North Kent Mind – Short Intervention Therapy (SIT)

Overview

The SIT service, delivered by North Kent Mind, supports children and young people in Medway aged 5-18 who are working with a social worker or early help practitioner, including those not attending school, as well as young adults aged 18-25 with Special Educational Needs or care leaver status. The service focuses on emotional dysregulation and associated behaviours, aiming to build wellbeing, resilience, and effective coping strategies.

Operating primarily within the Getting Help element of the iTHRIVE framework—with links to Getting Advice and Getting More Help—SIT also oversees Getting Risk Support through crisis responses and safeguarding referrals. Key partners include North Kent Mind staff, Medway Council, social care teams, Early Help, specialist mental health services, health professionals, personal advisors, and the CYP and families engaged with the service.

The service was created in response to significant gaps in existing provision, particularly for young people who do not meet thresholds for statutory mental health pathways or cannot access traditional appointments, such as those out of school or transitioning into adulthood.

Many referred CYP experience high levels of emotional distress, emotional dysregulation and associated behaviours, and challenges at home, in school, or in social settings. Their feedback highlighted a need for support that is quick, flexible, and tailored to diverse needs.

North Kent Mind lead this project in line with i-THRIVE principles to ensure a needs-led and collaborative service that meets young people where they are and ensures timely, meaningful support at the right level.

i-Thrive in Action

Needs-led: interventions tailored to individual emotional needs, not service thresholds.

Shared decision-making: young people co-create therapy goals and review their progress. Children, young people, families and professionals are actively involved in shaping the intervention. Through consultations and feedback sessions, the team develop ongoing flexible therapy models tailored to individual needs. Challenges such as engaging hard-to-reach groups are addressed through outreach and multi-agency collaboration

Proactive prevention: early, brief interventions prevent escalation and build resilience.

Goal-focused outcomes: each short intervention has clear, measurable aims.

Multi-agency collaboration: social workers, early help workers and other local professionals with CYP and their families share information and planning.

Conclusion and Next Steps

The Short Intervention Therapy Service has positively impacted emotional wellbeing and engagement for young people across Medway, particularly those with complex needs. Examples of positive change include improved emotional regulation, increased engagement with education and better family relationships. Professionals and families have responded positively, noting that the flexible, personalised approach has increased accessibility and engagement.

Barriers such as inconsistent attendance and initial reluctance from some young people were addressed through outreach, relationship-building and adapting sessions to individual needs

Lessons learned include the importance of flexibility, co-design with service users and multi-agency collaboration.

Advice for others implementing a similar service is to prioritise needs-led approaches, involve young people and families in design and maintain flexibility to meet diverse needs.