Improving the Psychological Wellbeing of Children and Young People

Iyabo Fatimilehin is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Director of Just Psychology CIC, a social enterprise she founded in 2011 to address the psychological and mental health needs of children and families with a particular emphasis on cultural diversity, cultural competence and social justice. She worked in the National Health Service for over 20 years and was service lead for an award-winning specialist Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service for black and minority ethnic children and families. She has presented at national and international conferences on racial and ethnic identity development, community-based initiatives, social exclusion, attachment, and working with culture. Iyabo is an Associate Fellow and chartered member of the British Psychological Society and is a registered practitioner psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council.

A sea change is underway, and this exciting new book both rides that wave, and offers an exciting vision of how things may progress. It invites us, as a society, to consider what it would mean to have a model of child services designed to help children to grow up to have greater psychological wellbeing, rather than directing the majority of resources to trying to help after things have gone wrong. Using clear language, evidence from research and specific examples of best practice, this book is certain to become one of those volumes that defines an era, both capturing the zeitgeist and offering inspiring visions of what the future might look like.

• 1. Risk factors, protective factors and resilience: how we can nurture psychological wellbeing in children and young people - Julia Faulconbridge, Consultant Clinical Psychologist, Nottingham, Katie Hunt, Consultant Clinical Psychologist, Nottingham Amanda Laffan, Bath Specialist Paediatric Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS/ME) Service, and Duncan Law, Anna Freud National Centre for Children & Families, London, with Iyabo Fatimilehin, Just Psychology CIC, Manchester; 2. Working psychologically with infants, parents and families in the perinatal period - Ruth Butterworth, Cheshire and Mersey Specialist Perinatal Service, Manchester, Ruth O'Shaughnessy, Fresh CAMHS, Alder Hey Children's NHSFT, Liverpool, and Michael Galbraith, Liverpool Parent Infant Partnership; 3. Building sustainable parent interventions in Early Years - Caroline White, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust; 4. Enhancing effective psychological care for families in Primary Care and Community Child Health: Opportunities for integration - Jaime Craig, Family Psychology Services Ltd, Liverpool; 5. Promoting psychological health and early intervention in schools - Joe Hickey, Islington CAMHS, London, Anna Picciotto, Community CAMH, London, Waveney Patel, City and Hackney CAMHS, London and Katie Hunt; 6. Promoting the psychological health of children and young people in hospital and with long term physical health conditions: evidence, theory & practice of effective integrated care - Sara O'Curry and Sally Benson, Paediatric Psychology and Counselling Service, Cambridge; 7. Creating change that works for vulnerable families: effective psychological services for children, young people and families involved with youth justice and social care - Jenny Taylor and Lisa Shostak, Clinical Psychologist, London; 8. People in their whole context: promoting social justice and community psychology as a means to prevent psychological distress and improve wellbeing for children, young people and their families - Laura Casale, Natalie Seymour, Mark Chentite and Sally Zlotowitz, MAC-UK, London; 9. Visions for the future - Julia Faulconbridge, Katie Hunt, Amanda Laffan and Duncan Law