Back then

It was 2012 and the children’s mental health division of NHS England had found its feet with a national programme to transform children’s mental health services. The pillars of the transformation were evidence-based therapies and outcome measures, large-scale education and upskilling of the children’s mental health workforce and, for the first time at this scale, children’s participation.

Equals in GIFT

We were a team of equals, professional colleagues and young experts by experience and together we designed, implemented and maintained the participation element of the national programme. We called our team GIFT – Great Involvement, Future Thinking.

Ten years on

Two early members of GIFT were young people Leanne Walker and Hannah Sharp, who both were using mental health services at the time. Imagine my surprise and delight when, ten years later they contacted me with the news that they had a book contract and would like to invite me to write a chapter. Again a team of equals coalesced around the participation theme, once more modelling participatory practice as an exemplar.

An essential guide

Participation in Children’s and Young People’s Mental Health was published in July 2023. It is a lasting testament to the power of participation, conceived of by two GIFT alumni, with every contributor writing from their own experience about the power of participation and its absolute necessity for positive mental health.

Live it (And read about it!)

This is more than another publication to add to my CV, nothing will ever make me as proud as I am to be part of this book. Participation is infectious – catch it, do it, live it and if you do nothing else, read about it in this book.