New study from Trust team calls for improved support for young people moving to adult mental health services
A series of recommendations to help improve mental health care for young people moving into services designed for adults have been made in a new research paper written by clinicians at Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust.
The paper – which has been published in the prestigious Personality and Mental Health Journal – is the culmination of three years of work by assistant psychologist and lead author Lauren Green, her colleague, Jonathan Chun Luen Tse, and overseen by principal clinical psychologist Dr Ann Fausset.
Ann said: “We are really honoured to have had the research paper published. We know there is a lot of good work going on across the country already, but we hope the interviews that were undertaken with service users and clinical staff working in young people’s and adult services, and the subsequent findings and recommendations we have published, will help shape future services and improve help and support for patients.”
It has long been acknowledged the move between child and adolescent mental health services and adult services can often be a challenging time. For young people moving to adult services – often at around the age of 18 – it marks a shift from family-centred care to more independent support.
During their research, Lauren, Jonathan and Ann found that four consistent themes emerged – the move from young people’s to adults services can be fragmented; young people lose the relationships they’ve built with clinicians; rigid NHS systems do not always match individual needs; and that the move to adult services and having more independence over managing their own care can be overwhelming for some.
The paper – which has been published in the prestigious Personality and Mental Health Journal – is the culmination of three years of work by assistant psychologist and lead author Lauren Green, her colleague, Jonathan Chun Luen Tse, and overseen by principal clinical psychologist Dr Ann Fausset.
Ann said: “We are really honoured to have had the research paper published. We know there is a lot of good work going on across the country already, but we hope the interviews that were undertaken with service users and clinical staff working in young people’s and adult services, and the subsequent findings and recommendations we have published, will help shape future services and improve help and support for patients.”
It has long been acknowledged the move between child and adolescent mental health services and adult services can often be a challenging time. For young people moving to adult services – often at around the age of 18 – it marks a shift from family-centred care to more independent support.
During their research, Lauren, Jonathan and Ann found that four consistent themes emerged – the move from young people’s to adults services can be fragmented; young people lose the relationships they’ve built with clinicians; rigid NHS systems do not always match individual needs; and that the move to adult services and having more independence over managing their own care can be overwhelming for some.
In their recommendations they have called for more to be done by child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) teams ahead of the transition period to help young people understand what will happen when they move to adult services, while adult services should clearly explain what support they offer and make sure that information is easy to understand.
The study — and an abstract can be read here - also calls for CAMHS and adult services to work more closely together during a young person’s transition and create plans that suit a patient’s individual needs and provide enough time for them to get used to how adult services operate ahead of them moving over.
Lauren, who works with Jonathan and Ann for the Trust’s Relational & Emotional Difficulties Service, which supports those over the age of 17 with mental health issues related to strong emotions and interpersonal difficulties, said: “We know there has been – and will continue to be – a lot of great work going on at our Trust to support young people moving to adult services, but as we found out during our research that can vary considerably in other parts of the country.
“Ultimately, we hope our findings and our recommendations will be adopted nationally and will make a difference for young people and those working so hard to support them.”
CPFT provides community physical health services for older people and adults with long-term conditions, mental health services, children’s community services in Peterborough, and learning disability services.
“Ultimately, we hope our findings and our recommendations will be adopted nationally and will make a difference for young people and those working so hard to support them.”
CPFT provides community physical health services for older people and adults with long-term conditions, mental health services, children’s community services in Peterborough, and learning disability services.
The Trust is also renowned for its research and development work and, in June 2025, was awarded teaching hospital partner status by the University of Cambridge.
ENDS
For more information contact:
Andy Burrows
Deputy Head of Communications