Healing Dragons in Vienna: How Austrian Youth Turned Talk into Action for Mental Well‑Being

EMOTiC
Jun 14
3 min read

On 15 March our RECOVER project team gathered 15 young people (18‑23) and five youth workers in a bright Vienna community hall for a one‑day, participatory workshop on mental health. Guided by the creative Healing Dragons manual—and powered by coloured markers, clay dragons, and open conversation—the group explored personal “dragons” (stressors), shared strategies for “taming” them, and left with concrete action plans. The full story is now captured in our new Austria National Summary Report, and the highlights below show why this pilot matters.

Why We Ran the Workshop

Rising need: Austrian surveys show only 7 % of young people feel “happy and satisfied,” while nearly half rate their emotional health as negative.
Urgent pressures: Academic overload, online comparison loops, and a sense of powerlessness top the list of daily stressors.
RECOVER’s aim: Equip youth workers with practical, youth‑centred tools and give young people real ownership of their well‑being journey.

What Happened in One Day

Session	Purpose	Memorable Moment
1. Trust‑building	Set the tone, co‑create ground rules	Anonymous “dragon” notes revealed shared challenges and immediate empathy
2. Self‑analysis	Draw/model personal dragons; reflect	Gallery walk sparked brave stories of self‑doubt, loneliness, exam anxiety
3. SWOT & solutions	Map strengths, gaps, opportunities, threats; brainstorm fixes	Sticky‑note dragons filled flip‑charts with ideas—from campus peer circles to TikTok myth‑busting
4. Reflection & pledges	Write a personal “Hero’s Pledge”; evaluate day	Satisfaction thermometer hit 9–10/10; WhatsApp group #HealingDragonsAT launched

Five Fast Outcomes

More self‑awareness: 90 % felt more confident talking about mental health afterwards.
New peer network: Participants formed a WhatsApp support chat before leaving the venue.
Toolkit proof‑of‑concept: Youth workers took “Healing Dragons” exercises back to their centres and schools.
Action plans in motion: One attendee booked a counselling visit; another is pitching a campus mental‑health club.
Policy potential: Insights feed directly into Austrian youth‑health strategy recommendations included in the report.

Voices That Stuck with Us

“I came in skeptical and left with hope—and actual friends who check on me.”

“Listening more than speaking let me see what youth really face. I’m taking these methods home.” —Youth worker

These quotes—and many more—remind us that safe spaces plus creativity equal breakthrough conversations.

What’s Next?

Scale‑up: Plan repeat workshops in Graz and Linz, with Vienna alumni as co‑facilitators.
Peer circles: Support monthly meet‑ups run by the original group.
Policy briefs: Share report findings with schools, municipalities, and national youth‑health bodies.
Digital outreach: Launch #MyHealingDragon on Instagram and TikTok to keep the dialogue alive.

Read & Share the Full Report

Curious about the detailed SWOT analysis, facilitator reflections, and step‑by‑step agenda? Download the full Austria National Summary Report and see how participatory, youth‑led methods can transform mental health conversations. Feel free to cite, adapt, and replicate—we’d love to hear how your community heals its dragons!

Together, we can shift from silence to support, one creative conversation at a time.

📥 Read & Share

Curious about the detailed SWOT analysis, facilitator reflections, and step‑by‑step agenda? Download the full Austria National Summary Report and the Healing Dragons: Manual for Youth Workers and see how participatory, youth‑led methods can transform mental health conversations. Feel free to cite, adapt, and replicate—we’d love to hear how your community heals its dragons!

📦 Healing Dragons: Manual for Youth Workers – English Version (PDF)

📘 Austria National Summary Report (PDF)

This international project is successfully realised thanks to the generous support of the European Union through the Erasmus+ Programme , and coordinated by the Polish organisation "Zdrowy Kształt S.C." and with partners from Croatia and Latvia.

Project dedicated website: https://recover-erasmus.eu/

More project details are on the ERASMUS+ results platform in its Project Card.

Project Reference: 2024-1-PL01-KA220-YOU-000243430