Mending young minds. 1/2.

Part One. Juliet Singer visits young patients at the Tavistock & Portman Centre to share their experiences suffering from mental illnesses. Medical Director, Tavistock & Portman NHS Foundation Trust Rob Senior talks about the lack of attention given to children's emotional wellbeing in the field of medicine. Singer talks to Consultant Clinical Psychologist Rachel James, one her patients, who suffers from extreme OCD, and the patient’s mother. They discuss Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and the impact therapy has had on the patient’s life. Director, Child & Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) Rita Harris discusses The Tavistock Clinic’s attempts to understand further how mental health issues can often develop from early childhood experiences. Singer visits Head Teacher Nell Nicholson at Gloucester House School (run by The Tavistock Clinic) – an institution aimed at building resilience in children with emotional difficulties and mental ill health. Nicholson describes the learning environment and how psychiatric care is integrated into school life. Singer interviews a 10-year-old pupil with behavioural issues and anxiety, and his adoptive father. Consultant Psychologist Lavern Antrobus explains how looking at a child’s early relationships informs a psychologist’s understanding of the development of mental health problems in children. Antrobus explains how attachment and trust issues develop in children. Harris explains how the lack of a secure base affects a child’s mental/emotional development. Head of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry at The Tavistock Clinic Sarah Wynick explains the talking cure. She goes on to discuss her experiences of how schools tackle mental ill health symptoms in their pupils. Singer interviews Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Systemic Psychotherapist Vicky Lidchi, one of her patients, who suffers from self-esteem issues and severe Dyslexia, and the patient’s mother. Lidchi explains Systemic Psychotherapy. The contributors discuss how we might all improve our understanding of and attention to children’s emotional and mental wellbeing.