Mental Health in Development

Developing targeted, effective, and accessible mental health interventions that meet the needs of diverse children and young people (aged 0-18 years) and their families.

Most mental health problems start before the age of 24 years old. Rates of mental health problems in children and young people have been on the rise in recent years. Currently, many children and young people do not receive professional support and the outcomes are often modest for those that do.

The MHID (Mental Health in Development) team aims to improve understanding of the mechanisms and causes underlying common mental health problems and to turn this understanding into targeted, effective, and accessible prevention and treatment for mental health problems in children and young people.

Our Vision

We want to accelerate children and young people’s mental health research, and translate it into interventions that are targeted, effective, and accessible. We are building sustainable infrastructure to increase research capacity, identify key causes behind mental health issues, improve lived experience participation in research, and trial innovative interventions.

Our work is underpinned by understanding the wants, needs, and experiences of children and young people, their families, and communities, and by bringing together experts and leaders from across disciplines and sectors.

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Our Work

We are supporting a diverse range of projects to help achieve our vision to develop collaborations and infrastructure across such a wide range of stakeholders and sectors.

Projects include: two new research networks, bringing together researchers with schools and early years services and professionals; the AnDY Research Clinic Oxford, an NHS service launched in 2024 for young people combining assessment, treatment, and research; an online platform for researchers investigating the causes of common mental health conditions.

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Who We Are

We are a group of researchers who are part of the National Institution for Health Research Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre (BRC). We are based in the Universities of Oxford, Birmingham, Reading, Oxford Brookes, and York, and in the Oxford Health, Berkshire Healthcare, and Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trusts.

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Public Involvement

Public involvement is at the heart of our work, which focuses on areas prioritised by patients, carers, community members, and clinicians.

Our INSiGHTS team are investigating innovative methods to involve young people and communities in research, so they are at the centre of the work we do. We are also developing a new network focused on amplifying the voices of parents and carers in research.

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Resources

Mental Health in Development is not just a research project, our aim is that involvement in our project will be beneficial for all who take part.

Here you can find outcomes from our work such as publications, blogs, and webinars, as well as signposting on where you can go to find further support.

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News and Events

We have teams working with all ages and demographics, from infants all the way up to young adults. Here we are sharing activities from across the project, including updates from our project teams, webinars, events, publications, blogs, and other helpful related resources.

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