Welcome to AFNCCF Manuals

Welcome. This is a signposting site for locating specific wiki manuals from AFNCCF. Wiki manuals are easily adaptable, and grow with learning. Some versions, principally AMBIT, allow local teams to curate local versions, building upon our core content. Core content versions are listed directly below. Enter the Full Directory (see below) to locate local versions.

Manuals available here

See the guide for help with using these manuals

AMBIT

Adaptive Mentalization-Based Integrative Treatment

ambit
Adaptive Mentalization-Based Integrative Treatment is co-produced by academics, workers and service users and addresses the needs of teams working with complex, risky, and often not conventionally ‘help-seeking’ clients. Originally designed for outreaching to adolescents, it is now used across a much wider range of service users and settings.
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ambit
Adaptive Mentalization-Based Integrative Treatment is co-produced by academics, workers and service users and addresses the needs of teams working with complex, risky, and often not conventionally ‘help-seeking’ clients. Originally designed for outreaching to adolescents, it is now used across a much wider range of service users and settings.
ambit-24sevenfostering
A space called ambit-24sevenfostering
ambit-2trfootball
A space called ambit-2trfootball
ambit-afc
A space called ambit-afc
ambit-alot
A space called ambit-alot
ambit-altrecht
A space called ambit-altrecht
ambit-amass
A space called ambit-amass
ambit-amyos
AMBIT AMYOS manual
ambit-archive
AMBIT Archived Material
ambit-aspirehouse
A space called ambit-aspirehouse
ambit-barkingdagenham
AMBIT Barking Dagenham manual
ambit-bathnes
Wellbeing Team, B&NES and Wilts NHS
ambit-beechcroft
A space called ambit-beechcroft
ambit-belfastcfc
A space called ambit-belfastcfc
ambit-belfastdamhs
A space called ambit-belfastdamhs
ambit-belfastypc
A space called ambit-belfastypc
ambit-benjamin
A space called ambit-benjamin
ambit-bexley
Ambit Bexley Manual
ambit-brathay
A space called ambit-brathay
ambit-brighton
Brighton & Hove City Council
ambit-bromley
A space called ambit-bromley
ambit-bronzefield
A space called ambit-bronzefield
ambit-brooklyn
Brooklynminds AMBIT Manual
ambit-build-it
A space called ambit-build-it
ambit-burynorth
A space called ambit-burynorth
ambit-burysouth
A space called ambit-burysouth
ambit-cait
A space called ambit-cait
ambit-caldecott
A space called ambit-caldecott
ambit-cambridge
CPFT (Cambridgeshire)
ambit-cambsist
A space called ambit-cambsist
ambit-camden
A space called ambit-camden
ambit-camden16plus
A space called ambit-camden16plus
ambit-camdencentreforlearning
A space called ambit-camdencentreforlearning
ambit-camdencin
A space called ambit-camdencin
ambit-camdencommunitysafety
A space called ambit-camdencommunitysafety
ambit-camdencomplexneeds
A space called ambit-camdencomplexneeds
ambit-camdendutyassessment
A space called ambit-camdendutyassessment
ambit-camdenedpsychs
A space called ambit-camdenedpsychs
ambit-camdeneducationwelfareservice
A space called ambit-camdeneducationwelfareservice
ambit-camdeneis
A space called ambit-camdeneis
ambit-camdenfif
A space called ambit-camdenfif
ambit-camdenfutures
A space called ambit-camdenfutures
ambit-camdenhousing
A space called ambit-camdenhousing
ambit-camdenieys
A space called ambit-camdenieys
ambit-camdeniys
A space called ambit-camdeniys
ambit-camdeniyss
A space called ambit-camdeniyss
ambit-camdenjcp
A space called ambit-camdenjcp
ambit-camdenlac
A space called ambit-camdenlac
ambit-camdenmalt
A space called ambit-camdenmalt
ambit-camdenprobationteam
A space called ambit-camdenprobationteam
ambit-camdensit
A space called ambit-camdensit
ambit-camdenypservicesshp
A space called ambit-camdenypservicesshp
ambit-camhs4younghackney
A space called ambit-camhs4younghackney
ambit-camhsldteam
Manual for CAMHSLD Team
ambit-casus
A space called ambit-casus
ambit-cemind
A space called ambit-cemind
ambit-childrensbureau
A space called ambit-childrensbureau
ambit-cityandhackneyamht
A space called ambit-cityandhackneyamht
ambit-clarelodge
A space called ambit-clarelodge
ambit-communitypsychologicalservices
A space called ambit-communitypsychologicalservices
ambit-damhs
A space called ambit-damhs
ambit-darwin
A space called ambit-darwin
ambit-dasl
A space called ambit-dasl
ambit-denmark
Region Sjaelland, Denmark
ambit-derry-omagh
A space called ambit-derry-omagh
ambit-devon
Devon Adolescent Outreach Team
ambit-ecid
AMBIT ECID (Fundació Vidal i Barraquer)
ambit-edinburgh
A space called ambit-edinburgh
ambit-enfieldgangs
A space called ambit-enfieldgangs
ambit-essexld
AMBIT manual for Essex LD
ambit-factswales
A space called ambit-factswales
ambit-fairhaven
AMBIT Manual for Fairhaven Young People’s Unit
ambit-familyandchildcare
A space called ambit-familyandchildcare
ambit-familytraumacentre
A space called ambit-familytraumacentre
ambit-flaxfieldunit
A space called ambit-flaxfieldunit
ambit-fwd
A space called ambit-fwd
ambit-geneva-omp
A space called ambit-geneva-omp
ambit-glasgowlaac
