Sophie Browning1, Debbie Plant1, Anna Redfern1, Karen Bracegirdle1, Suzanne Jolley2; 1South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, 2King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience
Difficulties meeting the need for mental health care amongst children and adolescents has led to increasing interest in resilience-building programmes delivered in public health settings. CUES-Ed is a universal clinician-led, school classroom-based programme for 7-10 year olds, rooted in cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and models. The central theme is ‘keeping our brains amazing’ by looking after our physical wellbeing; learning that thoughts, feelings and behaviour are interconnected; and building practical skills to help children manage life’s ups and downs. Uniquely, CUES-Ed also includes a focus on unusual perceptual experiences which have been associated with a range of adverse mental health outcomes. Sessions are delivered in a highly active and engaging way and the programme creatively utilises a range of innovative new technologies that help make abstract concepts more concrete and memorable. Our visually strong and recognisable branding and characters also help promote mental health in a positive way. Routine service evaluation has yielded promising findings in terms of pre-post improvements in general wellbeing, and in emotional and behavioural difficulties for those children scoring in the borderline or clinical ranges. Children self-reported an increased repertoire of coping strategies. Feedback from children, parents and teachers indicates that CUES-Ed is acceptable and subjectively helpful. Future developments include incorporating elements from our CUES (Coping with Unusual ExperienceS for Children) CBT manual, to adapt CUES-Ed for a clinical CAMHS population.
