Counselling sessions improve long-term mental health in primary-school-aged children, according to a new study
Professor Tamsin Ford’s research has implications for reversing declining mental health in young people in a Covid-19 era.
A team from the University of Exeter and the University of Cambridge worked in partnership with Place2Be to assess the longer-term impact of its school-based service.
The study assessed the impact of Place2Be’s programme, in which trained counsellors operated in 171 schools nationwide in the academic year 2015/16.
Under the scheme, children could self-refer to the counsellors for any reason, or be referred by parents or teachers.
Research supervisor Professor Tamsin Ford, from the University of Cambridge, added:
“We’ve previously found that children’s mental health has worsened during the pandemic. We need to prioritise the provision of evidence-based mental health support in schools. Early intervention at this young age, before mental health problems become entrenched in adolescence and young adulthood, may help to prevent the long-term impacts of childhood mental health problems.”
This excerpt was taken from an article in the Mail Online.