Our approach to children's mental health



Our approach to children's mental health
Every day, children across the UK struggle with their mental health.
Our vital support helps them to reach their full potential.
The challenges
The need for our services grows every day.
Three children in every class have a diagnosable mental health problem.
Half of all mental health problems are established by the age of 14.
How we help
We are committed to helping children with their mental health. Our approach to children’s mental health means we aim to intervene early to prevent life-long mental health issues.
- We provide support early to spot mental health problems before they develop and help children cope with challenges throughout their lives
- We use an effective therapeutic approach backed by research that combines several ways of working
- We offer a menu of different services, including advice and support for families and school staff, to build resilience and raise awareness of mental health across the whole school community.
Providing support early
Place2Be is a pioneer in early intervention. We help schools understand and identify mental health problems, enable children to focus on learning and give them tools to cope with challenges throughout their lives.
This benefits society too. For every £1 invested, our counselling service in primary schools has the potential to return £8. Find out more about our benefit to society
Using an effective therapeutic approach
Our support allows pupils to express themselves in different ways through talking, creative work and play.
Our mental health professionals use an integrative therapeutic approach backed by research that brings together different strands of therapeutic thinking to support the development of each child and young person.
Find out more about our therapeutic approach
Offering a menu of different services
Place2Be offers a menu of different services to meet schools’ needs.
Each school with Place2Be on site has a qualified professional who runs our service(s) there.
We offer advice and support for families and consultations and training for school staff. Our services help build resilience and raise awareness of good mental health across the whole school community. The services we offer include:
- One-to-one counselling for pupils who are struggling
- Short appointments to talk about worries, booked by pupils
- Group work about friendship, self-esteem and other issues
- Training for school leaders and staff to make schools more mentally healthy
- Consultations for school staff about behaviour and wellbeing
- Advice and support for parents to help them look after their child
- Group programme using art and discussion to build pupils’ self-esteem.
Read about our school services
Making a difference
Evidence shows that our work makes a real difference to children’s lives. We collect data and analyse our impact in schools to help us improve our services.
Read about our statistics and evidence
We use evidence and experience working directly with children in the school environment to inform public policy across the UK.
We also engage politicians with our work to help raise awareness of the importance of supporting wellbeing within the school community and Place2Be’s lead role in this field.
News & blogs

Over 100 professionals join event to mark the launch of new Pro Bono Economics Report
Our online event illustrated the importance and long-term benefits of Place2Be’s work in schools.
Over 100 professionals join report launch event
Children’s mental health can’t wait for a new government
The crisis at the top of government can't be a distraction from a crisis in children's mental health, says Catherine Roche.
Read more
"Art is a superpower" - Xavier Leopold on how creativity unlocks our emotions
This Children’s Art Week Xavier Leopold, a self-taught artist, writes about what he has learnt from art as a creative outlet.
Read More