Over the past month, we have been learning about the importance of early intervention across schools and CAMHS services at various CYP mental health events across the country.
Mayden strives to develop a strong understanding of the continuously evolving landscape of CYP mental health. This allows us to ensure our products evolve to continue supporting the vital work of our customers.
Westminster Insights: Mental Health in Schools
Our very own CYP mental health champion, Helen Barnes, discussed the topic ‘engaging with the wider community to provide holistic mental health support’ in an insightful panel session. Helen was joined by Katie Edwards, Programme Manager at Fullscope, Maxine O’Neill, Hope School and Kate Gallagher, Clinical Lead for Mental Health in Schools Team at Somerset NHS Foundation Trust.
Young Somerset MHST currently uses iaptus to support their service delivery.
Some key organisations in this area, Young Minds and Place2Be, gave engaging talks around providing the right support at the earliest stage possible. Niki Cooper, Clinical Director of Place2Be, explained how if the stigma of mental health for both staff and students can be tackled, more people can receive the right support at the right time, leading to more favourable long term outcomes.
To provide the most effective early intervention:
- There needs to be a shared understanding of how schools can work with other services to provide the right support to children, and good alignment between these organisations.
- There is a strong need for quality data and evidence to support the case for early support – data will help to prove the value and can be used to benefit the people you are supporting.
Safeguarding and Mental Health 2024
We also exhibited at the Safeguarding and Mental Health conference in Manchester, jointly hosted by the Safeguarding Network, and one of our customers, the Anna Freud Centre.
Dr Lesley French, Clinical Psychologist and Head of Clinical Help Schools Division, discussed how prevention should be at the heart of providing early support. There should be a focus on interventions where the young people are. Schools are integral to this, emphasising the need for whole school approaches to mental health and wellbeing.
‘‘Early support makes a big difference, but we must think of different ways to deliver early interventions to ensure less waiting for those in need’’ – Dr Lesley French, Anna Freud Centre
Services should leverage the power of science and data:
- If CYP mental health services can build a strong evidence base, they’ll be more likely to secure funding with their commissioners.
- Using a system like iaptus will make reporting requirements and service delivery more manageable, and help facilitate the provision of early intervention to as many CYP as possible.
Find out how Hammersmith, Fulham, Ealing and Hounslow (HFEH) Mind utilised iaptus to evidence the effectiveness of their service and secure funding for their drop-in Crisis Cafe in West London.
CAMHS National Summit 2024: Transforming Mental Health Services for Children & Young Adults
At this conference, Nathan Randles of Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust discussed how mental health services for CYP can be transformed, and particularly the importance of learning from lived experience. Nathan suggested that there should be an open door approach to participation and engagement in health services, and that schools should also have this level of openness. This provides young people with a platform they can speak within and help ensure they receive the right level of support. At Mayden, we are dedicated to providing innovative tools to support the transformation of CYP mental health services.
Early support for neurodivergent children
A running theme of discussions across all of these events was supporting neurodiverse children, who have co-existing mental health challenges. CAMHS services can help provide early intervention, for example, by providing mental health assessments for neurodivergent CYP, and incorporating assessment of developmental needs into standard assessments.
We recently hosted a webinar, featuring guest speaker Maggie Worth, Integrative Child, Adolescent and Family Psychotherapist. This explored how to engage and work with neurodivergent children and young people in therapy. You can view the recording, or read our summary blog here.
Transform your CAMHS service with iaptus
Mayden empowers over 70 children and young people’s (CYP) mental health services across the UK to deliver patient-centred, outcomes focused and data-driven care, with our digital care record, iaptus.
If you are interested in finding out more about how iaptus can support your CYP service, book a demo at a time that suits you, or get in touch.
