Change the Story banner 3 Children statistic

Right now, the statistics on children’s mental health tell a story we don’t want to hear…

On average, 3 children in every classroom have a diagnosable mental illnessi.

Half of all adult mental health conditions are present by the age of 14ii.

Currently, 200 children every year in the UK die from suicideiii.

This needs to change. We need to act NOW to Change the Story on children’s mental health.

Together we have the chance to achieve something life-changing; redefine how we care for growing minds, and improve the quality of life for generations to come. We can give children and young people suffering from mental illness the opportunity to rewrite their own stories…

Together, we can #ChangeTheStory.

The faces and voices of actors portray these real-life stories, told through the words of young people who have experienced mental illness.

  • Molly's story

    Molly lost herself, her friends and some of her precious teenage years to a severe eating disorder but the support... VisualV1 - ArrowCreated with Sketch.

    Molly's story

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    Molly lost herself, her friends and some of her precious teenage years to a severe eating disorder but the support Molly received at the Maudsley Hospital helped to Change the Story for her. Now she has big plans for the future…

  • Abdul's story

    Abdul felt like depression took away who he was and who he wanted to be. With specialist support from the... VisualV1 - ArrowCreated with Sketch.

    Abdul's story

    VisualV1 - CrossCreated with Sketch.

    Abdul felt like depression took away who he was and who he wanted to be. With specialist support from the Maudsley, he was able to Change the Story – and now he’s learning how to help others like him…

  • James' story

    Struggling with OCD left James feeling isolated and without hope for the future. Specialist support at the Maudsley helped to... VisualV1 - ArrowCreated with Sketch.

    James' story

    VisualV1 - CrossCreated with Sketch.

    Struggling with OCD left James feeling isolated and without hope for the future. Specialist support at the Maudsley helped to Change the Story – and now he’s training for a career he never thought he’d have…

How our work will #ChangeTheStory

Working with our partners – South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience King’s College London, Maudsley Charity supports world-class research and clinical care that will transform the mental health of children and young people.

Research

With the largest team of specialist researchers in child and adolescent mental health in Europe, we’re well-placed to turn scientific developments into innovative ways of screening, detecting, preventing and treating common mental illnesses like anxiety, depression, anorexia, and OCD.

 

Early Intervention

We work in partnership with young people, families and schools to get to young people with mental health issues sooner, so we have the best chance of changing their lives for the better. Our CUES-Ed programme delivers mental health education to primary school children, building their resilience form an early age.

 

The Right Care

Mental illness is different for everyone – we help to develop innovative treatments specific to children in our NHS services that also influence the way we care for and prevent mental illness in children across the UK.

 

How you can help #ChangeTheStory

Donate to fund our research, early intervention and care work.

Your support today could help bring our world-class programmes to more children with mental health conditions, earlier on in their lives, when they have the best chance of making a difference.

View our expert advice and parenting tips

Families Under Pressure

Don’t let the pressure of parenting get you down. Try these simple tips and tricks, formulated by researchers and NHS mental health experts, which are backed by science and proven to work with families.

Read more VisualV1 - ArrowCreated with Sketch.

 
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References

i. https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/mental-health-of-children-and-young-people-in-england/2017/2017
ii. Kessler RC, Berglund P, Demler O, Jin R, Merikangas KR, Walters EE. (2005). Lifetime Prevelance and Age-Of-Onset Distributions of DSM-IV Disorders in the National Comorbidty SurveyReplication. Archives of General Psychiatry, 62 (6) pp. 593-602
iii. https://blog.ons.gov.uk/2019/09/10/why-have-suicide-levels-risen-among-young-people-and-what-can-be-done-to-tackle-this/