Latest news
Brandon Centre MST trial findings are published
A paper reporting the quantitative findings from the Centre's MST trial was published in the New Research section of the December issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (volume 50, number 12, Dec 2011, Pgs 1200-1235). In the same issue there was a favourable editorial on the research (pages 1208-1209). The trial tested the effectiveness of MST compared to usual youth offending team services.
Annual report and accounts for 2010/11
Click the links below to view the Brandon Centre's annual report and accounts for 2010-2011:
http://www.brandoncentre.co.uk/images/uploads/BC annual report 2010-11.pdf
http://www.brandoncentre.co.uk/images/uploads/Accounts 2010-11.pdf
Dates announced for new parenting programmes
The next parenting groups covering the Parenting with Love and Limits programme will begin on Thursday 12th January 2012 at 6:00 p.m. and Friday 13th January 2012 at 10:00 a.m for 8 weeks. Please see the Parenting section of the site for more details.
New MST Initiative in Waltham Forest
The Brandon Centre sucessfully tendered for a new MST therapist to work in Waltham Forest on a programme helping families of young people involved in gangs. The new MST therapist will join the Centre's MST- Substance abuse (SA) team.
MST-PSB Trial
The MST-PSB pilot is to become a randomised control trial from the beginning of October 2011. University College London will be responsible for the evaluation over a period of three years. MST-PSB (Multisystemic therapy-problem sexual behaviour) is an adaptation of standard MST which has been successfully tested in the USA in tackling severe youth problem sexual behaviour. For more details for MST-PSB see the Multisystemic therapy section of the website.
New Partnership with Action for Children
The Brandon Centre and Action for Children have formed a partnership aimed at supporting Action for Children in developing MST as a service offered to families requiring intensive support. Action for Children is the largest children's charity in England.
New MST Team
The Brandon Centre joined Haringey and Waltham Forest to apply for funding from the Department of Education to develop an evidence-based programme for children and young people on the edge of care or custody. The successful bid means that the centre will shortly be recruiting a third MST team. This is a four year programme leading to MST eventually becoming a main stream service within these local authorities. Click here for more information.
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123 Magic Group for Islington parents of children with ADHD
London borough of Islington has commissioned the Brandon Centre to run another eight-session group for the parents and carers of children aged 5-13 years with ADHD/ADD. The group will meet weekly on Thursday mornings from 10am-12pm at the Brandon Centre, starting in January 2012. It is open to Islington parents and carers of young people who have been diagnosed with ADHD by a designated specialist. Parents and carers should be referred by an Islington professional. Please contact Joanna Brett on 020 7424 9935 for more information.
Brandon Centre cited in the new mental health strategy
The Brandon Centre has been highlighted as an example of good practice in the government's new mental health strategy 'No health without mental health'. On page 17 of the document it notes the different services which the Brandon Centre offers and how well the centre engages young people, it states that the Brandon Centre "...has a good track record in terms of engaging with young people whom other services find hard to reach". To see the full document click here
Brandon Centre is featured in two BBC Radio 4 programmes
The Brandon Centre was featured on BBC Radio 4's Women's Hour on Tuesday 11 January 2011. The programme ran a piece on MST (Multisystemic Therapy) in which Charles Wells (MST Supervisor at the Brandon Centre) was interviewed along with Cathy James from the Department of Health and a mother from a family who had received MST.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00x93vj/Womans_Hour_11_01_2011/
Later there was a longer programme at 8pm on Radio 4 called 'Children who kill'. It covered a number of developments in youth justice, including an interview with Frances Done from the YJB and also a much longer piece on MST featuring the Centre's work.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00x93vj
Brandon Centre commended in Sir Ian Kennedy's review of children's services in the NHS
In discussing mental health services for young people, on page 32 of his report Sir Ian Kennedy describes the Brandon Centre as an outstanding example of a service based on self referral.
Multisystemic therapy Contingency Management (MST CM)
A grant from the Pilgrim Trust is supporting a small pilot of MST CM for young people involved in serious substance abuse. MST CM is an adaptation of MST Standard and involves the use of frequent drug testing and incentives to achieve the treatment goal of the young person not using drugs. The pilot is being run in partnership with Forward, Camden's substance misuse service for young people.
