Anna Freud

Anna Freud 🩵 Transforming mental health care for children and young people through science, collaboration and clinical innovation

Account monitored Mon-Fri 9-5

We're a mental health charity and we’ve been supporting children and young people for over 70 years. We listen to and learn from their diverse voices, and integrate this with learnings from our science and practice to develop and deliver mental health care. This holistic approach has world-changing potential – our training, schools support, networks, partnerships and resources equip those who impact children and young people’s lives with the knowledge and skills to support their mental health. We believe mental wellbeing is the foundation from which children and young people achieve their potential. By continually expanding our understanding and translating it into practice – grounded in science and guided by children and young people – we can ensure they get the right support at the right time. This account is monitored Monday-Friday 9am-5pm GMT.

We’re really excited to announce that Anna Freud has been awarded over £1.6m in funding from the Welsh Government to hel...
24/03/2026

We’re really excited to announce that Anna Freud has been awarded over £1.6m in funding from the Welsh Government to help build the mental health and wellbeing of young people across Wales.

We will train practitioners in every single state school in Wales to deliver Strategies for Safety and Wellbeing to learners in Year 5 and Year 7. This universal mental health intervention builds the wellbeing of children and young people by normalising everyday emotions, like stress and sadness, and helps them to develop strategies for managing feelings and supporting others.

Strategies for Safety and Wellbeing was the most promising of several mental health interventions for schools trialled through Education for Wellbeing. Anna Freud led this randomised control trial in partnership with UCL, which involved more than 30,000 students and over 500 schools across England.

Read more here: https://www.gov.wales/additional-funding-mental-health-and-wellbeing-support-every-school

Rydym wrth ein bodd yn cyhoeddi bod Anna Freud wedi derbyn dros ÂŁ1.6m mewn cyllid gan Llywodraeth Cymru i helpu i feithrin iechyd meddwl a lles pobl ifanc ledled Cymru.

Byddwn yn hyfforddi ymarferwyr ym mhob ysgol wladol yng Nghymru i gyflwyno Strategaethau ar gyfer Diogelwch a Llesiant i ddysgwyr ym Mlwyddyn 5 a Blwyddyn 7. Mae'r ymyrraeth iechyd meddwl gyffredinol hon yn meithrin llesiant plant a phobl ifanc trwy normaleiddio emosiynau bob dydd, fel straen a thristwch, ac yn eu helpu i ddatblygu strategaethau ar gyfer rheoli teimladau a chefnogi eraill.

Strategaethau ar gyfer Diogelwch a Llesiant oedd yr ymyrraeth iechyd meddwl fwyaf addawol ar gyfer ysgolion a dreialwyd trwy Addysg ar gyfer Llesiant. Arweiniodd Anna Freud y treial rheoli ar hap hwn mewn partneriaeth â UCL, a oedd yn cynnwys mwy na 30,000 o fyfyrwyr a thros 500 o ysgolion ledled Lloegr.

Darllenwch fwy yma: https://www.llyw.cymru/cyllid-ychwanegol-ar-gyfer-cymorth-iechyd-meddwl-lles-ar-gyfer-pob-ysgol?fbclid=Iwb21leAQv2QdjbGNrBC_Y-WV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHiDJKzA6iyj8r8LpnPt7x3t8NlcFCHzNnJGE88lS6kg1Fdhr2otJ2AOJ67XF_aem_ILKRFq79iVw0LS_37Ve4QQ

We were all children once 💜 Looking back at these pictures reminds us how important it is to build children’s wellbeing ...
23/03/2026

We were all children once đź’ś

Looking back at these pictures reminds us how important it is to build children’s wellbeing as early as possible.

These are just some of our fab colleagues (only when they were pint-sized) who are now working towards building a future where every young person receives the right support at the right time.

Find out about how we’re transforming mental health care for children and young people through science, collaboration and clinical innovation: https://orlo.uk/YnIHK

Do you want to better understand the autistic people in your life or stay up to date with the latest autism research? J...
20/03/2026

Do you want to better understand the autistic people in your life or stay up to date with the latest autism research?

Join our Autism Central team for a free webinar with AuDHD researcher Dr Holly Sutherland on “Understanding autistic social communication from autistic people’s perspectives”.

Learn more about how autistic people experience social communication:

đź’ś what their expectations are
đź’ś what they find difficult
đź’ś how they wish non-autistic people would react.

Book your place: https://orlo.uk/USfhm

Dr Sutherland is an AuDHD academic and autism researcher. She’s currently a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Cambridge.

NHS England Workforce, Training and Education

Here at Anna Freud, we’re passionate about transforming mental health care for children and young people through science...
18/03/2026

Here at Anna Freud, we’re passionate about transforming mental health care for children and young people through science, collaboration and clinical innovation.

Our research helps us design new approaches to prevention and intervention to build the wellbeing of children, young people, and families.

The Reflective Fostering study was led by Prof. Nick Midgley at , in partnership with us and fostering services in England and Wales.

The study has shown that the programme can make a real difference to foster carers, who face high levels of stress and burnout in their work. Find out more: https://orlo.uk/S04mf

For children at school, the right help at the right time can make such a difference. To help you develop targeted suppo...
17/03/2026

For children at school, the right help at the right time can make such a difference.

To help you develop targeted support for your school, we’ve developed free guidance in partnership with the Department for Education. You can also explore evidence-based targeted support programmes and interventions on our free hub.

