Bringing professionals together to support children in complicated situations

Throughout Mental Health Awareness Week and beyond, we’re exploring how to turn evidence into action to support the mental health of children, young people and families. This includes sharing some projects that show how our work is using the latest evidence to transform wellbeing, through classrooms, clinical practice and decision-making at the heart of government.

The Connect: UK Trauma Council Community of Practice launched in March 2026. It is a three-year project funded by the Department for Education, working jointly with NHS England, supported by the Ministry of Justice and the Department of Health and Social Care.

Adelaide O’Mahony, Project Lead for Connect and Senior Impact and Engagement Manager at the UKTC - an Anna Freud project - tells us more.

What’s the aim of Connect?

The aim of Connect is to create a collaborative space where professionals can come together to share learning and promising practice.

We recognise that services are under significant pressure, and although professionals are working hard to provide the best possible care, this can often lead to siloed working. There is not always enough time or opportunity for different professionals involved with the same young person to connect and coordinate their approaches. As a result, care can become fragmented, with children and families being ‘ping-ponged’ between services and not receiving the consistent support they need.

Connect aims to address this by bringing together people from a wide range of roles and settings including commissioners, decision-makers, service leaders, frontline practitioners, and others involved in supporting young people. Through shared thinking, language, and collaborative learning, we hope to encourage a more integrated and consistent approach across the country, reducing the ‘postcode lottery’ of support and improving outcomes for children and families.

How is Connect transforming evidence into action?

The needs of many young people who have been exposed to repeated and continuing high-threat experiences, adversity and trauma often go unmet.* This may include domestic abuse, adverse childhood experiences and exposure to violence. What seems clear is that their needs can rarely be met effectively by one service in isolation.

Connect already has gained more than 1,000 members, many of whom are supporting young people whose difficulties often stem from ongoing, interpersonal, or what is sometimes called complex trauma. They are keen to learn from one another and share what has helped their service to better support young people. For example, last month we had colleagues from the West Midlands Trauma Vanguard present on how they have made integrated working possible in their region, and the response from members was brilliant.

Tell me one thing you’ve learnt from the project so far?

How generous people have been with their expertise, and how strongly they feel about wanting better outcomes for the children and families they work with. The professionals working in this space are incredibly busy, yet they're still finding the time to lend their resources and guidance to other people. It's amazing, really.

Tell us about your role

My role has been to lead the tech development of the platform and to build the content and engagement strategy of the community. Alongside my work at the UKTC I work as a psychotherapist with adults, which has reinforced for me the importance of early intervention in a person’s life. My focus now is on ensuring Connect delivers real, practical value for members, while continuing to grow in a thoughtful way.

What change would you like to see to improve the mental health of children, young people and families?

I’d like to see a stronger ‘No Wrong Door’ approach embedded across mental health services, where young people and families are never turned away or left to navigate complex systems alone. It can be hard to know where to go for help even at the best of times, let alone when things have become overwhelming. The responsibility should sit with services to coordinate care, communicate effectively with each other, and ensure people are supported to access the right help, rather than expecting children and families to repeatedly retell their story.

Find out more

Anna Freud is a mental health charity, transforming care for children and young people through science, collaboration and clinical innovation.

This Mental Health Awareness Week, transform evidence into action and build the wellbeing of children and young people by making a donation today. You can also find out more about the UK Trauma Council and their work.