We are the champions

At Anna Freud, we aim is to work collaboratively with children, young people, parents and carers to ensure our services:

• best address the needs of those we aim to support

• are designed and delivered in the most appropriate way to reach those with the greatest need

• include innovative and effective approaches for our work

• are rights respecting services.

One of the ways we achieve this is through our Champions groups. These are made up of volunteers who are either young people with lived experience of mental health services or are parents/carers that have supported children and young people to access mental health services. They are all passionate about children and young people’s mental health.

In this blog, Nicola, who has been one of Anna Freud’s Parent Champions for more than seven years, tells us in her own words about her unique journey with us. She explains what it’s felt like to be part of Anna Freud’s drive to embed participation into all we do and the impact it can have.

If you're interested in embedding Participation into your service, check out our Participation Strategy, which is one year old this month.

Becoming a Parent Champion

“When I first became a champion, I felt a bit like a fraud. Being called a champion felt like I was claiming to be good at something when in fact I wasn’t quite sure as to what I could add. I think I didn’t really know what my participation would do working alongside professionals in the role. But I was wrong.

“In the early days of my role, I felt like my voice was tokenistic. Not because anyone made me feel that way, but that was simply a representation of the confidence I had in my voice. I knew that my experiences were valid, but I needed to understand how they could help others. I came close to quitting a few times; I was hungry for change, immediate results and impact as well as changing others view on mental health, something that I thought could happen overnight.

“The more I did, the more I realised that change does not happen immediately, and it can’t be done by one person alone. I think that was quite eye opening for me, just realising that there were so many branches of mental health and so much work to do.

Learning the importance and impact of participation

“I persevered with the role and gradually understood the importance and impact of participation. From meeting other champions, I learned how many of us have been affected by mental health in such different ways and how much each of us had to bring in terms of experience and ideas. I can remember a few phone zoom calls where some champions would leave me in awe – their insights were so interesting, and it taught me that what I experienced can be very different from one person to the next.

“The impact of something can vary so much person to person and this is why it is so incredibly important to bring the voice of those people to the table. It’s their way of thinking, their first-hand experience and knowledge that, in some cases, goes back decades hasn’t just affected them. but their family, their friends and their peers. What we as champions had to bring was so unique and insightful that even highly trained professionals hadn’t even necessarily considered. The young champions insights for example were so deep and articulate, I knew that at their age I wouldn’t have been able to express myself and inspire others so well.

Opening eyes to different thinking

“The more I worked with the Participation Team it has become clear that the champions as a group are creating a ripple effect of change. We all need to hear them, every one of them. We need to understand that regardless of what experiences or professional training we have had, those that have first had experience will open your eyes to other ways of thinking, new ideas, fresh insights and will have better reach in terms of audience.

“Mental health services need to be accessible for all and for that we need to learn from others. Participation is the key to this. “We are the champions, my friends, and we'll keep on fighting 'til the end. No time for losers, ‘cause we are the champions,”... of Anna Freud.”

Learn about our Participation Strategy and approaches

Learn more about the variety of approaches we take to involve children, young people and families in achieving our goals, via our Participation Strategy.

If you are a parent or carer and have experience of caring for a child with mental health difficulties, or perhaps have experienced mental health issues yourself, we’d like to hear from you.

Read our Participation Strategy