Children in care often face significant mental health challenges due to the disruptions and traumas they have experienced in their lives. Separation from family, multiple placements, and a sense of instability can contribute to feelings of anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem. Many children in care have experienced abuse, neglect, or other forms of trauma, further exacerbating their mental health needs.
It is crucial for carers, social workers, and mental health professionals to provide tailored support and interventions to address these challenges. Building trusting relationships, creating safe environments, and offering therapeutic interventions can help children in care develop resilience and cope with their mental health struggles, ultimately promoting their overall well-being and long-term success. Explore our resources below!
Learning from Research webinars | Mental health
Book your place at our upcoming Learning from Research webinars that are focus on the mental health of children in care. Members, sign in to your website account to join our webinars for free.
How does CAMHS listen to young people with a social worker?
27 June| 2pm -3.45pm | Zoom
Despite the long-standing policy push to include young people’s perspectives in their mental health care, research about young people with social work involvement has consistently shown that they feel they are not listened to.
Getting best-evidenced mental health support to care-experienced young people
22 July | 2pm - 3.45pm | Zoom
This talk will present findings from the ADaPT project – an active implementation study spanning 28 mental health teams across England.
Navigating online life with children and young people
Explore our collection of resources, developed by Dr Vicki Walker and Jane Poore. The publication date of the materials will span over the next 12-18 months. Delve into the impacts of online use on physical and mental health, particularly in adolescent development. Explore topics such as addiction, gambling, and the role of social workers in assessments.
Topic two: Mental health
The negative mental health impacts of social media and online content is worthy of discussion and considered thought. This moves beyond ideas of cyberbullying and trolling/abusive interactions to misinformation and disinformation which can lead to increased vulnerability for health, relationships, radicalisation and isolation.
Coming soonBlogs and articles
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The impact of long-term state care on the mental health of children
Dinithi Wijedasa, Associate Professor in Child and Family Welfare at the University of Bristol shares research evidence to help address the high mental health needs of children and young people in care.
Read moreA spotlight on the mental health of care-experienced children and young people
Liam Hoskins, our events officer, reflects on our in-person event that explored current research on the mental health of children in care.
Read nowAdoption & Fostering journal
Members, remember to log in to your website account to access articles and back issue of our Adoption & Fostering journal.CoramBAAF members have free access to all issues of the journal since 1977.
Volume 47 (Issue 4, December 2023)
Care-experienced youth often face earlier, severe, and chronic mental health challenges compared to their peers. Dive into our case study on the creation of a Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT) group for young people with a history of abuse and neglect, delivered by psychologists in a social care service.
Read the open access articleEarlier articles
- A call to action: The need for routine mental health support for care-experienced children and young people
- ‘But what does that mean for me?’: A project to improve the information given to prospective adopters about a child or young person’s health background and future implications of this
- Attachment state of mind and trauma in mother and baby home adoptees
- Dissociation, identity distress and rejection sensitivity in adult adoptees
- Is the future frightening? Anxiety among young people in care in Poland as they move to independence
Publications
Parenting Matters
This series is primarily aimed at adoptive parents, kinship carers and foster carers, but many professionals who work with children and young people also find these books helpful. Accessibly written, they offer a professional view on parenting challenges such as toileting issues, children affected by domestic violence and children with emotional and behavioural difficulties, as well as accounts by parents and carers themselves.
Search our bookshopParenting Matters: Parenting a child affected by self-harm issues
Self-harm in children and young people occurs across society, and is very worrying for parents, carers and indeed the children themselves. This guide specifically explores self-harm in children and young people who are fostered or adopted.
See moreParenting Matters: Parenting a child with eating and food issues
Eating and food issues can be common in children – but for those who are looked after and adopted, these problems can last a lot longer or reoccur at later ages, affecting family life and meaning that children are less able to benefit from supportive care.
See more