Mental health and the coronavirus research bites
We’re aware that parents, carers and professionals might have questions about how to support children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing during the coronavirus pandemic. Researchers at the Evidence Based Practice Unit, a collaboration between the Anna Freud Centre and UCL, are launching a new series of ‘mental health and the coronavirus research bites’. While these are not thorough or extensive reviews, they aim to offer concise and timely insights on some topical issues, to help us think about how we might best support children and young people.
Mental health and the coronavirus research bite #1: Self-management strategies for young people experiencing anxiety
Many strategies have been suggested for helping with anxiety, including social support, apps, exercise, the arts, relaxation and mindfulness. Evidence suggests that online courses (e.g. computerised CBT) and various kinds of physical exercise could help young people who are feeling anxious. However, many of the self-management strategies available to young people haven’t been evaluated, or where they have, often there isn’t strong enough evidence to help us understand their effectiveness. This doesn’t mean that these strategies aren’t useful for young people who are struggling with anxiety, it mostly means they haven’t been explored enough through research. Motivation is quite important in the success of interventions so young people being able to choose strategies they enjoy might help.
Click to view the Centre's previous research What Works for Me: The self-care approaches used by children and young people or to view our self-care resource for young people which was written by young people.