A word from our new CEO, Professor Eamon McCrory

As September begins, I’m reminded of those first days back at school after the summer break - filled with excitement and a touch of anxiety.

And today, a full 18 years after joining Anna Freud, I can sense those familiar feelings return as I step into my new role as CEO.

This is my first CEO position and I face the challenging task of replacing Professor Peter Fonagy CBE, Anna Freud’s leader for the past 21 years.

However, I know I will be building on solid foundations. I will be working alongside an exceptional group of colleagues who have always been willing to embrace complexity and respond with both care and creativity. And I am energised by what innovation and collaboration can deliver as we tackle many of the challenges faced by young people today.

Thank you to Peter

It would be remiss of me to speak about my plans for the future without reflecting on the fact we are also saying ‘goodbye’ to the exceptional Peter Fonagy.

Those of us who have had the privilege of working with Peter know the transformative and positive force he has been, not just at Anna Freud but across the entire field of mental health.

Under his leadership, our organisation has thrived. His exceptional judgment and vision have guided us to where we are today. Peter’s unparalleled expertise across science, clinical practice and mental health policy is universally recognised.

On behalf of everyone at Anna Freud, I want to express our deepest gratitude to Peter for his tireless dedication and commitment to improving the lives of children and young people.

About me

My own career in psychology is varied.

I began work as a cognitive neuroscientist before training as a clinical psychologist. As a Professor at UCL, I’ve dedicated my research to advancing our understanding of the brain’s role in the development of mental health problems following trauma and adversity, and the significance of the child’s social world.

And over the past 18 years at Anna Freud, I’ve helped to build our large portfolio of postgraduate programmes in child mental health while also co-founding the UK Trauma Council. Most recently, I served as Co-Director of the Clinical, and Education and Training teams and Co-Director of the UK Trauma Council, an Anna Freud initiative.

Beyond my professional credentials, my personal experiences have had a profound effect in shaping who I am today. Growing up during the Troubles in West Belfast in the 1970s and 1980s, I was no stranger to violence or instability. These experiences gave me a personal understanding of trauma that I have sought to deepen through my professional research and practice.

My vision for Anna Freud and mental health support

My vision for Anna Freud is rooted in two core principles: innovation and collaboration.

These values have been central to our organisation since its inception, and I believe they are two sides of the same coin.

What sets us apart in this sector is that we’re not just here to maintain the status quo or deliver on what we already know. Instead, our mission is to advance understanding and practice, particularly in relation to effective prevention.

This is, quite simply, more important now than ever before.

I firmly believe that the scale of the current mental health challenge for children and young people cannot be met with more of the same - not even with more resources.

Instead, we must continue to strive to develop and evaluate fresh ideas and approaches. We must significantly improve access to this new knowledge by widely sharing the latest scientific and clinical insights. And we must collaborate more internally and externally so we can learn more from each other and leverage the extraordinary breadth of our collective expertise.

I am confident that, by integrating science with the voices of young people, parents and carers, and by working in close collaboration with our partners and the wider sector, we can have a transformative societal impact and radically improve current models of prevention and intervention for the many thousands of young people who need help and support.

Keep up to date

It’s been a while since many of us will have walked through the gates for a new school year, but today feels like another kind of fresh start for me.

I feel incredibly privileged to lead such an extraordinary group of people within Anna Freud and I will endeavour to continue to share the progress we make over the coming months and years.

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