Anna Freud

We listen to and learn from children and young people, work with them to build better solutions, and amplify their voices to aid a better understanding of mental health conditions. We work with those who bring up children and young people or work directly with them, from parents to foster carers, teachers, social workers and mental health professionals – those who know children and young people; designing approaches around the needs of young people then scaling them up; empowering the parents, carers and millions of professionals working with children and learning from them. If we can deliver this across three fronts, we can transform the mental health of this and the next generation – creating a more compassionate society for everyone.

Our vision is a world where all children and young people are able to achieve their full potential. A world in which they and their families get the support that is designed with their input, available at the right time, and meets their needs so that they can develop their emotional and mental health.

Our mission is to close the gap in wellbeing and mental health by advancing, translating, delivering and sharing the best science and practice with everyone who impacts the lives of children and families..

We will achieve this in three ways:

1. Closing gaps in science. We will work to understand and tackle the root causes of mental illness, confronting how and why mental health problems emerge in children and young people– and understanding their nature and impact. We will approach gaps in the science as a collaborative project, listening to lived experience and widening public participation in research to help achieve scientific breakthroughs.

2. Closing gaps in implementation. We will design, test and expand new approaches, interventions and models. We will improve the effectiveness of how help is experienced by children, families and communities. We will help to transform the systems around them – designing the architecture, making the connections and improving how all those involved work together to maximise their impact, so that access to help does not depend on social, ethnic or economic background or geographic location.

3. Closing gaps in access to knowledge. We will distil, translate and disseminate knowledge about what works. We will build tools, provide training and host peer support networks for parents, carers, professionals and policy makers – growing the confidence, skills and understanding of everyone who has an impact on the lives of children and families.