Innovations in Practice: group work with children who are in care or who are adopted: lessons learnt

Background There is limited evidence on effective group interventions for looked‐after and adopted children. A specialist Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) developed and evaluated a group intervention based on Mentalisation‐based therapy (MBT). Method Data was collected through semi‐structured interviews with all young people before and after the programme. Additional information was collected from the facilitators' reflective diaries. The study aimed to evaluate the impact and applicability of a Mentalisation‐based group programme on looked‐after and adopted children. Results Feedback from the young people indicated that the intervention had a positive impact on the young people. Conclusions Having a chance to meet other young people in similar circumstances, sharing experiences and making connections were the greatest benefits gained from the group.