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Mental health: Helping children and young people get the right treatment

30 November 2021

One in four of us will experience a mental health problem during our lives. For a child or young person, who is still growing and learning about who they are, poor mental health can have a profound impact on the adult life they are yet to begin. Thanks to your support, we are funding ground-breaking research and a pioneering centre that will help improve the mental health of the next generation.

The new Pears Maudsley Centre for Children and Young People, set to open in 2023, is a collaboration between the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King’s, South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and the Maudsley Charity. It will bring together patients, families, clinicians and researchers to transform our understanding and treatment of young people’s mental health, reshaping young lives for the better.

We will be supporting a range of work from the importance of mental health in mothers and their babies in their first 1000 days; the prevalence of mental ill health for people with autism and ADHD; major issues facing young people’s mental health today including anxiety and depression; eating disorders and OCD, and exploring the impact of digital technology on young people’s mental health. We will also harness ways to use digital technology to enhance mental health and reach more children, young people and their families.

The Maudsley team were amazing. It really felt that we were all part of ‘Team Alex’. There were days when Alex really struggled but they did not give up on us and kept changing their approach. It has been completely life changing. I can now see Alex going to college and getting his A levels. I can see him going to university. All of these are things you would just never in a million years have dreamed that he could do. Up until six months, ago Alex could not walk down our road on his own as his anxiety was through the roof. But now he walks to college, he goes running on his own and he has had his first driving lesson. You do pinch yourself every day that things are so different– Mum to Alex, aged 19

Your generosity is supporting our work with mothers and babies and our education programmes to build resilience in primary schools and help young people in sixth form manage their anxiety and depression.

This building is a symbol that the world is ready to find a solution to mental health problems for children and young people.– Professor Carmine Pariante, Professor of Biological Psychiatry at the IoPPN, and Consultant Perinatal Psychiatrist at SLaM

Through the generosity of donors, our experts are uniquely placed to lead this research and help people get the right treatment faster. Together, we are creating a happier and healthier future with more successful early interventions, saving countless lives.

Thank you to all you have done to support this work so far. You can find out support our work on children and young people’s mental health here.