PMH is one of the few charities in the UK that specifically helps parents who are supporting a child with mental health challenges and whose needs and impact for positive change are all too often overlooked. In most cases support is focused on the child and parents are left isolated, unaware of what the best approach is having to try and cope on their own. The impact on families can be devastating. Friendships, social activities, work, school and family relationships can be disrupted. All energy is focused on the one child with their siblings often feeling neglected. For parents, realising that their child is struggling with their mental health, that they might be experiencing anxiety and depression, suicidal, self-harming or have an eating disorder, is incredibly difficult to come to terms with and accept and they feel totally out of control. They often blame themselves for the struggles their child is enduring. It is the start of an emotional roller coaster, with many finding it hard to cope having nobody to turn to for help and support.

PMH was founded by Suzanne Alderson who through her own experience of supporting her daughter Issy through depression, anxiety and suicide attempts, witnessed first-hand the total lack of support available for parents, decided to do something about it. In 2016 she set up a Facebook group aimed at addressing this gap in support and now the charity has flourished into an online community with over 42,000 members from across the world. Our charity offers 24/7 care, support and information to parents, many of whom are separated and on low incomes. We enable parents to connect with other parents in similar situations.

Our current support includes our Partnering not Parenting programme, a safe Facebook community with a variety of sub-groups to reduce isolation, Chat and Connect, online support groups, as well as respite care. The work we do equips parents to deal with and cope more effectively with their situation, provides access to free resources, enables more appropriate support, better help for their child and improved mental health within the family.