April 14, 2026
Empowering young people to overcome low mood and boost wellbeing
Our latest researcher of the month, Professor Maria Loades, is currently seeking teens aged 13 - 17 to take part in a new study. Her Unlock Wellbeing trial will test the efficacy of digital, single session, self-help interventions, which have been designed to help young people in need of mental health support to feel more hopeful, more in control, and less sad or low.
In the UK, there is currently a huge gap between the need for mental health support and access to help for young people. We know from a wide body of research that many young people feel unable to ask for help when experiencing depression symptoms. Whilst around 3% of young people are in contact with Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) at any point in time, this is only a very small percentage of those impacted by depression, anxiety or stress. In fact, at least one in three young people has at least some symptoms of depression, and one in 10 might meet the criteria for a mental health disorder.
There are several reasons why many young people do not seek, or receive, the support they need. Adolescence is a time of growing independence, and many teens prefer to manage difficulties on their own, speak to friends or look online, rather than reach out to adults for help. Although stigma has reduced, concerns about how others might perceive them, and uncertainty about what support is available, can also hold them back. Practical barriers also play a role. School and clinic hours often overlap, and services are not always easily accessible. Alongside this, there is a shortage of trained therapists in the UK, leading to high thresholds for support and long waiting times, even for those who do seek help.
Even more interestingly, of those young people who do seek formal support, almost 50% stop attending after just one session. Whilst one session may be sufficient for some, other young people may disengage due to practical challenges, or because the first session did not meet their expectations, even when further support was available.
Given the shortcomings of the current model of support, research by Professor Loades and her team has identified a need for additional help that is scalable, barrier free and available on demand.
After pilot tests, she's now planning a full randomised controlled trial to evaluate a series of self-guided, digital, single-session interventions for teens, and she's looking for volunteers. The interventions were originally developed by Professor Jessica Schleider in the Lab for Scalable Mental Health in the US, where they showed beneficial effects on symptoms of depression and anxiety as much as nine months after the intervention. They have been adapted by Professor Loades and colleagues for UK use.
Summary
Any teen interested in trying the interventions can sign up now and access the sessions immediately.
No referral is required. All of the sessions are online, take 30 minutes to complete and can be accessed at any time and anywhere, on any device that connects to the internet.
These single session interventions (or SSIs) are designed to be used once, rather than assuming that teens will return to use them again. They are short, standalone modules which introduce young people to some scientific information from evidence-based therapeutic principles known to support mental health.
For example, one session introduces the idea of behavioural activation - the principle that doing more of the things that matter to us can help improve how we feel. It explains why this approach works and how it has helped others. Young people are then guided to apply this idea in practice, first by working through an example, and then by reflecting on how it might apply to their own lives. This leads into simple, personalised action planning, helping them take small, meaningful steps forward.
The sessions have been co-designed with young people and have a normalising and non-clinical lens. The content avoids diagnostic language or labels, and instead recognises that struggling with mental health is a common part of human experience. The interventions focus on helping young people feel understood, supported and able to make positive behavioural changes, and encourage them to be kinder to themselves.
Implications
What can parents do?
Remember to look after yourself! The process of help seeking can be challenging for parents. By the time a young person reaches a clinic, families have often already navigated multiple steps including GP appointments, referrals and waiting periods, and may have had to advocate repeatedly for support. This can make the whole experience feel like a significant emotional and practical burden for everyone involved.
If your teen has sought help and is awaiting an appointment with mental health services, find out as much as you can about the therapeutic pathway they on. Many of us aren’t familiar with how these services are structured, so having a sense of what to expect can be valuable.
Talk to your teen in advance of any initial therapy appointment about the process. Preparing young people for the fact that the first session is often focused on assessment rather than immediate support can help to manage expectations. This can make the experience feel less confusing or discouraging, and reduce the risk that they feel put off from engaging further.
In general, maintain space for open conversation about difficulties your teen might be having. This might feel easier for your teen when they are doing something informal alongside you, or during a car journey, rather than as a face to face conversation. Let them know that you are there for them, willing to listen and that their emotions are just as important as everything else going on in their lives.
Gently encourage help-seeking, recognising that there is no one type of help which works for everyone. Suggesting a series of help-seeking options is a good way to empower teens. Ask your teen what they feel might help them most and encourage them to try it. Remind them that other options are available if it doesn’t work.
Ensure they know who is in their support network. For Tooled Up subscribers, our template might help.
Maintain open communication about digital support. There is nothing inherently wrong with young people seeking support online. In fact, it is often a positive sign that they are taking initiative and trying to find help for themselves. Professor Loades's research suggests that many young people are thoughtful and discerning when seeking support online. They tend to look for trusted indicators such as institutional logos (e.g. universities or the NHS), check information across multiple sources, and value resources shaped by the lived experiences of other young people. However, it is still important to support them to become critical consumers of the information they find. Not all sources are reliable, and some advice may be unhelpful or misleading. Open, ongoing conversations are key. Talk to your child about where they are going for support, what they are seeing or hearing, and how they are making sense of it. This creates an opportunity to gently guide them towards more trustworthy sources, and to help them recognise when something should be treated with caution.
Visit the Unlock Wellbeing website. Alongside access to the randomised controlled trial, it contains parent resources. This includes a single session Intervention for parents that helps to distinguish between the normal ups and downs of teenage life and symptoms that might be more indicative of depression symptoms, and encourages consideration of how to help for your teen.
Tips for schools
Schools are already doing a great job of destigmatising mental health issues. This work can be continued by encouraging help-seeking for all. Focus on emotional literacy, mental health and wellbeing at a whole school level, and then offer offer targeted support for young people who might be struggling or who are more likely to struggle.
Let young people know about the option of single session interventions if they need a bit of support. However, Professor Loades cautions against mandating whole classes or whole schools to use the interventions, as each pupil will have different individual needs and experiences. In mandating blanket interventions for all, whilst the majority might learn something, some young people might not find it helpful, and it could even be unhelpful or harmful for some.
Professor Maria Loades
Professor in the Department of Psychology, University of Bath
Professor Maria Loades is a clinical psychologist and Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Bath. She trained as a clinical psychologist at the University of East Anglia and has worked extensively in NHS mental health services, particularly within Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). Her research focuses on adolescent mental health, with a particular emphasis on improving access to early, evidence-based support for young people experiencing depression and anxiety. She leads the LAMP (spotLight on Adolescent Mood Problems) research programme, which aims to develop and evaluate scalable interventions, including digital and single-session approaches.
Professor Maria Loades
Professor in the Department of Psychology, University of Bath
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