The use of social prescribing interventions for common mental health issues is expanding as clinicians seek to diverge from the traditional medical model of treatment. This intervention allows for the referral of patients to a nonclinical social activity via a link worker. Evidence for the benefits of social prescribing is growing. Most evidence is based on adults; however, a smaller number of studies involving children and young people have produced encouraging results. This evaluation reports on data routinely collected by the Linking Leeds service between 9 January 2019–11 January 2020. Linking Leeds provides Social Prescribing for people aged 16 years and above; however, the current paper focuses on service users aged between 16 and 25. Their aim is to connect people to services and activities in their community in order to benefit overall health and mental wellbeing. This evaluation of the Linking Leeds program supports the growing body of evidence to support the benefits social prescribing can have on young people’s mental health. Two main mechanisms were identified which underpin social prescribing in young people: social connectedness and behavioural activation.

Previous studies have shown that autistic people often display atypical responses when processing sensory information, with particular prevalence within the auditory domain. Often provoked by common everyday sounds, auditory hypersensitivity can result in self-regulatory fear responses. This can be potentially harmful to autistic individuals and the people around them and is associated with greater occurrence of anxiety, depression, and poorer overall quality of life in the autistic population. Rather than a physiological causation, the literature suggests that hypersensitivity to sound is likely to be caused by how auditory stimuli are processed in the brain. This paper reports a home-based digital intervention aimed to address auditory hypersensitivity in autistic children. Developed as an interactive virtual reality game, the system integrates exposure-based therapy techniques into game mechanics and delivers target auditory stimuli to the player rendered via binaural-based spatial audio. The performance of the platform was evaluated in a 10-week feasibility study, during which children (n = 7) engaged weekly with the game during a 30 min session. Following this period, a comparison of pre- and post-study measurements showed a decrease in sensitivity for five participants, with qualitative feedback highlighting an increase in tolerance towards real-world stimuli and challenging environments. These results provide initial support for SoundFields as a home-based intervention targeting auditory hypersensitivity experienced by autistic children.

All professionals engaged in clinical work should be competent to assess consent for the interventions they provide. This study assesses CAMHS clinicians confidence and knowledge in the various forms of consent and the number of minors admitted to mental health units in England under parental consent alone. An online questionnaire using vignettes of possible scenarios was sent to child and adolescent mental health practitioners in Tees Esk and Wear Valleys Trust. A freedom of information request was used to determine the number of young people admitted through parental consent. Thirteen of the 20 trusts contacted had no knowledge of the number of young people admitted under parental consent. A total of 93 participants completed the survey. Out of six vignettes, there were two where the majority of responses were discordant with current legal advice. Both of these vignettes considered the use of parental consent for admission to a mental health unit. This study provides further evidence to indicate that the current consent processes in CAMHS causes confusion for clinicians. There continues to be very few safeguards for children admitted under parental consent, with most trusts in England and Wales having no centralised knowledge of whether this is occurring and the numbers involved if it is.

Background: Adolescents with severe restrictive eating disorders often require NG feeding. This systematic review sets out to determine best practice for NG feeding. Methods: A systematic review following PRISMA guidelines was conducted using AMED, EMBASE and MEDLINE databases from 2000-2020. Inclusion terms: enteral feeding by nasogastric tube, under 18 years, eating disorders, and primary research. Exclusion terms: mental disorders other than eating disorders; non-primary research; no outcomes specific to NG feeding and over 18 years. Findings: 28 studies out of 106 met the full criteria. 51.7% of studies were deemed high risk of bias due to the type of study: 37.9% retrospective cohort and 10.3% RCT; 17.2% were qualitative. Studies identified 1) 6-66% required NG feeding; 2) staff and young people understand its necessity but generally view it as a negatively; 3) there are 3 main types of feeding regime: continuous, nocturnal and bolus; 4) high calorie feeds are not associated with increased risk of refeeding syndrome; 5) Common complications were nasal irritation, epistaxis, electrolyte disturbance, distress and tube removal; 6) length of stay in hospital may be longer in patients requiring NG feeding; 7) psychiatric and medical wards differ in approach; 8) concurrent therapy reduces NG use and aids recovery. Interpretation: All studies which reviewed the use of NG over a period of time found that it had increased significantly in recent years. This review is therefore timely in assessing the current body of evidence to allow cautious recommendations to be made and highlights the lack of high quality evidence around the use of NG feeding in eating disordered young people. Funding Statement: None. Declaration of Interests: The authors declare no competing interests.