Dr Beth Mosley awarded an MBE in the New Year Honours List 2022
Dr Beth Mosley's outstanding contribution to the mental health and wellbeing of young people in Suffolk has been formally recognised in the New Year’s Honours List.
Speaking about the award, Beth said “This award was a complete surprise and honour. I want to thank all the amazing people I have worked with that have made this possible, as well as my children, who have never complained about my unwavering commitment to the work”.
Beth, a consultant clinical psychologist who lives in Bury St Edmunds was one of the first clinical psychologists in the country to be appointed full-time in Thurston College to support students and the school community with their mental health.
Beth’s work at Thurston College was identified as best practice by health leaders and led to an expansion of the project. There are now scores of mental health clinicians working in schools across Suffolk including the Psychology in schools’ team and the Mental Health Support Teams from NSFT.
“Outside of the home, school is often the hub of a young person’s life and so is the prime environment to promote resilience and wellbeing.
“40% of adult mental health issues develop before the age of 14, yet only 25-40% of young people receive the right support.
“Young people are our future which is why it is so important they get the right help early on” said Beth
Even COVID couldn’t stop Beth and her Psychology in Schools Team from helping students and their parents. While the country was in lockdown and young people were being home schooled, they developed a program of online workshops to continue to support them.
“Over the last year nearly 7000 parents have attended or viewed our parent workshops on the key topics families and young people have been struggling with over this year, including anxiety and low mood. These workshops have provided invaluable support to parents during a time they have felt very alone. We are passionate about accessible and responsive advice to families based on their current challenges and strengths; so, these workshops being so popular and gratefully received has demonstrated the power of empowering communities with appropriate knowledge and skills to support themselves and one another”.
Beth is now busy working with young people to make short films on how to support their own and each other’s mental health. “Making sure we include young people in what we do is critical, they represent a generation who have learned first-hand about mental health and the impact of the pandemic on it; coupling their skills and talents with our mental health knowledge means we can create accessible material that young people can relate to, encouraging a culture of togetherness, rather than isolation when young people might be struggling with their wellbeing”