The AnDY (Anxiety and Depression in Young People) Research Clinics in Oxford and Reading have been shortlisted for the prestigious ACAMH Awards 2026 Lionel Hersov Memorial Award, recognising teams that successfully use research evidence to improve clinical care and demonstrate measurable impact for children and young people.
The award celebrates practice teams that integrate research, service evaluation and quality improvement into routine care. The AnDY clinics are one of just five organisations shortlisted nationally.
Developed through more than two decades of internationally recognised research, the AnDY model brings together clinical care, research and service evaluation within a single service.
Established in 2024, the Oxford AnDY Research clinic is a collaboration between the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre (BRC): Oxford Health Mental Health in Development Theme, the Oxford Centre for Emerging Minds Research (OCEMR) at the University of Oxford and Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, and is a partner clinic to the established AnDY Research Clinic at the University of Reading. The clinics provide evidence-based assessment and treatment for children and young people experiencing anxiety, depression and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), while creating opportunities to develop and evaluate new psychological interventions.
Research is embedded into everyday clinical practice. Alongside receiving treatment, families are offered opportunities to take part in research that helps shape future treatments and services. Routine outcome monitoring also enables continuous improvement, ensuring services remain responsive and effective.
The approach is delivering strong results. Across the two clinics, more than 500 referrals are accepted each year, around 90% of young people complete treatment and substantial improvements are seen in symptoms, functioning and progress towards personal treatment goals. Together, the clinics also support twelve active research studies to help generate better understanding and develop and evaluate interventions that are suitable for all young people, including those who are neurodivergent.
The shortlist recognises the AnDY teams’ success in demonstrating how research can be embedded within routine NHS services, improving care for children and young people today while generating the evidence needed to strengthen mental health services in the future.
The AnDY Research Clinics’ shortlisting is accompanied by further recognition for Oxford researchers within the BRC and OCEMR working to improve child and adolescent mental health: Professor Cathy Creswell has been shortlisted for the ACAMH Digital Intervention Award, Dr Chloe Chessell for Postdoctoral Researcher of the Year, and Lottie Shipp for PhD Student of the Year. The winners of the ACAMH Awards 2026 will be announced at an online ceremony on 5 November 2026.
Co-lead for the BRC Mental Health in Development Theme, Professor Polly Waite, said:
“The AnDY Research Clinics were designed not only to deliver excellent care, but to create an environment where research can thrive. Through the NIHR BRC: Oxford Health’s Mental Health in Development theme, we are helping to create an environment where researchers and clinicians can work alongside one another to develop and evaluate treatments that make a real difference to children and young people. We are particularly proud of the innovative research supported by the clinics, including Professor Cathy Creswell’s OSI programme, which uses online, therapist-supported, parent-led cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) to help children overcome anxiety, and Dr Eleanor Leigh’s GO-OSCA research, which is evaluating online, clinician-augmented cognitive therapy for adolescents experiencing social anxiety. Being shortlisted for this award is wonderful recognition of the teams’ commitment to ensuring that research and clinical care inform one another, improving treatment today while generating the evidence needed to shape services for the future.”
