Anna Freud
Alex Truscott currently serves as a Research and Policy Officer at the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families, a position held since September 2017. Prior to this role, Alex worked as a Family Support & Policy Intern at The Challenging Behaviour Foundation from September 2016 to September 2017. Alex's academic background includes pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Young People's Mental Health at UCL from October 2020 to September 2025, as well as obtaining a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from the University of Cambridge, where studies were completed from 2013 to 2016.
Anna Freud
We are a children's mental health charity and have been developing and delivering pioneering mental health care for over 60 years. Our aim is to transform current mental health provision in the UK by improving the quality, accessibility and effectiveness of treatment. We believe that every child and their family should be at the heart of the care they receive, working in partnership with professionals. We are unique in bringing together leaders in neuroscience, mental health, social care and education to work together to improve understanding and practice. Our goal is to develop, disseminate and deliver the best possible evidence-based treatment, through scientific innovation, research and collaboration and underpinned by the direct experience and insight of children and their families. To transform the experience of children, young people and their families with mental health issues we: •Carry out research to improve understanding of mental health and resilience and to evaluate and improve the treatments and services children and families are offered. Develop new approaches, tools and services that aim to support children, young people and families in distress. •Teach and train a new generation of clinicians and researchers in the latest skills and tools to improve mental health globally. •Take a leading role in the development of policy and practice in the UK and beyond to ensure that it is built on science, tested experience and has the input of children, young people and their families. •Creatively collaborate nationally and internationally in partnerships which jointly develop a step change in child mental health and wellbeing.