A space called ambit-glasgowlaac
ambit-greenwich
AMBIT Greenwich Manual
ambit-greenwichacan
A space called ambit-greenwichacan
ambit-guernsey
A space called ambit-guernsey
ambit-hackneymind
A space called ambit-hackneymind
ambit-hackneyyouth
A space called ambit-hackneyyouth
ambit-hassloch
Jugendhof AMBIT Manual
ambit-heidelberg
Heidelberg
ambit-herts-rehab
AMBIT manual for Herts Rehab
ambit-hertsandbucksld
AMBIT manual for Herts and Bucks LD
ambit-hertscountycouncil
AMBIT manual for Herts County Council
ambit-hive
AMBIT manual for the Hive in Camden
ambit-hmpswaleside
A space called ambit-hmpswaleside
ambit-icp-ireland
Intensive Community Programmes, Ireland
ambit-ifit
A space called ambit-ifit
ambit-ifs-landau
IFS LANDAU
ambit-ipswich
A space called ambit-ipswich
ambit-islington-aot
A space called ambit-islington-aot
ambit-jandrcare
A space called ambit-jandrcare
ambit-juvenilejusticecentre
A space called ambit-juvenilejusticecentre
ambit-kenteis
A space called ambit-kenteis
ambit-kentlinkworker
A space called ambit-kentlinkworker
ambit-kentlinkworkers
A space called ambit-kentlinkworkers
ambit-kestrel
A space called ambit-kestrel
ambit-kidsco
A space called ambit-kidsco
ambit-kiteteam
A space called ambit-kiteteam
ambit-lakewoodcentre
A space called ambit-lakewoodcentre
ambit-lancs
Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust
ambit-lisburndownpatrickcamhs
A space called ambit-lisburndownpatrickcamhs
ambit-mac
A space called ambit-mac
ambit-metjeugd
A space called ambit-metjeugd
ambit-montana
A space called ambit-montana
ambit-mulberry
A space called ambit-mulberry
ambit-newhorizons
Camden & Islington Gangs Team and New Horizons
ambit-northdownandardscamhs
A space called ambit-northdownandardscamhs
ambit-northernirelandgeneral
A space called ambit-northernirelandgeneral
ambit-northernirelandsharedcontent
A space called ambit-northernirelandsharedcontent
ambit-northerntrust
A space called ambit-northerntrust
ambit-nwg
A space called ambit-nwg
ambit-offcentre
A space called ambit-offcentre
ambit-offtherecord
A space called ambit-offtherecord
ambit-onlyconnect
A space called ambit-onlyconnect
ambit-pathways
A space called ambit-pathways
ambit-peabody
AMBIT Peabody Manual
ambit-pedo-hdes
PEDO-HDES Child Psychiatry Unit Portugal, Azores
ambit-pemburyproject
AMBIT Pembury Project Manual
ambit-plymouth
A space called ambit-plymouth
ambit-porchlight
AMBIT Porchlight Manual
ambit-porvoon
Porvoon lasten - psykiatrian poliklinikka
ambit-prakashellenhorn
A space called ambit-prakashellenhorn
ambit-redthread
A space called ambit-redthread
ambit-righthere
A space called ambit-righthere
ambit-roermond
AMBIT Roermond
ambit-roseschool
The Rose School Lancashire
ambit-safe
A space called ambit-safe
ambit-saferlondon
A space called ambit-saferlondon
ambit-savu
A space called ambit-savu
ambit-selfharmteam
A space called ambit-selfharmteam
ambit-set-connects
A space called ambit-set-connects
ambit-southeasternbess-step2team
A space called ambit-southeasternbess-step2team
ambit-southeasterntrust
A space called ambit-southeasterntrust
ambit-southerntrustcamhs
A space called ambit-southerntrustcamhs
ambit-spain
AMBIT Spain
ambit-starproject
A space called ambit-starproject
ambit-suffolkcentral
A space called ambit-suffolkcentral
ambit-suffolkcoastal
A space called ambit-suffolkcoastal
ambit-suffolkcore
A space called ambit-suffolkcore
ambit-syepp
A space called ambit-syepp
ambit-tcs
AMBIT Manual for TCS
ambit-therapeuticsupportservices
A space called ambit-therapeuticsupportservices
ambit-tht-talksafe
A space called ambit-tht-talksafe
ambit-torbay
A space called ambit-torbay
ambit-torbaycamhs
A space called ambit-torbaycamhs
ambit-transformingfamilies
AMBIT Manual for Transforming Families
ambit-tsdhc
A space called ambit-tsdhc
ambit-twentyfoursevenfostering
A space called ambit-twentyfoursevenfostering
ambit-up
AMBIT UP Manual
ambit-vorarlberger-kinderdorf
Vorarlberger Kinderdorf
ambit-wandsworth
A space called ambit-wandsworth
ambit-westernaustraliacamhs
A space called ambit-westernaustraliacamhs
ambit-wiltshire
AMBIT Wiltshire Manual
ambit-winch
A space called ambit-winch
ambit-winchproject
A space called ambit-winchproject
ambit-ymhcentralnorfolk
A space called ambit-ymhcentralnorfolk
ambit-ymheastnorfolk
A space called ambit-ymheastnorfolk
ambit-ymhwestnorfolk
A space called ambit-ymhwestnorfolk
ambit-youngfutures
A space called ambit-youngfutures
ambit-younghackney
A space called ambit-younghackney
ambit-youngminds
A space called ambit-youngminds
ambit-ypc
A space called ambit-ypc
arts-lewisham
A space called arts-lewisham
camdenresilientpeople
A space called camdenresilientpeople
ealingbrighterfutures
A space called ealingbrighterfutures
lewisham-fftt
A space called lewisham-fftt
mac-projectfuture
A space called mac-projectfuture
qcproject
A space called qcproject
regionsjaelland
A space called regionsjaelland
southwarkintegrate
A space called southwarkintegrate
westernaustraliacommunitycamhs
A space called westernaustraliacommunitycamhs
westernaustraliaspecialistcamhs
A space called westernaustraliaspecialistcamhs

