WAIT LESS WP4 Feasibility Study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Co-designing and Evaluating An Online Self-Help Brief Psychosocial Intervention (eBPI: MyMindWorks) For Young People With Mood Related Mental Health Problems To Reduce Waiting Lists in Specialist Children and Young People’s Mental Health Services: The WAIT LESS Feasibility Study
IRAS ID
343348
Contact name
Tamsin Ford
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Cambridge
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 10 months, 1 days
Research summary
The lengthy waiting list for Children and Young People’s Mental Health Services (CYPMHS) is a major barrier for young people trying to access mental health care. The average wait for the initial assessment is 9 weeks, followed by 20 weeks before treatment begins. However, even after the wait, one-third of young people attended only one session. We therefore believe that providing earlier access to support could help reduce distress among young people who require less intensive support, easing pressure on services, and allowing them to focus on those requiring more intensive treatment.\n\nWAIT LESS will test the feasibility and acceptability of MyMindWorks, a digital form of Brief Psychosocial Intervention designed to support young people on the CYPMHS waiting list. In previous work, the team has co-designed MyMindWorks and conducted user testing with young people, including those with lived experience of mood disorder, their parents/ carers, and healthcare professionals.\n\nMyMindWorks is a self-guided online platform accessed via smartphone or computer. It contains animations, online learning and videos with real therapists. It helps young people understand how the mind does and does not work, and encourages personal connections, social communication, skills and healthy habits to reduce isolation. \n\nIn this study we will check that we can recruit young people and their parents, collect data, and find out how they engage with MyMindWorks, to see if it is possible to run a larger trial in the future. We will recruit 80 young people aged 12 to 17 years from the CYPMHS waitlist. Each participant will be randomly allocated to either the intervention arm (MyMindWorks plus waiting as usual) or the control arm (waiting as usual). We will ask about their health and wellbeing up to 18 weeks after they start the study, and interview young people and parents about their experiences.
REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Leeds West Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
26/YH/0026
Date of REC Opinion
19 Feb 2026
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion