Trauma, anxiety and depression

Childhood trauma and emotional distress are strong predictors of mental health issues later in life. At the King's Maudsley Partnership, we bring together world-leading researchers and clinicians to better understand, prevent, and treat trauma, anxiety, and depression in children and young people - and to make support available sooner. We focus on getting the best outcomes for children, young people and their families through our research and patient care.

The challenge

Across the UK, increasing numbers of children and young people are presenting with traumatic stress, anxiety and depression, often alongside other mental health or neurodevelopmental conditions. These challenges are also closely linked to the rise in self-harm among young people.

But there are not enough specialist services and support to meet the demand. There is a national shortage of trained clinicians able to deliver effective treatments, particularly for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and self-harm, and lengthy treatment pathways can mean long waits and worsening symptoms.

Driving change through the King’s Maudsley Partnership

At the King’s Maudsley Partnership, we are addressing this challenge across three interconnected areas of work: aetiology & prevention, intervention development & evaluation, and workforce & implementation. These themes cut across conditions including trauma-related disorders, anxiety and depression, reflecting our shared focus on mechanisms, risk and recovery rather than diagnosis-specific silos.

Aetiology & prevention

Our research examines the causes and developmental pathways of mental health difficulties in children and young people.

This includes work on traumatic experiences such as abuse and bullying, alongside broader biological, psychological and social risk factors for anxiety and depression.

We use large datasets to understand how these risks interact over time, identify patterns of resilience, and determine which groups of young people are most likely to benefit from early intervention. This evidence base underpins more precise approaches to prevention and early identification across clinical, educational and community settings.

Intervention development & evaluation

We develop and evaluate novel interventions for trauma-related disorders, anxiety and depression, including transdiagnostic approaches targeting shared mechanisms, with a focus on improving clinical impact, accessibility and scalability.

This includes digital and blended (i.e., combining digital tools with practitioner support) delivery models, as well as interventions delivered in schools and community settings, extending effective care beyond specialist clinical services.

A key priority is the development of brief, psychologically precise interventions that target core mechanisms of distress, aiming to improve outcomes while increasing efficiency and reducing waiting times.

We also examine how psychological and biological mechanisms interact to maintain or reduce symptoms, informing more targeted and personalised approaches to treatment. Lived experience from children, young people and their families is embedded throughout the design process, enhancing the relevance, acceptability and responsiveness of interventions.

Workforce & Implementation

We are committed to delivering evidence-based prevention, early intervention and treatment at scale.

This includes national training programmes for clinicians, alongside support for the wider Children's and Youth Workforce to enable earlier identification of emerging mental health difficulties and appropriate first-line responses.

By embedding knowledge and skills across services and settings, we aim to strengthen early help, reduce delays to care, and ensure that effective interventions reach those who need them most.

Specialist clinical care

The Pears Maudsley Centre is home to the National and Specialist Service for young people experiencing anxiety, depression, and PTSD.

We support young people from our local communities, throughout the UK, and even internationally. This includes those who have faced severe trauma, such as abuse, violence, or natural disasters. Many young people we support come from families where trauma impacts several members, and our work often involves helping siblings and entire families at the same time.

Our clinicians are among the most experienced in the UK. We deliver evidence-based treatments that are proven to work, including approaches recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for young people who self-harm. Through our research and clinical practice, we aim to achieve the best possible outcomes for children, young people and their families.

I have never ever in my whole life felt freer than I do right now. And that safe place we did, I still use it and it still helps but it's very rare I need to. I couldn't have done this without you and I'm glad I got to do it with you. You were a great part of my recovery, and I will never forget you ever.

Young person treated for PTSD

Case study: Single-session interventions

The EarlyBIRDS project (Early and Brief Interventions to Reduce Daily Stress) is co-designing and evaluating a suite of brief, evidence-based early interventions for 16–19-year-olds with emerging symptoms of anxiety or depression.

These “single-session interventions” (SSIs) are intended to deliver meaningful support in a single encounter, while allowing for further engagement where needed. Access to online SSI materials is supported by a trained youth worker and can be facilitated within an established, trusting relationship.

This approach has the potential to offer low-cost, accessible support in familiar community settings and may help reduce barriers while young people are waiting for, prefer not to engage with, or are unable to access specialist mental health care.

This work brings together researchers, clinicians, youth work practitioners and community organisers from:

It’s supported by the Maudsley Charity through the Building Brighter Futures programme.