The Midlands Young Advisors are part of the Midlands CYP MH Regional Collaborative, which builds on the progress of the CYP IAPT Midlands Collaborative in transforming mental health services delivered to children and young people (CYP) experiencing mental health (MH) problems.
As part of the Collaborative, we provide support to CYP MH services, universities and NHS England in a variety of ways. We deliver teaching sessions to trainees undertaking psychological therapies courses (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Systemic Family Practice), as well as Education Mental Health Practitioner (EMHP) and Children’s Wellbeing Practitioner trainees (CWP) programmes.
We also work closely with stakeholders to improve youth friendliness across services and are committed to ensuring that participation and youth voice is a golden thread throughout CYP MH service delivery.
Teaching
We create and deliver engaging full-day and half-day presentations on a range of important topics, including participation, LGBTQ+ topics, bullying, equality and diversity, neurodiversity, and more. Each presentation is enriched with the perspectives of young people and our experiences and is thoughtfully tailored to meet the unique needs of our audience.
The Young Advisors are available to consult on a range of topics related to mental health and service delivery. All topics have been developed by us, using the expertise within the team and include:
- Youth participation
- Peer support in CAMHS
- Neurodiversity and reasonable adjustments
- General wellbeing and staff care
- Staff recruitment and selection
- Black and Minority (BAME) mental health
- LGBTQ+ topics
- Transitioning from CAMHS to AMHS
Mental Health Ambassadors
The Mental Health Ambassadors (MHA) programme is a groundbreaking initiative designed to empower young people within schools to step into the role of ‘Mental Health Ambassadors.’ This comprehensive training programme introduces key mental health topics, including emotional well-being, reducing stigma, raising awareness, and providing low-level peer support.
Participants also achieve the ILM Level 2 Young Leaders Award, developing essential leadership skills. This combined training equips them to share their mental health knowledge, raise awareness, and promote available support within their school communities. So far, we are proud to have partnered with six schools across South Staffordshire and Nottinghamshire.
