Training in psychological skills – early intervention for children (TIPS-EIC)

Let’s Introduce Anxiety Management (LIAM) 

LIAM is a staged training offer intended to develop skills in the delivery of a CBT-informed approach for the treatment of mild-moderate anxiety symptoms in children and young people.

Our new self-help LIAM resources to help all Parents, Carers and Trusted Adults to support their Children and Young People to manage Anxiety in an evidence-based manner are available on Turas Learn.

Find out more about LIAM on Turas Learn or by contacting psychology@nes.scot.nhs.uk. 

Brief behavioural activation for depression and low mood in children and young people (Brief BA)

Following the success of the Let's Introduce Anxiety Management (LIAM) intervention in Scottish schools, NES TIPS-EIC is offering Brief BA to address Low Mood/ Depression at the early intervention level, in school settings.

Find out more about on Turas Learn or by contacting psychology@nes.scot.nhs.uk.

Connecting with parent’s motivations

The NES psychology of parenting project offers the ‘connecting with parents’ motivations’ training which aims to help staff to use strength’s-based communication techniques to engage families with evidence-based parenting groups. TIPS-EIC can offer this one-day training to primary one and two teachers in Scottish schools to help them to engage families with local parenting supports, when this seems likely to be helpful.

Find out more about connecting with parent’s motivations training.

Psychological skills modules

These half-day training offers are intended to build skills in psychologically informed practice across the child workforce and enhance usual practice, followed up by ‘application to practice’ groups to help translate new skills into everyday working practices.

• Helpful conversations with children and young people
• Talking about emotions with children and young people
• Problem solving skills
• Motivational interviewing

Trauma and adverse childhood events (ACEs) training offer

TIPS-EIC psychology staff offer four half-day training modules, delivered face-to-face (or remotely) with follow-up ‘application to practice’ groups. This training builds on the NES Trauma In Children and Young People e-learning module (Skilled Practice Level) and the Sowing Seeds: Trauma Informed Practice animation which is for anyone who works with children and young people.

Further details about the TIPS-EIC Trauma Modules are below. Please get in touch with your local TIPS-EIC team to access this training. 

1. Compassion Fatigue and Self-Care 

• Think about how to look after ourselves and each other in the context of the work that we do.   
• Recognise the signs of burnout and secondary trauma.   
• Understand what we mean by compassion satisfaction.   
• Identify ways of preventing and managing burnout and secondary trauma

2. Why Trauma Matters  

• Develop our understanding of why trauma matters.  
• Consider different definitions of trauma.  
• Improve our understanding of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and the prevalence of trauma. 

3. The Psychological Impact of Trauma  

• Understand the impact of trauma on the brain.  
• Understand the survival response.  
• Introduce the concept of the Window of Tolerance 

4.Relationships and Recovery 

• Recognize how your work fits the phase-based model of recovery.  
• Understand what we mean by trauma-informed care.  
• Understand how services can prevent re-traumatisation.  
• Use the Getting it Right for Every Child National Practice Model to support recovery.  
• Safe, reliable, kind relationships with adults help children and young people recover from trauma. 

NES Psychology has also developed a suite of resources [PDF] to support staff to address the impact of psychological trauma on people of all ages.  

Other useful resources relating to working with trauma experienced children and young people can be found here at the Beacon House website

The UK Trauma Council has developed great resources to support individuals and organisations working to nurture and protect children and young people following trauma. You will find articles, animations, videos, guidance, handouts, presentations and more — all created by the UK’s leading childhood trauma experts.

National guidance for child protection in Scotland (Scottish Government 2021) was updated in 2023.

The Children and Young People's Mental Health and Wellbeing Joint Delivery Board

As part of the work of the Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Joint Delivery Board, NES has worked with stakeholders, as part of Task and Finish Group 6, to develop a programme of education and training to increase the skills & knowledge required by all staff to support C&YP’s mental health & wellbeing.

• The work of this T&F group was delayed at the start as members worked with the other T&F groups to clarify what would be useful. Five deliverables were agreed, in June 2022, to support workforce development across all T&F groups.
• All five deliverables are based on the principles of UNCRC and Getting it Right for Every Child and were informed by the Insights [JPG] report conducted with CYP.
• More information about each resource can be found at the links below.

1. A Digital Learning Map
2. One Good Adult Job Description
3. First Point of Contact
4. Training and Education Evaluation Toolkit
5. The Promise Sway

Anna Freud Mental Health Animations

NES is delighted to have worked with the Anna Freud Centre to re-dub these two excellent sets of animations and teacher toolkits to support both primary and secondary school pupil’s Mental Health. These are freely available for use in Scottish schools.

Please find the 2 animations 'Talking mental health' for primary school pupils and 'We all have mental health' for secondary school pupils here

Primary School Teacher Toolkit to accompany 'Talking mental health' can be found here

Secondary School Teacher Toolkit to accompany 'We all have mental health'  can be found here

COVID-19 Working with Young People and Families Resources

Click here to gain access to an array of resources that NES Psychology have either developed or reviewed and rated as being amongst the most relevant and accessible in supporting children, young people, parents and families (CYPF) mental health during COVID-19.

Anti-Bullying/respectme

respectme, Scotland’s anti-bullying service provides direct support to all adults who have a role to play in the lives of children and young people to give them the practical skills and confidence to deal with bullying behaviour, wherever it occurs.

This includes reviewing, formulating, implementing and evaluating locally relevant anti-bullying policies on which stakeholders have been consulted and providing training, information and support with guidelines, procedures and monitoring.

respectme has adapted and responded to the pandemic and provide training online. Please see www.respectme.org.uk/training for further information.

Useful links

• Mental Health Strategy 2017-2027
• Scottish Government resources about children’s rights
• The Children and Young People's Mental Health and Well-being Joint Delivery Board 
• Getting it right for every child (GIRFEC)
• Education Scotland - The Cycle of Wellbeing

Contact us

For more information on the courses and how to access the TIPS-EIC training please contact your local TIPS-EIC coordinator [PDF] or contact psychology@nes.scot.nhs.uk.