CWP

Children's Wellbeing Practitioners

cwp
This is a practice guide for Wellbeing Practitioners working with children, young people and parents in offering guided self help interventions for common mild/moderate mental health problems. The guide includes basic information on how to plan a session with a young person or parent and the theory, skills and evidence that supports this practice. Information for supervisors is also included.
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cwp
This is a practice guide for Wellbeing Practitioners working with children, young people and parents in offering guided self help interventions for common mild/moderate mental health problems. The guide includes basic information on how to plan a session with a young person or parent and the theory, skills and evidence that supports this practice. Information for supervisors is also included.
cwp-east-surrey
CWP Manual for Eikon/YMCA East Surrey
cwp-richmond
CWP Manual for Richmond
cwp-tower-hamlets
CWP Manual for Tower Hamlets
cwp-westminster-rbkc
CWP Manual for Westminster and Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
cypiapt
A space called cypiapt

EMHP

Education Mental Health Practitioners

emhp
This is a practice guide for Education Mental Health Practitioners (EMHPs) who will be taking part in trailblazer projects that start in 2019. Training will be provided at UCL and KCL in London and this guide will be constructed during this first year of the programme. EMHPs will be trained to work in schools and deliver mental health interventions suitable to that context.
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emhp
This is a practice guide for Education Mental Health Practitioners (EMHPs) who will be taking part in trailblazer projects that start in 2019. Training will be provided at UCL and KCL in London and this guide will be constructed during this first year of the programme. EMHPs will be trained to work in schools and deliver mental health interventions suitable to that context.

