Key research findings

The Transformation Seminars are a series of free seminars open to the public. 

At the heart of the seminars is a profound question: 

We know that demands on mental health services are rising; we know that this increase can never be met by professionals alone. So what is it that we need to change in the way we lead our lives for our mental health needs to be met? To put it another way, how do we think differently about mental health? 

This ground-breaking series brings together some of the most eminent thinkers in child and family mental health in the world. Chaired by Professor Peter Fonagy, Chief Executive of The Anna Freud Centre, these multidisciplinary talks cover a wide variety of subjects, such as social prescribing; belonging and our sense of place; and how neurocognitive and genetic research can improve our understanding of environmental risk. 

We want a new conversation about mental health, and we’d like you to be part of it. Come and join us and help us take the discussion on mental health into new territory. Be part of the transformation. 

You can find recorded Transformation Seminars on our Transformation Seminar series video wall and on our SoundCloud Transformation Seminars playlist. 

To keep informed about upcoming events, join the free Anna Freud Learning Network.

The “So what?” seminar series aims to build the bridge between evidence and practice in child mental health by asking "So what does this mean for policy and practice?" in response to research findings, project outcomes and the work of our collaborators. 

“So what?” seminars begin with presentations from subject matter experts. Presentations are followed by a panel discussion with a Q&A, where we consider the implications of what we are learning with young people, parents, carers, practitioners and others.   

“So what?” seminars are free to attend and take place online. To keep informed about upcoming seminars, join the Anna Freud Learning Network.

You can watch the latest seminars now: 

In this webinar, we present the key findings from the Evidence Based Practice Unit: risk, resilience, change and choice.

In this webinar, we discuss the importance of social connections for young people as they enter adolescence, exploring the relationship between social connections and mental health and wellbeing for young people. We will be drawing on learning from a variety of projects from the Evidence Based Practice Unit. This will include learning from HeadStart, the Child Policy Research Unit, and other programmes.

In this seminar we look at support for children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing in schools. Drawing on learning from several different projects and approaches. Along with discussing research findings we look at specific approaches and explore the sustainability of them. We consider the implications of what we are learning with young people, parents, carers, and practitioners in a panel discussion.

We've produced a series of expert podcasts to help parents understand and manage child and family mental health problems. 

The series, Child in Mind, is presented by BBC Radio 4 presenter Claudia Hammond. In each 20-minute episode, Claudia discusses an important issue in child and family mental health with an expert and a young person or a parent or carer. 

If you have disabled non-essential cookies on this website, you may not be able to listen to the podcasts below but you can still access the podcasts via our iTunes channel and on Soundcloud. 

Visit our Child in Mind page.

Related content

• Download David Trickey's paper, Explaining the rationale for trauma-focused work: why it's good to talk.

   

• Read David Trickey's accompanying article, Traumatic events: how children and young people can react, and how adults can respond.

Professor Jess Deighton, Director of Applied Research and Evaluation at Anna Freud, joins host Rosie Anderson on the UCL Minds podcast to discuss findings from the HeadStart learning programme.

The episode explores how Professor Deighton’s landmark study of school pupils’ mental wellbeing shows that many young women and girls are struggling with their mental health during adolescence. The episode includes valuable insights from Sarah Reeves, Mental Health and Coproduction Lead at HeadStart Newham, and Libby, a young person from Newham.

Listen to the episode

‘Creating mentally healthy schools’ – in conversation with Professor Jess Deighton 

Professor Jess Deighton joins The Association of Child and Adolescent Mental Health podcast about the important role schools can play in supporting young people’s mental health. Jess also shares insights from her recent research and from the wider literature. 

Listen to the episode

Nationally, there is a significant gap between children and young people’s need for mental health support, and the help available. This report was produced following a period of cross-sector discussions with colleagues and communities in North West England. It spotlights six areas of children's lives – six among many – where more collective action is needed:

• The gap between aspiration and capacity in delivering mentally healthy schools and further education (FE) colleges.

• The gap in services for families who have experienced trauma.

• The gap in support for fathers in the perinatal period.

• The gap in effective support for young people in complex contexts or with multiple difficulties.

• The gap in meaningful participation. 

• The gap between the research and the help that’s offered.

View the full report.