Are you a Torbay parent or carer supporting a young person aged 8-17 struggling with mental health? 

Anxiety, depression, self-harm, and other mental health struggles are on the rise among young people, particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic. A recent study shows that 1 in 5 children and young people in England aged 8 to 25 had a probable mental disorder in 2023. As parents, we can be left feeling overwhelmed and helpless, not knowing where to turn for help.

 This 18-session programme will help parents/carers better support a young person struggling with mental health. Thanks to our amazing funders, the programme is free to parents/carers in Torbay.

There are just a few days left to register for our information sessions. Click here to register: www.calendly.com/ymhf/information-session 

 From lived experience and through working with thousands of parents, we have seen the importance of the parent/carer role in a young person's...

During this cost of living crisis, we’re all juggling caring for our families with skyrocketing bills. But, even when the budget’s tight, your children’s wellbeing is still priority number one. 

So, if you suspect that your child is struggling with their mental or emotional health, but pricey private therapy sessions are out of reach, what are you supposed to do? 

Relying on overburdened free mental healthcare services like the NHS’s CAHMs (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) can feel disappointing given the agonisingly long waiting lists. Fear not, though; there are ways you can support your child’s mental well-being yourself without breaking the bank.

In this article, we’ll explore 10 affordable ways you can nurture your child’s well-being even during these financially challenging times.

#1: Look out for free resources

If only we had unlimited funds, we’d all have a squad of psychologists and private...

This month, the Youth Mental Health Foundation team have been delivering assemblies and workshops to primary schools in Devon.

Thanks to our funders, West Devon Borough Council, Teignbridge District Council, and North Yard Community Trust, we have been visiting local schools to build mental health resilience and self-esteem.

Our school assemblies and workshops have been designed, developed and delivered by Jade Sutton, aged 19, who has lived experience of struggling with, and recovering from, significant mental health challenges. 

Earlier this month, Jade was interviewed on BBC Radio about winning the BBC 'Make A Difference Awards' for her work. You can listen to the interview by CLICKING HERE.

To date, Jade has spoken to over 35,000 young people with her powerful messages to:

• Improve mental health resilience and self-esteem in young people
• Destigmatise mental health, making it easier for young people to ask for help
• Educate young people to accept, respect and...

Are you struggling to get your son to open up to you? You’re not alone.

It’s deeply worrying when your child isn’t communicating with you. The first thing to say is that, unfortunately, this is very normal. The cultural influences boys grow up around tell them to ‘man up’ when they’re struggling. The ‘boys don’t cry’ mentality has unsurprisingly made them hesitant to talk about their emotions. They often feel under pressure to be self-reliant, so reaching out for support can make them uncomfortable. This ‘macho-mode’ is all well and good until things start to go wrong and you can’t get your son to share his feelings.

The truth is, you can’t force your son to open up to you, and he doesn’t owe you access to his deepest feelings. You need to prove to him that you’re worthy of his confidence by investing time into building a deeper relationship with him. In The Horizon Plan, we call...

Today our co-founder, 19 year old Jade Sutton, was interviewed on BBC Radio about winning the BBC 'Make A Difference Awards'.

Jade won the 'Volunteer' category in 2022 for her work supporting young people's mental health.

The BBC recognised her 7 years of work, visiting hundreds of schools and speaking to over 35,000 young people about mental health. Her assembly presentations and workshop help build mental health resilience in young people, destigmatise mental health and encourage young people to ask for help if they're struggling.

Jade has now gone to university but dedicates every Wednesday to delivering assemblies in schools across the country via Zoom. And has colleagues who have taken over delivering her workshops.

Jade also explained that the YMHF is running groups, which coach the parents and carers of young people struggling with mental health, to better support their child.

You can find out more about our Assemblies and Workshops BY ...

We are delighted to have been funded by North Yard Community Trust to deliver our assemblies and workshops to schools in Plymouth. 

Our hugely successful assemblies and workshops have been designed, developed and delivered by Jade Sutton, aged 19, who has lived experience of struggling with, and recovering from, significant mental health challenges.

To date, Jade has spoken to over 35,000 young people with her powerful messages to destigmatize mental health, build self-esteem and mental health resilience.  

Here is a short documentary made about Jade and her assemblies, called ‘What’s Your Story’:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CHYEgLA3jg&t=589s 

 We will be delivering our 'Reach For The Stars' virtual assemblies and our 'What's Your Genius' workshops to schools in Budeaux, Kings Tamerton, Barne Barton, Weston Mill and Keyham.

We can't wait to deliver more mental health support to schools in 2024.

Our work is only...

Zoom Parents Support Programme: Torbay

The programme will support 30 young people in Torbay struggling with mental health, but not qualifying for CAMHs support, by equipping their parents/carers to support their mental and emotional health and healing. 

From lived experience, we have seen the importance of the parent/carer role in a young person's mental health recovery. This early intervention program will address early onset mental health problems in young people, resolving the problems or preventing their escalation within the family unit.

Our parenting programme provides:

 1) Psychoeducation and skills training: guiding parents/carers to support the recovery of a young person suffering with their mental health using our evidence-based clinical intervention.

2) Parental self-care: teaching parents how to care for their own mental and emotional health to best support their child.

3) Navigating statutory support: Coaching parents/carers on how to access the support...

If you're the Mum or Dad of a young person who’s struggling with their mental health, you’ll be painfully aware that the services designed to help your child are buckling under the weight of the number of referrals they’re getting. This means that the burden of supporting your child is very likely being carried by you, perhaps alone. In the UK, the bleak reality of services like the NHS’s CAHMs (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) is unbearably long waiting lists and usually only the most serious cases getting accepted. 

So, there’s a good chance you’re feeling panicked, totally exhausted, perhaps even broken. Because while your child’s struggling, your own mental health has probably  taken a back seat. It might feel selfish to think about caring for your own needs while they’re finding things so hard. 

But this article will hopefully convince you that prioritising your own self-care isn’t...

We want to say a huge thank you to the NHS for supporting our Zoom Group for parents of young people struggling with mental health in Torbay.

Thanks to funding from NHS Devon, we are able to advertise this amazing opportunity for parents and carers in Torbay to learn how to better support a child or teen struggling with mental health.

Zoom Parents Support Programme: Torbay

Anxiety, depression, self-harm, and other mental health struggles are on the rise among young people, particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic.

A recent study shows that 1 in 5 children and young people in England aged 8 to 25 had a probable mental disorder in 2023.

As parents, we can be left feeling overwhelmed and helpless, not knowing where to turn for help.

This programme will support 30 parents in Torbay, caring for a child or teen struggling with mental health, but not qualifying for CAMHs support, by equipping their parents/carers to support their mental and emotional health and...

Is your child struggling with their mental health? Are you looking to support your child, but need help and guidance?

Being the parent of a child who is experiencing a mental health crisis is devastating and complex. You are most likely in one of the most painful and difficult periods of your life.

We know how you feel, and want to assure you that you're not alone.

You'll desperately want to do EVERYTHING possible to support your child through this crisis, but there's a strong chance that you are feeling:

• UNPREPARED - with no relevant experience or training
• FROZEN - unsure how to move forward
• DISCONNECTED - from your child who may be unwilling to accept help 
• ANGRY - at how teachers and schools etc have let your child down 
• GUILTY - wondering if you could have prevented this
• FEARFUL - of how this situation could escalate

Most likely, you'll have reached out to your doctor, CAMHS or a healthcare professional to support your child's recovery. You want to help...