Parental mental health (PMH) is a significant public health concern with implications for children, families and wider society. Mental health runs in families; prevention and early intervention are therefore required to address its intergenerational transmission. Despite this, barriers to access support remain substantial.

Part A presents a quasi-experimental feasibility study evaluating whether therapist-support enhances engagement with the online Raising Confident Children (RCC) intervention for anxious parents, delivered within the community-setting Home-Start charity. Building upon a predecessor randomised control trial, 28 parents consented, with 11 repeated measures obtained, reflecting a more diverse sample than the trial. Engagement was markedly higher in the therapist-supported arm compared to the self-guided arm, with most self-guided parents failing to login. Qualitative feedback and retention rates in the therapist-supported arm indicated high acceptability. Findings suggest that therapist-supported RCC is feasible and acceptable within a community-based setting, though digital barriers limited self-guided engagement.

Part B presents a scoping review mapping national and devolved UK policy documents addressing PMH and family-focused practice (FFP). Fifty-nine documents spanning 1999-2026 met inclusion criteria by addressing PMH and incorporating at least one component of FFP as defined by Foster et al (2016). Documents addressing PMH only as a child risk factor, rather than intervention target, were excluded but described descriptively for context. PMH was explicitly positioned as a policy target in only 37% (n=22), with the remaining 63% (n=37) referencing it implicitly. PMH and FFP was weakest in adult mental health. Policy was skewed towards perinatal and early year contexts, with later stages of child dependency addressed in only 5% of documents. This review identified a critical gap in the consistent operationalisation of PMH and FFP across the lifespan.

Both papers demonstrate that despite broad acknowledgement of PMH implications, this has not translated into consistent, accessible or lifespan-informed support for PMH.