Parental Experiences of CAMHS during Child Protection Plans
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Exploring Parental Experiences of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services During Child Protection Procedures
IRAS ID
349898
Contact name
Eleanor Storey
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Canterbury Christ Church University
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 2 months, 28 days
Research summary
Child protection (CP) plans address significant risks of maltreatment (Royal Borough of Greenwich, 2024). CP services aim to reduce risks and improve outcomes through legal, physical health, mental health, and social interventions. Interventions often align to Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory (Bronfenbrenner, 1979; 2000), by supporting individuals and systems that influence child development (e.g. families and schools). Parental involvement in CP interventions can improve outcomes (Dixon et al., 2009; Masson et al., 2019), but many parents report negative experiences, feeling judged or excluded from decision-making (Smithson & Gibson, 2017; Serbati, 2017; Platt, 2012). Research into role identity theory suggests that child protection processes may threaten parental identity, leading to feelings of inadequacy or ambivalence, ultimately limiting ability to engage with services (Stryker, 1980; Smithson & Gibson, 2017; Bekaert et al., 2021).
During CP procedures, children may engage with Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). Edge-of-care CAMHS interventions aim to improve parent-child relationships and equip parents to support children at home. However, clinical psychologists suggest shame surrounding safeguarding concerns may prevent parents from accessing CAMHS (O’Connor et al., 2024). Despite this, little research has examined parents' own experiences of CAMHS during CP processes. Such understanding is needed for services to provide meaningful support. This study will explore how parents experience, perceive, and make sense of their involvement with CAMHS during CP procedures.
Participants will include parents and their co-habiting partners with day-to-day caregiving responsibilities. Their children would have been on CP plans between six months and three years ago, whilst accessing CAMHS. Participants will be interviewed individually, for approximately one hour, about their experiences of CAMHS during CP procedures. Recruitment will take place through the CAMHS services they were involved with, and interviews will be conducted at an NHS CAMHS site or online, via Microsoft Teams.REC name
Wales REC 7
REC reference
25/WA/0100
Date of REC Opinion
31 Mar 2025
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion