Teenagers win award for their film about mental health

The Barnsley Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) participation group made a film about their experiences of mental health and what it is like to receive NHS treatment.

The film, which tells their stories from their point of view, was produced alongside Barnsley video production specialists Deadline Digital.

The video was recognised at the South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust Excellence Awards, where it won the top prize in the Involvement and Engagement Excellence team category.

The film, called ‘CAMHS – What’s it all about?’ has had 740 views on YouTube since it was published in June.

Two of the young people in the film, Matthew Townend and Archie Whitehead, said: “Making this film was a great experience which forged friendships.

“We are super proud of what we achieved. Winning the award made us realise what an impact the film has had and has motivated us to continue with our work.”

Deadline Digital were brought in to film the group as they asked each other a series of questions about the importance of talking about mental health, how they had benefited from being part of Barnsley CAMHS and their own personal experiences of stigma and the CAMHS service.

Deadline Digital’s Senior Video Journalist Holly Droy said: “They were incredibly frank about their own experiences – good and bad.

“It was humbling to see how passionate they were about helping improve the experiences for young people – not just across Barnsley but, by using YouTube as a platform, young people right around the world.”