Find out about guidance and hub: https://orlo.uk/Bs7QW

Did you know we offer free online coaching sessions to help you support an autistic person in your life? The sessions a...
17/03/2026

Did you know we offer free online coaching sessions to help you support an autistic person in your life?

The sessions are one-to-one and delivered by trained peer guides with lived and family experience.

The sessions offer a safe space to reflect on autistic wellbeing and different aspects of family life.

Our peer guides can give you practical guidance to navigate services and offer a listening ear, helping you feel heard and connected.

Here’s what people liked about the sessions...
đź’ś "Connecting to someone who gets it"
💜 “It was amazingly helpful”
đź’ś "Being able to talk freely and with ease and support"

Anyone living in England and supporting an autistic person of any age is eligible. You can access up to 10 consecutive sessions.

Find out more and book: https://orlo.uk/1HWtX

These sessions are commissioned by the NHS as part of the Autism Central programme.

NHS England Workforce, Training and Education

Did you know that, when measuring the impact of your mental health service, neurodivergent young people’s support needs ...
16/03/2026

Did you know that, when measuring the impact of your mental health service, neurodivergent young people’s support needs might not be fully captured in the evidence base?

Approaching the use of outcome measures with neurodivergent young people needs to be factored in. If we don’t involve young people, they won't experience the full benefits from the outcome measures, and any responses may not be useful for data capture.

Many neurodivergent young people face barriers to support. This can not only cause mental health problems, but also make them worse.

We can break these barriers down with approaches focused on trust, empathy and connection.

Our project the Child Outcomes Research Consortium has free guidance for using outcome measures in your mental health services for young people.

It includes insights from neurodivergent young people 👉🏽 https://orlo.uk/tSE1z

Happy Neurodiversity Celebration Week! 💜 It’s a great time to come together to recognise and celebrate the many differen...
16/03/2026

Happy Neurodiversity Celebration Week! đź’ś

It’s a great time to come together to recognise and celebrate the many different ways people think, learn and communicate.

Our neurodiversity education toolkit brings together practical resources and guidance to help strengthen inclusive practice throughout the year. Together, these ideas can support your setting to move from awareness to action and further develop a culture where everyone can thrive.

This is vital as 1 in 7 UK children are estimated to be neurodivergent. Compared with their neurotypical peers, they’re at more risk of mental health problems.

For over 70 years, here at Anna Freud we’ve aimed to understand the challenges facing children, young people and families, including those in more vulnerable positions, to improve their access to mental health support and outcomes.

We believe that mental health support for neurodivergent children, young people, families and adults should begin with acceptance and inclusivity. Not making neurodivergent children adjust who they are.

Get the toolkit: https://orlo.uk/AtySr

AMBIT (Adaptive Mentalization Based Integrative Treatment) is an approach for teams supporting people of any age who hav...
11/03/2026

AMBIT (Adaptive Mentalization Based Integrative Treatment) is an approach for teams supporting people of any age who have multiple, intersecting needs.

It is for workers from any sector who work in high‑stress, high‑risk environments, who want to improve how help is delivered in these places.

Our Local Facilitator Training (LFT) package offers in-depth training in AMBIT, uniquely equipping participants to deliver and facilitate training tailored to their own organisation and wider networks.

Starts 21 April. Find out more: https://orlo.uk/CftQV

10/03/2026

Epistemic trust comes from having a good experience of life and institutions, which increases your ability to trust others.

But when people experience trauma, this trust is harder for them to form.

Professor Peter Fonagy is leading our course in epistemic trust and trauma. He is the Head of Psychology and Language Sciences at UCL and our President here at Anna Freud.

Mental health practitioners and trainees, join him on 30 April.

For all psychotherapists and clinicians who work with children and adults.

Find out more:

https://www.annafreud.org/training/courses/dit-cpd-session-epistemic-trust-and-trauma-in-dit/

With thanks to UCL for the video, copyright of the UCL Psychoanalysis Unit.

So many care-experienced children have gone through adversity and neglect. Foster and kinship carers are so crucial to s...
09/03/2026

So many care-experienced children have gone through adversity and neglect. Foster and kinship carers are so crucial to supporting vulnerable children.

While caring can be deeply rewarding, it is also emotionally demanding. Carers often report high levels of stress and burnout. And many people are leaving caring roles.

We need more support for carers’ wellbeing. This would also improve retention and promote greater stability for children in care.

Come to our training to discover the impactful reflective fostering model developed by experts from Anna Freud, focusing on emotion regulation and perspective-taking.

The model equips carers to navigate high-conflict situations and address early developmental trauma in children transitioning to permanent adoption.

The training is ideal if you work in social care, mental health, or private fostering, especially when training entire teams in this approach.

Find out more: https://orlo.uk/FWJwq

09/03/2026

In schools and colleges, evidence-based, targeted support can:
• Offer help early, before problems get worse
• Personalise support to meet each young person’s unique needs
• Boost engagement with learning, supporting attendance and behaviour
• Teach coping skills for managing difficult emotions
• Help students believe in themselves and feel supported and understood

Developed in partnership with the Department for Education, our targeted support guidance is available for anyone who supports mental health and wellbeing in a school or college.

Find out more and access the resource for free at Mentally Healthy Schools:

https://mentallyhealthyschools.org.uk/targeted-support/

Address

4-8 Rodney Street
London
N19JH

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+442077942313

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