A New Look for ideaSpace West
6th March 2024
Sherry Coutu – the Art of Scaling Gracefully
4th November 2024
As we come to the end of Mental Health Awareness Week, we wanted to highlight one of our member companies and the amazing work they do. Peter Templeton and The William Templeton Foundation for Young People's Mental Health (YPMH) are members at ideaSpace West - it's a privilege to have them in the community and see the charity grow, both in size and impact. Read on to hear what they do, how they go about it and how you can get involved - there's also a link to their most recent publication, a user friendly and accessible guide on how to minimise a young person's risk of developing depression.
ONE
The Cause
YPMH was established in memory of Will Templeton, by his parents Anne and Peter and his brother John. The family’s aspiration is to help accelerate the translation of research into impactful innovations that are widely used to improve the prevention, identification, diagnosis and treatment of conditions such as depression and anxiety.
TWO
The Team
Peter Templeton joined ideaSpace (and had a hand in setting it up too!) in 2019 when the charity needed a home. ideaSpace was the natural choice for YPMH as it is ideally located for engaging with the University Departments that they collaborate with, such as Psychiatry and the Institute for Manufacturing. He also chose it because, “it offers a terrific community that enables greater levels of serendipity – those fortunate and unexpected discoveries that happen when we’re not actively seeking them out!”
Since joining Peter has grown the team, and now both Charlotte Catignani (Innovation and Partner Engagement Manager) and Hannah Best (Marketing and Communications Officer) are also members at ideaSpace.
Charlotte, who joined YPMH in 2023, finds ideaSpace a great base for the charity. “Being a member of ideaSpace gives the opportunity to exchange learning and experience with other members, it’s a great community to work in. Through this community I’ve been able to expand YPMH’s collaborator network and also explore opportunities to work with fellow members. Exposure to this depth of technology isn’t something usually available in a shared workspace, which makes ideaSpace unique.”
ideaSpace is a terrific community that enables greater levels of serendipity – those fortunate and unexpected discoveries that happen when we’re not actively seeking them out!”
THREE
The Crisis
Depression occurs in about 2.1% of 5–19 year-olds and has risen sharply in the last decade. It is often described as sadness or low mood that can last a long time and impact everyday life, reducing a person’s ability to study, work and engage with others – and it’s a risk factor for suicide.
Over the last 20 years, there’s been a significant amount of research into the factors and mechanisms that contribute to depression - however, this information hasn’t been available in a way which is accessible to parents and young adults. It’s also not taken into account how societal and social factors influence individual options, choices and experiences - and how these interact with psychological factors and our biology to cause depression.
FOUR
Their Work
YPMH are all about getting people together – to engage researchers, practitioners, innovators, regulators, governments and charities - alongside young people and their families. This way they can increase awareness and understanding across the ecosystem, help generate ideas and innovations, while helping to increase and accelerate the use of these innovations in practice and policy. All leading to real improvements in young people’s mental health.
YPMH’s most recent publication, Depression – It’s really not all in the mind, is for parents, young adults and (non-medical) leaders of organisations that engage with young people, with the aim of building an understanding of how and why depression develops in children and young people of up to about 25 years old and what people can do to minimise their risk of developing the condition.
The beauty of this publication is that it uses insights from social, psychological and biological research and presents them in a clear, concise and accessible way - such as using a map to show the links between social, psychological and biological factors that can contribute to developing depression. It also looks at the effects of everyday things like food, nutrition and sleep, alongside societal factors such as discrimination, healthcare and relationships, and provides advice on what to do to reduce risks. You can read, Depression – It’s really not all in the mind’ here.
ideaSpace is a great community to work in and I’ve been able to expand YPMH’s collaborator network and also explore opportunities to work with fellow members. Exposure to this depth of technology isn’t something usually available in a shared workspace, which makes ideaSpace unique. Charlotte Catignani
FIVE
Is There a Way to Get Involved?
Yes! YPMH are running an event on 19th June called Collaborate to Innovate: Working Together to Transform Mental Health Outcomes. It’s co-hosted by IfM Engage at the Institute for Manufacturing (IfM), University of Cambridge and will bring together members of the mental health support ecosystem to look at how can they can accelerate the translation of research to improve prevention, early detection and mitigation.
They're looking for participation from educators, employers, support workers and healthcare professionals, among others, to help shape the discussion and determine where they go next. Interested? You can find out more here. You can also visit them on Cambridge Wide Open Day on 12th July at the West Hub.
Find out more about YPMH and the work the do here.