MBT-PC

Mentalization-Based Group Programmes for Parents and Foster Carers

mbt-pc
MBT-PC are mentalization based group programmes for parents and foster carers. Currently, there are two programmes namely Reflective Parenting for parents with children under 13 years of age and Reflective Fostering for foster carers. The programmes are group psycho-education programmes which aim to enhance parental and carer mentalizing.
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mbt-pc
MBT-PC are mentalization based group programmes for parents and foster carers. Currently, there are two programmes namely Reflective Parenting for parents with children under 13 years of age and Reflective Fostering for foster carers. The programmes are group psycho-education programmes which aim to enhance parental and carer mentalizing.
mbt-pc-rf
MBT-PC Reflective Fostering Manual
mbt-pc-rp
MBT-PC Reflective Parenting Manual

The Family School London

Manuals for The Family School London

thefamilyschoollondon
Manual for The Family School London
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thefamilyschoollondon
Manual for The Family School London

EYPU

Early Years Parenting Unit

eypu
The developing practice of the AFNCCF’s "Early Years Parenting Unit". EYPU works intensively with small groups of parents who have significant personal and interpersonal difficulties and their young children, who attend the unit daily.
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eypu
The developing practice of the AFNCCF’s "Early Years Parenting Unit". EYPU works intensively with small groups of parents who have significant personal and interpersonal difficulties and their young children, who attend the unit daily.
eypu-content
A space called eypu-content

MBTF

Mentalization-Based Treatment for Families

mbtf
Mentalization-Based Treatment for Families is a systemically-inspired adaptation of MBT for use with families with children aged 7 and upwards. The focus is on maintaining, modelling and explaining a mentalizing stance with families, using a diverse range of games and techniques to support this work.
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mbtf
Mentalization-Based Treatment for Families is a systemically-inspired adaptation of MBT for use with families with children aged 7 and upwards. The focus is on maintaining, modelling and explaining a mentalizing stance with families, using a diverse range of games and techniques to support this work.
mbtf-afc
A space called mbtf-afc
mbtf-content
A space called mbtf-content
mbtf-danmark
Mentalization-Based Treatment for Families (Danmark)

New Developments

New manuals under development from the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families

assp
A space called assp
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assp
A space called assp
questionnaire
A space called questionnaire
quittingstuff
A space called quittingstuff
sib-treatments-literature
A space called sib-treatments-literature
sud-treatments-literature
A space called sud-treatments-literature
therapeutic-journal
A prototype self help resource (designed to be written in collaboration with a trusted friend or therapist)
wave
A prototype self help manual for people trying to manage cravings or powerful emotions, such as occur in addictions, OCD, self-injurious behaviours, etc.

PCS

Parent Consultation Service

afc-pcs
A space called afc-pcs
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afc-pcs
A space called afc-pcs
pcs
A space called pcs

Tech Help

Resources to help you use the manuals

guide
A guide to working with the Anna Freud Manuals
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dickonstiddlywikitips
A space called dickonstiddlywikitips
guide
A guide to working with the Anna Freud Manuals
tiddlywiki
A comprehensive documentation file for TiddlyWiki Classic (note, not TiddlyWiki5) for developers and editors.

About AFNCCF Manuals

Manuals are places to record learning about practice, theory and the evidence that underpins this, so that the most effective ways of helping people in need can be tested, disseminated and effective services replicated, as widely and cheaply as possible. This service from the AFNCCF is an attempt to live up to this ideal, and to share freely work that is designed to improve lives and reduce harms. We must unfortunately remind practitioners who follow the advice and guidance recorded in these manuals that they remain entirely responsible for their own professional work, standards and ethical behaviour.

These novel wiki-based manuals are designed to make information as widely accessible as possible, and to reflect the continual effort that goes into designing ever improving ways of working; incorporating research evidence with practitioner experience and service user feedback. These manuals are open access by design and (particularly in the case of the AMBIT manual, within which programme the technology supporting these manuals was developed) are an attempt to support an open source approach to the development of effective practice, especially in fields of work where the evidence-base for best practice remains at best partial. Open source projects rely not just on a few cloistered experts, but on the contributions of a large community of practice, and work by providing a platform for innovations to be tested and advances to be shared.

Wikis are web-based documents in which text, pictures, video and downloadable content is curated, and which are easily adaptable as learning continues to advance – they are not like a fixed and published text, still less tablets of stone; they are designed to adapt, and grow, and to do so quickly (the word “wiki” originates from a Hawaiian word meaning “quick”).

