SCOTLAND
Dundee - Powering a response
Dundee is known for being one of the most deprived and poverty stricken areas in Scotland with high generational unemployment, drug dependency, mental health issues and some of the highest suicidal rates in Britain, all of which significantly increase the risk for ACE’s and poor mental health in children and young people.​
A recent Young Minds survey in the Dundee area revealed:
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50% of mental health problems are established by age 14 and 75% by age 24.
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10% of children and young people (aged 5-16 years) have a clinically diagnosable mental problem,
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yet 70% of children and adolescents who experience mental health problems have not had appropriate interventions at a sufficiently early age.​
We wanted to address the issue that 70% of children and adolescents who experience mental health problems have not had appropriate interventions at a sufficiently early age.
Thanks to three years of funding from The Robertson Trust, the Listening Stone Programme (LSP) has been successfully delivered to 18 therapeutic groups across over 14 primary schools in Dundee’s most deprived areas. Each group supported an average of 8 children, aged 5–11 who directly benefited from the programme.
The children were specifically referred by their teacher due to concerns about their mental health due to anxiety issues, loss, bereavement, neglect, emotional and physical abuse, or other adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). The groups were led by an experienced dramatherapist and a support worker
​From these sessions there was a 60% improvement in anxiety and stress of children that had attended the programme, and a 30% improvement in emotional regulation and conduct.
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“I feel more confident in myself and I have more friends now and it's ok to talk about how I’m feeling” - aged 8
For the Love Of a Child was able to work with Dundee city council foster and adoption services. We delivered one group of The Listening Stone Programme (LSP) to young foster care children aged 5-6 years. Many of these children had experienced early years trauma due to neglect or loss of a parent. The LSP story helped the children process some of their early years trauma through projections onto the story or puppet used in the programme.
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Ukrainian Refugees
The LSP was also delivered to Ukrainian refugees to work through trauma and help adjusting to life and school in Scotland accompanied by group therapy session for their mothers.
“Thank you for giving my son back to me.”
- Parent of child who went through the programme
