Ms Dickson joins Place2Be’s Scottish Development Advisory Group at a time when demand for mental health services in schools has dramatically increased. Place2Be provides specialist mental health support in schools and has seen a significant increase in the need for their service since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Place2Be has offered child mental health support in Scotland since 2001 and currently reaches over 14,432 pupils and their families across Scotland. Over the last 3 years over 7,500 pupils booked their own appointments to speak to a Place2Be mental health professional.

One in eight children and young people in Scotland have a diagnosable mental health problem, and many continue to have these problems into adulthood.

Morton Fraser plans to address this important issue during Children’s Mental Health Week in February 2022. During that week it will hold a Place2Be webinar on ‘living with teenagers’ to help parents/carers in the firm better understand children’s mental health. Place2Be launched the very first Children’s Mental Health Week in 2015 to shine a spotlight on the importance of children and young people’s mental health. Now in its eighth year, they hope to encourage more people than ever to get involved and spread the word, including Scottish businesses.

Ms Dickson said: “Many employers are aware of the increasing worries that parents and carers within their workforce are carrying in relation to young people’s mental health. The pandemic has affected us all, and children are no exception. Parents often see that and this can lead to worry and stress.”