Unlike paper-based formats, these are non-linear documents. Hyperlinks (web-links that allow you to access expanded detail about a particular word or phrase), tagging (which allows thematically linked content to be grouped in different ways – like flexible versions of chapters) and powerful search engines allow content to be approached and navigated by the reader in multiple directions, and sorted in multiple ways, according to the reader’s needs, rather than offering a single rigid linear structure. This is perhaps a little closer to the reality of clinical work, and to how human memory works. Above all, they are documents to be used, rather than stored, although the authors’ hope is that time spent browsing will be stimulating and engaging – not least because of the rich array of multimedia content that they hold. Not everyone learns best from a block of text.

Readers will find that learning to navigate and use the various ways of searching, sorting and revealing required content takes very little time, but nonetheless a little time set aside to explore how these novel documents work will prove a good investment. Feedback on problems with the layout, broken links, or other potential improvements is gold for authors, and we encourage participation. All the manuals provide means for providing feedback.

On ‘manualizing’

There is much more detail on the art (and some science) of team ‘manualizing’ in the AMBIT manual. Our conceit is that the team that engages in manualizing its own practices is probably by default engaging in mentalizing its own practice. Of the many opportunities that the unique open source technology underpinning these wikis affords (see http://tiddlywiki.com) the most developed use of these to date is found in the AMBIT manuals. We hope in time that the practices that AMBIT has tried to develop and encourage may support a wider congregation.

Any team that receives formal training in AMBIT is also given its own local version of the AMBIT wiki manual (for links to local versions, see “Full Directory (Local Versions)” above). Local versions all ‘inherit’ the core AMBIT content which is curated by the AMBIT programme at the AFNCCF, but in these local versions the team has editing rights to add their own locally-attuned learning (at the very least this is about “how we apply this material here, in this setting, with its unique cultural, geographic and organisational constraints”). In addition, teams can also overwrite pages from the core content in their wikis, creating their own locally-adapted or improved versions of these pages; if these demonstrate value (from formal outcomes studies, or because, say, a locally-produced teaching video is simply much clearer or better than the original offer) other teams can easily clone these local innovations into their own local wikis. Thus emerging best practice from one corner of the world can be shared widely and efficiently amongst a community of practice. Pages cloned from another local team’s version are automatically marked as such, so that the original authors’ work is given due credit. If a significant advance is made, that fits criteria suggesting more universal value, then this innovation can be drawn down into the core content curated at the AFNCCF (again, with appropriate credits) so that it then becomes part of the core AMBIT ‘curriculum’ and is automatically pushed out to all local versions.

It is from this “community of practice” that the AMBIT programme sees the next generation of improvements coming, and we encourage teams to be generous in sharing their experience and learning in this way. Because content is open by design, transparency of practice is encouraged. Because manualizing in AMBIT is exclusively a whole-team effort (not an individual project inflicted upon an unsuspecting team) it creates opportunities for teams to create more coherent accounts of their practice, a valuable resource for inducting new team members. AMBIT (in common with CYP-IAPT) also encourages a rigorous approach to outcomes measurement (being sure to “measure what matters” rather than falling for the belief that it is only measuring that matters, and to learn and adapt in response to analyses of those measures) as a further check against simply “making it up as we go along”; evidence based practice has always been defined as the judicious use of evidence, balanced with clinical experience alongside attention to the service user’s experience and wishes.

For aspiring ‘manualizers’, one further encouragement (or plea): experience of training more than 2500 workers convinces us that short video clips of role plays in which small elements of good practice are demonstrated are almost universally appreciated by trainees (even if these just stimulate debate about other, or better, ways of doing what is demonstrated). Most eminent clinicians will have a list of greater practitioners - whom they were lucky enough to sit in with and observe, and whose techniques of asking a particular question or responding to a particular challenge they have subsequently copied. Most great practitioners are magpies; they steal and reuse. Imitation is thus not only the sincerest form of flattery, but also one of the most powerful means of learning. Persuading practitioners to be bold and generous enough to video themselves role-playing, and to share this online, remains a challenge however (anxiety about criticism, and the wish to avoid any impression of boastfulness are common rationalisations for refusal.) We hope that anyone reading this far will feel empowered to identify something in their own practice that they feel they could model for others, or to nominate and encourage someone else in their team who they could persuade to do this! Within the help section of the AMBIT manuals there are simple explanations of how to create a short web-based video and embed it in local page. Everyone doing this work has the opportunity to leave legacies. A valued colleague will often move on from a team to new posts and challenges, and such losses are often keenly felt. Leaving a video or two of some element of one’s practice in that team’s manual is not a bad way to leave a part of oneself still working for one’s old colleagues.