Children and Young People: Mental Health Promotion
“There is increasing expectation that nurses will assess the needs as well as the presenting concerns of children and young people. They are in the right place to promote the psychological and emotional well-being of children and families and to prevent the development of mental health problems by being aware of the factors that can put children and young people at risk.” (RCN, 2014, Children and young people’s mental health: every nurse’s business). Use this guide to find information resources about mental health promotion, including books, reports and journal articles.
Last updated:
27/10/2022
Key Resources
Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (2022) Mental health - state of child health. London: RCPCH.
Bush M (2018) Addressing adversity: prioritising adversity and trauma-informed care for children and young people in England. London: Young Minds Trust.
Care Quality Commission (2018) Are we listening: a review of children and young people's mental health services. London: Care Quality Commission.
Children’s Commissioner for England (2021) The state of Children’s mental health services 2020/21. London: CCfE.
Centre for Mental health (2021) Children and young people’s mental health: the facts. London: CfMH
Department of Health (2015) Future in mind: Promoting, protecting and improving our children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing. London: DoH and NHS England.
Frith E (2016) Children and young people's mental health: time to deliver: the report of the Independent Commission on Children and Young People's Mental Health. London: Education Policy Institute.
Irish Mental Health Commission (2009) Headspace toolkit for young people who are inpatients of mental health services: your guide, IMHC.
Mental Health Foundation (2014) How to improve mental wellbeing in youth work practice. London: Mental Health Foundation.
National Assembly for Wales Children, Young People and Education Committee (2018) Mind over matter: a report on the step change needed in emotional and mental health support for children and young people in Wales. Cardiff: NAW.
NHS Health Education for England MindEd: e-learning to support healthy minds.
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MindEd provides free open access online training in emotional and behavioural ‘first aid’ and essential therapeutic skills for all those involved in the mental wellbeing and care of children and young people in the UK. It is applicable to a wide range of learners across the health, social care, education, criminal justice and community settings.
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Public Health England (2016) The mental health of children and young people in England. London: PHE.
Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (2020) Role of paediatricians in supporting children and young people's mental health - position statement. London: RCPCH.
Royal Society for Public Health (2017) #StatusOfMind: social media and young people's mental health and wellbeing. London: RSPH.
YoungMinds
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UK charity committed to improving the emotional wellbeing and mental health of children and young people.
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Books on Prescription
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A reading list of expert endorsed books about mental health, providing 13 to 18 year olds with advice and information about issues like anxiety, stress and OCD, and difficult experiences like bullying and exams. The books have all been recommended by young people and health professionals, and are available to borrow for free from public libraries.
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We would like to thank the RCN CYP Staying Healthy member community for their input into the development of this subject guide.
Books
Bailey S, Tarbuck P and Chitsabesan P (eds.) (2017) Forensic child and adolescent mental health: meeting the needs of young offenders. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 
Baldwin L (ed.) (2019) Nursing skills for children and young people’s mental health. Cham: Springer.
Melnyk B M and Lusk P (2021) A practical guide to child and adolescent mental health screening, evidence-based assessment, intervention, and health promotion. 3rd edn. New York: Springer.
Yearwood E L, Pearson G S and Newland J A (2021) Child and adolescent behavioral health: a resource for advanced practice psychiatric and primary care practitioners in nursing. Hoboken: John Wiley and Sons.
Bradshaw J (2016) The well-being of children in the UK. 4th edn. Policy Press.
Channa K (2017) A healthy state of mind: improving young people's mental fitness. London: Localis.
Coverdale G and Donovan H (2019) With children in mind: current research and policy developments on mental health and young people. Bradford: Emerald.
Howard C, Burton M and Levermore D (2020) Children’s mental health and emotional well-being in primary schools: a whole school approach. 2nd ed. London: Learning Matters.
Landolt M A, Cloitre M and Schnyder U (2017) Evidence-based treatments for trauma related disorders in children and adolescents. Cham: Springer.
Laver-Bradbury C, Thompson M, Gale C, Hooper C (2021) Child and adolescent mental health: theory and practice. 3rd edn. Abingdon: Routledge.
Mainstone-Cotton S (2017) Promoting young children’s emotional health and wellbeing: a practical guide for professionals and parents. London: Jessica Kingsley.
Manassis K (2016) Cognitive behavioural therapy with children: a guide for the community practitioner. 2nd edn. London: Routledge.
McDougall T (2016) Children and young people's mental health: essentials for nurses and other professionals. London: Routledge.
Morley D and Street C (2014) Mixed experiences: growing up mixed race: mental health and well-being. London: National Children’s Bureau.
Padmore J (2016) The mental health needs of children and young people: guiding you to key issues and practices in CAMHS. Maidenhead: Open University Press.
Pattison S, Robson M and British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (2018) The handbook of counselling children and young people. 2nd ed. London: SAGE.
Theodosiou L, Knightsmith P, Lavis P and Bailey S (2020) Children and young people's mental health : early intervention, ongoing support and flexible evidence-based care. Shoreham by Sea: Pavillion.
Walker S (2019) Supporting troubled young people: a practical guide to helping with mental health problems. St Albans: Critical Publishing.
Book subject searches
Use these links to see details of books the RCN libraries hold on each topic.
Journal articles
Use these links for details of journal articles on each topic.
Journals
Journals of interest for children and young people mental health promotion. Use these links to see details of availability.
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Caroline Lynch
Editor of this guide
RCN Library and Archive Service
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Page last updated - 27/10/2022
