A West Sussex mental health charity has teamed up with the council to provide parents and carers across the county with free online workshops to help them support their children’s mental health.
West Sussex Mind and West Sussex County Council hope the course will 'meet the needs of parents and carers who are supporting a child or young person struggling with their mental well-being'.
With many children suffering the effects of school closures and lockdowns, the NHS has found one in six young people between the ages of five and 16 identified as having a probable mental health problem (compared with one in nine in 2017).
The free online training workshops will run every month until the end of March 2023.
Called ‘Understanding Young People’s Mental Health’, they invite parents and carers to discuss challenges to young people’s mental health and explore ways to help them with emotional difficulties.
West Sussex Mind CEO, Katie Glover, said:
“We are delighted to be able to offer this free training to parents and carers after what we recognise has been an incredibly challenging two years for children and young people across West Sussex. We hope that our workshops will help parents and carers to recognise problems early, open conversations with their young people and develop ways to help them with greater confidence.
“Three-quarters of diagnosed mental illnesses develop by the age of 18. Therefore, greater awareness and openness about mental health – and, if necessary, early intervention – are crucial to prevent problems later in life. We hope that these workshops can play a small part in that.”
Jacquie Russell, West Sussex County Council Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said:
“Supporting the well-being and resilience of our young people is a major focus for us as we emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic. We are proud to be working with West Sussex Mind to offer these free courses which give parents and carers greater confidence and awareness around mental health issues in friendly and relaxed workshops.
“This is part of our wider work with our partners to meet the increased need for mental health services, which includes directly supporting children through schools and increasing capacity in services across West Sussex.”
Places on the workshops are available to book on the West Sussex Mind Eventbrite page. For questions about the training or to get help booking, please contact the West Sussex Mind training team on 07468 516818 or email training@westsussexmind.org
The Your Mind Matters website has more information about the ongoing work to support young people in West Sussex with their mental health, along with lots of advice, information and resources for young people, parents and carers and professionals.
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