New family therapy service
The Brandon Centre has started a family therapy service for 12 to 17 year-olds with a substance misuse problem supported by a grant for three years from the J Paul Getty Foundation. The intervention is based on strategic family therapy. It lasts between 12 and 25 sessions and is delivered in the family home. For further information telephone Geoffrey Baruch on 020 7267 4792.
Camden awards C Card scheme to the Brandon Centre
The Brandon Centre has won the contract to run Camden's C Card scheme from 1 September 2010 until 31 March 2011. The service aims to improve the use of condoms amongst Camden's young people by providing high quality free condoms of the young person's choice and by ensuring that young people have the education,and skills to use condoms safely and effectively. The scheme has been successfully implemented at the Centre and now Jessica Thom, our contraceptive and sexual health service coordinator, will support other Camden providers in putting the scheme into practice .
BBC online features Centre's MST trial
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-10786202
Department of Health and National Mental Health Development Unit report initial MST trial findings
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/MediaCentre/Pressreleases/DH_117344
Guardian reports Brandon Centre initial MST trial findings
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/jul/09/ministers-back-multisystemic-therapy
Brandon Centre’s work commended in Society Guardian
Martin Brookes, chief executive of New Philanthropy Capital, an organisation that analyses charities’ performance, has praised the effectiveness of the Brandon Centre in providing evidence-based results for a recent Multisystemic Therapy trial.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/may/26/charities-big-society-impact-evidence
Society Guardian article quotes the work of the Brandon Centre
Martin Brookes chief executive of New Philanthropy Capital (NLP), an organisation that analyses charities’ performance, quoted the work of the Brandon Centre as an example of how to use evaluation to develop and improve a charity’s services. In an article discussing how to analyse and reflect on a charity’s performance using NLPs recently published The Little Blue Book he referred to how the Centre’s evaluation of its psychotherapy service led to the piloting of Multisystemic Therapy (MST) and eventually the roll out of MST by the Department of Health, Department of Children Schools and Families and Youth Justice Board.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/feb/10/public-manager-martin-brookes
New Philanthropy Capital quotes Brandon Centre’s MST project
In a report on how the charity sector is contributing to tackling youth crime New Philanthropy Capital refers to the Centre’s work on MST http://www.philanthropycapital.org.
Counselling news
The Centre now offers Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for young people. If you would like to find out about CBT go to the website of the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
New Philanthropy Capital Recommends The Centre
New Philanthropy Capital (NPC) is a charity that maximises the impact of donors and charities - it does this through independent research, tools for charities and advice for donors. Its research guides donors on how best to support causes such as cancer, education and mental health. As well as highlighting the areas of greatest need, NPC identifies charities that could use donations to best effect. Heads up,NCP’s report on children and young people’s mental health, explores how charities are helping young people recover from mental health problems. The Brandon Centre is one of the charities that NPC highlights as a centre of excellence New Philanthropy Capital website.
Multisystemic Therapy
The Centre’s has been funded by the Department of Health and the Youth Justice Board to participate in a 3-year pilot of MST testing its effectiveness in treating problem sexual behavour among young offenders convicted of sexual offences.
Contraceptive and Sexual Health Service
Under the C-Card Scheme, we are now providing various types of condoms including Durex©. Come to our condom drop-in service and pick up plain, flavoured, mixed or pleasure packs.
We now provide urine STI (Sexually Transmitted Infection) testing for gonorrhea for young men as well as young women. If you would like to book an appointment to have a urine gonorrhea test, please contact the centre on 020 7267 4792 or email contraception@brandoncentre.org.uk
Via the Chlamydia Screening Programme, we also provide self-testing kits for Chlamydia (a sexually transmitted infection) for young people wanting to drop-in and test.
New email addresses
The Centre can be contacted on the following email addresses.
Administration: admin@brandoncentre.org.uk
Contraceptive Service: contraception@brandoncentre.org.uk
Psychotherapy and counselling: counselling@brandoncentre.org.uk
Multisystemic therapy and parenting programmes: familyservice@brandoncentre.org.uk
Counselling at the Drum: drum@brandoncentre.org.uk
The Director: gfbaruch@btconnect.com
