The Best For You programme has launched its redesigned, youth-led website and published new YouTube videos, following research that highlights young people don’t know where to turn for help.
Best For You is a programme run in partnership by Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, West London NHS Trust, and CW+. It is being evaluated by academic experts at Imperial College.
About the new Best For You website
Originally launched in 2021, the redeveloped Best For You website has been co-created in partnership with young people and NHS clinicians to make it easier for young people to find clear, trustworthy mental health information and signposting.
The new website was built in response to feedback from young people who say they often don’t know what support is available or whether their concerns are ‘serious enough’ to seek help. The new website brings together accurate, health professional-approved information and clear signposting in one easy‑to‑navigate place.
More than 75 young people were involved throughout the process, taking part in in-person and online consultations and user testing to help shape the site’s content, language, design and navigation. Local art students from the University of Westminster were commissioned to create 30 new illustrations for the site.
Clinicians from across three NHS Trusts and primary care were also engaged throughout, from initial focus groups to final content sign-off.
The new website offers:
- An intuitive design led by young people, including bespoke commissioned artwork created by local illustration students from the University of Westminster
- Clear, age-appropriate information approved by NHS clinicians
- Information on mental health conditions, as well as everyday life challenges
- Information about NATTER, the free, 24/7 text helpline for young people
- Signposting to urgent mental health support, as well as helplines and local support offers from the NHS and trusted third-sector organisations
- Links to safe, approved wellbeing apps
- An easy-to-navigate search function to help young people to find what they need quickly
Externally led research showed that young people felt the new website was well-designed to meet their needs. They reported that the information felt approachable and practical, giving them advice they were unaware of, within a friendly design.
One young person said: ‘It’s a clean design and easy to understand with no distractions’, while another described the site as ‘detailed and informative’.
Best For You commissioned research
New research commissioned as part of the Best For You programme highlights the scale of the challenges young people are facing. 68% of the 2,002 young people surveyed reported that, in their own view, they had experienced one or more mental health difficulties in the past 12 months.
At the same time, common reported barriers to accessing support include not knowing how to get support (31%) and not knowing which service could help with their problem (32%). One young person who took part in a focus group said: ‘I don’t think any of my friends or people my age would know where to look for help – not the vast majority.’
The research found that young people feel there is a widespread lack of accessible mental health information, including for common conditions such as anxiety. As a result, seeking support is often seen as unusual, with stigma remaining a significant barrier.
At the same time, they are navigating a wide range of pressures in their day-to-day lives including friend or relationship problems (experienced by 46% of young people surveyed), academic pressure (experienced by 46%), and family or home‑life challenges (experienced by 31%).
Best For You responds to young people’s need for support by offering accessible, clinically assured information that clearly distinguishes between diagnosable mental health conditions and the everyday life challenges many young people experience. By acknowledging that feelings such as anxiety can be a normal response to stress – while also providing clear pathways to specialist support when needed – Best For You reassures young people that they deserve help and encourages them to seek support, directly tackling stigma around mental health.
Johan Redelinghuys, Clinical Director for CAMHS at West London NHS Trust and Clinical Lead for Best For You Digital, has helped steer Best For You since its launch. He said: ‘More and more young people are struggling with their mental health without knowing where to get help – while worrying about whether their problems are “serious enough” for them to ask for support.
‘I’ve supported Best For You over the past five years because I see every day in my work that having access to trustworthy information can make a huge difference.
‘Best For You meets young people where they are and responds to what they tell us they need – making sure that NHS approved support is easier for them to find, understand, and trust’.
About Best For You’s new YouTube videos
Alongside the website, Best For You is also launching five new videos, developed as part of its partnership with YouTube.
The videos cover commonly searched conditions including autism, depression, and eating disorders, and answer common questions about diagnosis, seeking help, and supporting others.
The videos are eligible for inclusion on YouTube’s ‘health shelves’ – curated videos that appear at the top of search results to help young people access content from verified health sources and avoid misinformation.
Vishaal Virani, Head of Health and Youth, YouTube UK & Ireland, said: ‘It has been a pleasure to collaborate with the Best For You team over the past few years to launch their YouTube channel and integrate their videos into our health shelves.
’Younger audiences need reliable, high-quality content about mental health and wellbeing now more than ever.
’Their channel is an incredibly valuable resource, and we’re thrilled to see the five new videos available alongside the other fantastic content on the channel.’
Explore Best For You
Find the right mental health support, information and services – all in one place.
