Study into family therapy treatment for youth self-harm

The £4.5m study, funded by the National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment programme, will involve 15 NHS organisations and three universities, led by the University of Leeds and NHS Leeds.

It will work with more than 800 11- to 17-year-olds and their families in Yorkshire, Greater Manchester and London. Half will receive the treatment programme currently offered and the other half will receive a dedicated programme of family therapy.

Professor David Cottrell, dean of medicine at the University of Leeds, said: "Currently services use a range of different treatment approaches but we don't have enough evidence to know which is the most effective."

He added: "Through this study we'll be looking at whether the "whole family" approach, which focuses on the relationships, roles and communication patterns between family members, will enable families to work with young people to help them manage crises and emotional situations more effectively."

Sarah Brennan, chief executive of YoungMinds, said: "Previous research has traditionally focused on medication or cognitive behavioural therapy, meaning there has been less research into family therapies. This key study will enable mental services to now commission evidence based family therapy."