Good Practice: How parent peer mentoring has helped to improve children's mental health in Southwark

Project Empowering Parents, Empowering Communities

Funding The initial two-year project was funded with £225,000 from Guy's and St Thomas' Charity, and £110,000 from Southwark Council

Purpose To help boost the mental health and emotional wellbeing of children by working with parents

Background

Inner-city areas have twice the national rate of severe childhood mental health problems but effective early intervention, particularly by parents, can lead to dramatic improvements and prevent problems in later life. Empowering Parents, Empowering Communities (EPEC) began as a two-year scheme to train parents in the London Borough of Southwark to teach parenting skills to others, in the hope they could reach some of the most vulnerable families.

Action

Twenty-four local parents were trained as "peer facilitators" to run parenting groups for "hard-to-reach" parents of children with mental health problems. The groups themselves, quite simply called "Being A Parent", were free for parents of children aged two to 11. They were delivered in community venues as two-hour sessions over two weeks. Peer mentors worked in pairs, supported by EPEC staff, and used discussion and role-play to work with participants. The topics covered ranged from what it means to be a parent, communication and understanding children's behaviour, to setting boundaries and coping with stress.

The idea is that using local people to deliver the programme will make it far more palatable to those who might shy away from schemes delivered by professionals. Many families are recruited by word of mouth or by outreach workers, with a small number referred by professionals.

As the project progressed, it became easier to persuade families to take part, says Stacey Thomson, researcher at King's College London, where the programme was evaluated.

"It was harder to start out with because parents didn't know what was involved," she says. The team has since set up a full introduction session explaining what to expect.

Another factor key to the scheme's success is the free creche. "It is a major cost but an important one," says Thomson. The programme's success is reflected by a high retention rate of 91.5 per cent, with more than 70 per cent of parents who have done the course giving it the highest satisfaction rating.

"The fact parents are really enthusiastic about it and have found it enjoyable shows it is something that is acceptable to them," concludes Thomson.

Outcome

A randomised controlled trial by King's College London's Institute of Psychiatry found EPEC had led to improvement in parenting and children's behaviour.

The trial started in January 2010 and involved 116 parents, comparing results for 59 families on the programme with a control group of 57. A standardised questionnaire asked families about children's behaviour.

At the start of the programme, 25 per cent had behaviour within the "clinical range" - challenging or disruptive behaviour similar to that displayed by those treated by children and adolescent mental health services. By the end of the programme, this had reduced to nine per cent.

Researchers also looked at parenting style. At the outset, 39 per cent of parents' parenting style was within a "clinical range", but afterwards that had dropped to 23 per cent.

Parents were also asked to rate the scale of their biggest difficulties, which might include coping with domestic rows, dealing with tantrums and getting children to go to bed. The average score was 52 out of 100 but that dropped to 25, showing the scale of problems had decreased or they felt better able to cope.

The scale of the improvements compares favourably to programmes using professional therapists. Southwark Council has since provided further funding for the programme up to March 2012. Meanwhile, further work is under way to develop EPEC programmes for both parents of teenagers and young babies.

IMPACT OF EPEC PROGRAMME

Behaviour within clinical range
After 9%
Before 25%

Parenting style within clinical range
After 23%
Before 39%

Parents' ability to cope with biggest difficulties
After 25
Before 52
Source: King's College Institute of Psychiatry.

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