Last week, guests gathered at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital to celebrate Best For You, the innovative approach to mental healthcare for young people run in partnership by CW+, Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation trust, and West London NHS Trust. It is being evaluated by academic experts at Imperial College.
They heard about the progress made since Best For You launched in November 2021 as well as plans for the future of the programme, which helps to address the growing and urgent crisis in young people’s mental health, making it easier for them to access the help they need.
Watch the event highlights on YouTube:
The achievements of Best For You to date
Lesley Watts (CEO, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital) and Johan Redelinghuys (Clinical Director, CAMHS West London NHS Trust and Clinical Lead, Best For You digital) reflected on the achievements of Best For You over the past four years, made possible by collaboration between staff across the four organisations that run the programme in partnership.
Since 2021, the Best For You digital platform has surpassed initial expectations and continues to grow. The website has welcomed more than 190,000 active users, and the Best For You NATTER text support service has helped more than 450 texters across more than 1,200 conversations. The Best For You YouTube channel continues to release engaging and trustworthy content for young people, including the award-winning animation ‘What are eating disorders?’.
Thanks to generous support from donors, Best For You has opened Arc (home to Arc Day Programme) and the Reuben Young People’s Centre, two best-in-class spaces that demonstrate the impact a well-designed therapeutic environment can have on young people’s recovery.
Helena Fremantle (Former Youth Ambassador for CAMHS) shared some of her story of recovery from anorexia – and explained the difference that both Arc and the Reuben Young People’s Centre would have made for her and her family, had they existed when she was unwell. She also spoke about her involvement in the Best For You YouTube project as a way of helping to make sure that young people have access to truthful, reliable online information about mental health.
Find out more about Helena’s story and her involvement with Best For You on YouTube:
The future of the Best For You programme
As the main focus of the event, Chris Chaney (Chief Executive, CW+), shared plans for the Best For You programme. Following the overwhelming success of the initial phase, plans for the next three years focus on learning from and evaluating this initial work, alongside driving adoption across north-west London and spreading the model (and learnings) across the UK and beyond. At the same time, Best For You will continue to develop and deliver innovative digital interventions and incorporate and promote the use of arts-based interventions. The audience also heard from one of the driving forces behind Best For You, Kasim Kutay (Chair, CW+ Development Board; Chair, Best For You Oversight Board; and CEO, Novo Holdings).
Chris Chaney said: ‘None of the achievements of Best For You to date would have been possible without the generous support we have received from our partner network, clinical teams, and donors. Over the next three years, we want to continue to innovate, test, learn, and deliver to support our NHS to provide the best possible mental health care and support, no matter where or when a young person needs it.’
Find out more about Best For You, and how you can support the programme.
Show your support
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