MHST reflections of a newly qualified clinical psychologist

Mental Health Support Teams were created as part of a Green Paper to transform the care that children, young people, and families receive for their mental health. Existing as a bridge between the healthcare and education systems, MHSTs combine an intention to offer early intervention and prevent distress/mental health problems from happening by working with schools and education institutions. Having worked in an MHST for 15 months, I reflect on my experiences across three main questions: How can MHST prevent distress? How do MHST balance early intervention and prevention? How can MHST make use of the evidence-base and its resources? The paper concludes with a call for increased creativity and collaboration with wider stakeholders, and a call for more practice-based evidence to support the whole-school approach to preventing distress/mental health problems.