Launched World Mental Health Day 2011, Mymind.org.uk is an innovative website, twitter account and Facebook page developed for young people by young people in partnership with Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Trust Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CWP CAMHS). The web resource includes interactive elements tailored to different users (for instance, children, adolescents, or their parents), information on mental health, accessing mental health services, and downloadable resources for young people and their families as well as professionals to support young people before they access services and when they transition out of specialist services.
Launched World Mental Health Day 2011, Mymind.org.uk is an innovative website, twitter account and Facebook page developed for young people by young people in partnership with Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Trust Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CWP CAMHS). The web resource includes interactive elements tailored to different users (for instance, children, adolescents, or their parents), information on mental health, accessing mental health services, and downloadable resources for young people and their families as well as professionals to support young people before they access services and when they transition out of specialist services.
Access
The website is accessible for everyone interested in the mental health of children and young people, particularly those aged 5 to 19. Young people and parents are provided with access to downloadable resources to make use of on the move or in the comfort of their own home. They are also provided with the opportunity to work alongside participation workers to write and publish posts and blogs on the website.
Co-production
Young people are central to all of CWP CAMHS. Web resources were co-produced through the process of graphic facilitation, with animations about participation produced by young people themselves. Young people play a key role in the direction of the service, through membership of the Mymind steering group, with opportunities to work alongside participation workers to write and publish posts and blogs on mymind.org.uk. 50% of the posts are from young people and their families. In 2015 Mymind commissioned a group of young people to evaluate and review mymind.org.uk. The results of this review have contributed to making Mymind even better.
Collaborative working
Mymind.org.uk was developed by young people in partnership with CWP CAMHS. Partner organisations, including schools, Liverpool Football Club’s Community Coaches, Wirral’s Health School Service, and voluntary organisations work closely with Mymind and CWP CAMHS. Mymind also have close links with the new CWP 5-19 Health and Wellbeing Service’s Online Team. A collaborative project named ‘The Team of Life’ aims to build and cultivate resilience in children and young people. Furthermore, CAMHS have been working closely with secondary schools in Wirral on “you think”, a Mental Health peer mentor project.
Online and digital platforms and resources
Mymind has a range of online resources and digital platforms available to children, young people, and their families and carers:
Information about accessing CAMHS, what to expect, and links to other services
4D Toolkit page to complement the 4D toolkit cards, 20 cards focusing on specific Dialectical Behaviour Therapy skills
Social platforms, including Instagram, Facebook and Twitter (@Mymindfeed)
A YouTube channel with video clips of the animations contained online
There are downloadable podcasts and worksheets for young people to make use of at home or on the move within The Box +
‘MySleep’ has downloadable resources to help parents foster good sleep habits in their children; this includes sleep diaries, social stories and visual time-tables
Outcomes
The service is continually being evaluated, with regular feedback from children and young people. CWP CAMHS continues to engage children and young people in voicing their ideas about the service and of future developments.
Tips for other services in developing an online presence
It is imperative to include children and young people from the outset in developing a resource that is for young people, by young people. It is crucial to ensure that time is given for clinicians and admin staff to write ‘posts’ for the website and that there is someone dedicated to ensuring the smooth running of the website and twitter feed; supported by a steering group to ensure there are clear lines of governance for both the website and twitter feed. It is also important to:
Recognise the power of social media and to ensure that information provided remains up to date.
Always respond and engage with your followers on twitter. Keep up to date with what is trending and recognize the power in numbers.
Continue to run focus groups, seeking the feedback of children, young people and their families on the website, resources and how they can be further developed and improved.
What makes this service an example of positive practice?
The initial challenges faced were those of organisation, having to demonstrate the need to engage in social media and the importance of making accurate information about mental health issues relevant to children and young people. This was overcome by ensuring clear lines of governance and practice guidelines – these are now recognised as an example of good practice for social media by other trusts, for example, South Staffordshire and Shropshire Healthcare NHS FT have cited the Mymind twitter feed as an example of good practice.
Mymind.org.uk and @Mymindfeed have a robust set of operational procedures and Terms of Reference which are reviewed annually. There are clear procedures in place in terms of governance to ensure that anything published on the site has been approved by CWP CAMHS communications team and relevant clinicians. CWP CAMHS has trained over 20 clinicians and administration staff to be able to author posts for the website and a key number of people to act as supervisors to guide new authors in their task. The current chief operating officer, who has been in post since August 2013 continually updates peers at the Mymind steering group and the number of approved ‘tweeters’ has recently expanded to include participation workers. There are deputies in place to cover when the chief operating officer is on leave. Since October 2014, Mymind has had a member of staff dedicated to the running and development of the website and twitter feed.
Further details
Commissioning
??
Providers
Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Trust
Workforce (WTE)
WTE role (band)
Population size
1 million
Prevention and resilience – universal and early intervention for at risk
Access and advice – consultation lines, triage and signposting
