Mental illness project proves success

The Empowering Parents and Empowering Communities project in the London Borough of Southwark, run by the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust, sees parents undertake training sessions so they can teach other parents skills including developing empathy, giving praise and being able to understand the needs behind a child's behaviour.

Interim results from an Institute of Psychiatry study suggest parents who participate report a reduction in the severity of child-behaviour problems, as well as reduced parental stress levels.

The evaluation also found the scale of improvement "compares favourably with outcomes from trials involving professional therapists".

Caroline Penney, specialist trainer on the project, said: "The skills we're passing on are having a real impact on the mental health of children. By rolling this project out across the country, we can significantly reduce the number of children suffering poor mental health."

Parents on the programme have met welfare reform minister Lord Freud to encourage the nationwide rollout of the scheme.

The sessions are aimed at parents with children experiencing mental health difficulties, particularly those who find specialist hospital services hard to access. Southwark has twice the national rate of severe childhood mental health problems.

The final evaluation of the programme will be published in March.