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Who are we?

The Youth Mental Health Foundation is a Devon-based not-for-profit organisation working with young people, families, and the wider community to address the crisis in youth mental health. We are addressing an urgent need for preventative education to build resilience in children, alongside early intervention strategies to prevent mental health challenges from escalating. We are directly supporting families whose young people are in crisis with their mental health, through in-person and online provision. We work with communities across Devon and have a growing national and international reach. The impact of our work is more resilient young people who are less likely to experience severe mental health challenges, and more families who are empowered and equipped to supp...

If you’re a parent supporting your child through anxiety and want to know what kind of support you could give, this post is for you.

As a teenager, I had generalised anxiety disorder, and my parents' support was one of the biggest forces behind my getting better. I want to share what they did that worked well in the hope that it gives other parents in a similar position some guidance.

I’m not going to lie and say that they got it right every single time. They were, I'm sure, just as blindsighted by the situation as I was. So I also hope that if right now you feel like your support isn’t good enough, it’ll be reassuring to read a story where parents learned how to provide support over time.

I never really liked referring to anxiety as ‘generalised anxiety disorder’ - it sounded too clinical and, honestly, a bit frightening. So, borrowing a trick from an old counsellor, I’m going to refer to it as Kevin. In fact, this is something you could try with your child to make speaking ab...

If you’re a Mum or Dad of a child who’s refusing to go to school and you’re looking for some guidance, look no further. School refusal, or school anxiety, as it’s called, is immensely stressful, challenging, and distressing for both you and your child.

It might mean that you’re frequently faced with your child’s early morning meltdowns, fits of crying, or maybe even vomiting and nausea. Your head is probably overflowing with tricky questions like, ‘Is it easier if I just keep her home from school?’ or ‘What if he’s missing out on important lessons?’.

A child consistently refusing to go to school is more common than you might think. Especially if your child struggles with their mental health, is often very anxious, or finds it hard to be away from you, they may well find school a daunting and difficult thing to cope with.

Perhaps the school is starting to question you about their low attendance; maybe your own work schedule is getting disrupted, and maybe your child is becoming in...

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 this the ‘Bonding Stage’. It’s about working on your bond with your child to increase trust in the rel...