Matt O’Brien, Senior Children and Young Person’s Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner and Clinical Studies Officer
Matt works as part of the Community Behavioural Activation Training (ComBAT) research team.
He has been employed by Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys (TEWV) NHS trust since 2018 when he trained as a Children’s Wellbeing Practitioner at Northumbria University.
Our 60-second interview with Matt:
Could you please tell us what work you do in the field of mental health?
I train non-mental health professionals on the delivery of the ComBAT intervention and provide them with clinical supervision. I work with colleagues in TEWV and directly with young people recruited into the study.
What do you find most rewarding and inspiring in this work?
I find clinical work very rewarding, whether it be delivery of intervention, training or clinical supervision. I find it both rewarding & inspiring working with people. Ultimately, it is the process of recovery that inspires me the most about this work.
What is the most challenging or complicated aspect of this work?
Professionals working directly with young people and families are incredibly busy much of the time. This can be a barrier to their involvement and engagement with research.
What impact do you hope your work is having - or can potentially have?
I hope that ComBAT will further develop our understanding of Behavioural Activation with children and young people. I hope that young people will more readily have access to an effective, evidence based psychological therapy.
Could you share with us one piece of advice that you follow for your own mental health?
I try to ensure that I’m planning and doing activities that give me a balance of pleasure, achievement and connection in day-to-day life.