More than 120 clinician-written guides help professionals turn psychological understanding into practical support for children in care.
BERRI has launched a library of more than 120 clinician-written information and strategy sheets to help carers and professionals support children in care, as Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) waiting lists, and reforms to special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and children’s social care, sharpen the focus on meeting needs earlier.
The Children’s Commissioner’s June 2026 report describes children in England waiting months, sometimes years, for treatment. For carers supporting a child awaiting help from CAMHS, everyday questions about distress, relationships or behaviour still need a response.
Some professionals are turning to AI chatbots and search engines but the results are of variable quality and reflect opinions online rather than reliable, high quality, clinician-vetted information. In response, the Clinical Psychologists at BERRI wanted to do something different.
“In an age of AI generated content that often contains errors and misinformation we felt it was important to buck the trend and focus on high quality clinician written information, for those doing the important work of caring for children with complex histories and needs.”
— Dr Miriam Silver, Consultant Clinical Psychologist, Founder & CEO, BERRI
The BERRI Resource Library connects needs identified through assessment with practical approaches to use day to day. Its guidance is tailored specifically to those supporting children in care, with every sheet written by the BERRI clinical team, not AI, and vetted by experienced clinical psychologists. It is designed for residential care staff, foster carers, social workers, keyworkers, teachers, and others supporting children and young people, including supported accommodation and leaving care teams.
For those supporting children in care, knowing who has developed the guidance they rely on matters because it helps them assess whether it is grounded in relevant psychological knowledge and is sensitive to children’s experiences. The library makes the BERRI team’s clinical expertise available in an accessible format, with evidence-based information that takes into account the experiences and needs of children in care.
The library is organised around BERRI’s five core areas: Behaviour, Emotional Wellbeing, Relationships, Risks to self and others, and Indicators of underlying psychiatric and neurodevelopmental conditions. Each sheet explains a particular need, behaviour or life event, explores possible underlying reasons, and sets out support strategies for everyday care. The resources can be used in keyworking sessions, care planning, staff inductions and team discussions, helping carers develop a shared understanding of a child’s needs and respond with greater confidence and consistency.
