Early childhood and primary education present key opportunities to foster emotional resilience and build foundational mental health literacy (MHL). This chapter introduces a developmentally informed model that promotes emotional awareness, self-regulation, andhelp-seeking throughplay-basedexperientiallearning. Drawing from child psychology, education, and public mental health, the model integrates storytelling, expressive arts, and group activities into daily learning. Emphasis is placed on creating emotionally safe spaces where children explore feelings, link thoughts to behaviors, and practice coping strategies. Practical examples include puppet stories, emotional charades, and empathy-building games. Early implementation suggests improvements in emotion recognition and communication. Teachers also report greater confidence in supporting emotional development when using tools grounded in developmental theory and classroom practice.

DOI Link

10.4018/979-8-3373-8231-9.ch006

ISBN

[9798337382319, 9798337382340, 9798337382333]

Publisher

IGI Global Scientific Publishing

First Page

147

Last Page

172

Disciplines

Education

Keywords

Psychology (0.69) | Experiential learning (0.56) | Coping (psychology) (0.54) | Grounded theory (0.54) | Developmental psychology (0.47) | Mental health (0.47) | Emotional development (0.46) | Psychological resilience (0.42) | Social psychology (0.38) | Child development (0.37) | Emotional competence (0.37) | Applied psychology (0.36) | Social emotional learning (0.32) | Early childhood education (0.31) | Key (lock) (0.31) | Process (computing) (0.3) | Emotional well-being (0.29) | Emotional support (0.29) | Emotional expression (0.28) | Qualitative research (0.28) | Inclusion (mineral) (0.28) | Early childhood (0.27) | Interpersonal communication (0.26) | Pedagogy (0.26) | Anxiety (0.26) | Mindfulness (0.25) | Literacy (0.25)

Scopus ID

105041556161

Recommended Citation

Argyriadi, Agathi; Drakopoulou, Olga; Efthymiou, Efthymia; and Argyriadis, Alexandros, "Building Emotional Resilience Through Play: A Mental Health Literacy Model" (2025). All Works. 8315.
https://zuscholars.zu.ac.ae/works/8315

Indexed in Scopus

yes

Open Access

no