EPIC collects, reviews and shares practices relating to children and families from across the EU. We assess each practice for their existing evidence base and categorise them on one out of three different levels, based on the available evidence.  Detailed descriptions of the meaning of each can be found here.

Below we feature some practices on the EPIC website that focus on promoting mental health and well-being in children, parents and families. 

• From Sweden – Connect

Connect is a manual-based education programme for parents and alternate caregivers of pre-teens (ages 8- 12) and adolescents (ages 13-17) who have mental health issues and significant behaviour problems. Connect aims to improve caregivers’ ability to interpret the meaning of problematic and disruptive behaviours within the context of the parent-child relationship. Through Connect, caregivers attend small group sessions run by trained group leaders and take part in knowledge- and skill-building activities to help them learn how to respond to challenging behaviours. First implemented in Canada, Connect has also been used in Sweden.  Information about the programme and trainings is available on the programme website

• From the United Kingdom – FRIENDS programme

The FRIENDS programme is a manualised cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) intervention that aims to help children to develop skills to counter anxiety. The programme aims to teach children to develop their emotional awareness and regulation skills, help children to identify and replace anxious thoughts with more balanced ways of thinking, and develop children’s problem-solving skills to better cope with anxiety-inducing situations. This is explored through the acronym FRIENDS (Feelings, Remember to relax, I can do it, Explore solutions, Now reward yourself, Don’t forget to practice). An evaluation of the intervention through a randomised control trial suggested that children who took part in the FRIENDS programme reported fewer anxiety symptoms than children who did not receive this support.  Further information on the programme and evaluation can be found here.

• From Romania – Social-Emotional Prevention Programme (SEP)

The Social-Emotional Prevention (SEP) programme was designed and implemented in Romania with the aim of improving young children’s social and emotional competencies. The intervention involves three components: teacher-implemented activities that take place in the classroom, training for teachers and training session for parents. Through this holistic approach, the intervention was designed to foster good emotional and social skills in children at pre-school age (where such social and emotional competencies are considered to be more malleable). An evaluation of the intervention through a randomised control trial found that children in the group who received this support and who had their parents and teachers receiving this support performed more highly in tests of their emotional and social competencies (such as their cooperation, emotion understanding and emotion regulation). More information on the evaluation can be found here.   

For more information on each of these, or to search for more examples amongst our more than 100 practices available, please visit the EPIC platform here.

If you would like to learn more about how we assess practices, please see here for a detailed explanation of our process and criteria.