More funding to improve mental health support for young people

The Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg announced last week that the Government is releasing a further £22 million for centres such as the Charlie Waller Institute at the University of ... Read more

The Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg announced last week that the Government is releasing a further £22 million for centres such as the Charlie Waller Institute at the University of Reading to provide training to NHS Child and Adolescent mental health services to widen the mental health support for young people.

Half of children and young people with long-term mental health problems first experience symptoms before the age of 14 and three quarters of them before their mid-20s. Giving children and their families the right help through a broad range of support from the outset and through early and effective intervention when problems first appear can make a real difference to young lives.

Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust and The Charlie Waller Institute of Evidence-Based Psychological Treatment are jointly involved in a three-year pilot initiative that began in November 2011 called ‘CAMHS IAPT’ (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, Improving Access to Psychological Therapies).  This collaboration has been extended this year to include trainees from 2Gether NHS Foundation Trust and Dorset HealthCare NHS Foundation Trust.

The CAMHS IAPT collaborative is focused on evidence-based interventions: training clinicians within Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust’s CAMHS community teams so they are equipped with new skills (such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Parenting skills) that allow them to address mental health issues in children and young people at an early stage. Training is being provided by The Charlie Waller Institute, within the University of Reading’s School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, in accordance with the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines for children and young people suffering from depression, anxiety and conduct disorders.

Mr Clegg said that the ambitious programme will receive an extra investment of up to £22 million over the next three years. This is in addition to the £8 million per year for four years that had previously been secured nationally.

Yvonne Taylor, Director of Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust’s Children and Families Division, said: “We are delighted to hear that we will be able to support even more young people with mental health conditions, following this announcement. The IAPT collaborative that we are currently engaged in aims to transform our existing services through the adoption of elements of the adult IAPT programme which will help to improve services for children and young people. Close collaboration between the therapist and young person is a key element of this approach. Young people are also pivotal in shaping our services.”

Professor Roz Shafran, of the Charlie Waller Institute, said: “Our collaborative with Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust already provides training in talking therapies for anxiety, depression and behavioural problems in children and adolescents. The new funds will be used to extend training to two further therapies that address depression, eating disorders, self-harm, and conduct problems with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).”

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Published: 6 March 2012