The University of Reading’s Department of Psychology is hosting an event aimed at helping the parents and carers of young people with mental health problems tomorrow as part of Mental Health Awareness Week.

 ‘Overcoming anxiety and depression in children and young people’ takes place at 7pm in the Agriculture Building.

The School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences at the university hosts a leading clinical research group, who seek to improve understanding of the development of anxiety and depression and to improve treatments for children and adolescents.

Dr Cathy Creswell said: “Here in Reading we have been developing and evaluating new treatments to increase access and effectiveness of treatments for anxiety and depression in children and young people, including ways of helping parents to manage their child's anxiety on a day to day basis, and online treatments for adolescents who experience anxiety and depression.

"This event will give parents, carers and people working with children and young people an overview of those developments with opportunities for discussion with other attendees and the research team.”

Book a place by calling 0118 378 4313 or by visiting http://www.reading.ac.uk/news-and-events/about-event-register.aspx

Mental health facts

- 1 in 10 children and young people aged five to 16 years suffer from a diagnosable mental health disorder

- More than one half of adults with mental health problems were diagnosed in childhood.

- About 290,000 children and young people have an anxiety disorder

- Nearly 80,000 children and young people suffer from severe depression.

- Both anxiety and depression in childhood and adolescence constitute a major risk for other serious mental health problems and adverse life-course outcomes, e.g. unemployment, domestic violence, teenage pregnancy, drug and alcohol misuse.

- A specialist  service for assessment and treatment of anxiety disorders in children in 1998 was set up in the School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences in collaboration with West Berkshire NHS.

- The service  was expanded in 2008 to cover the whole of Berkshire, and then further expanded to cover children and adolescents (0-18 years) in 2012 and depression in 2013 in collaboration with what is now the Berkshire CAMHS Anxiety and Depression Pathway. This has provided the setting for ongoing clinical research and the delivery of evidence based treatments to the local community.