A SPECIALIST nurse has been recognised for providing an essential training package through the medium of Welsh to benefit children on Anglesey and Gwynedd.

Lowri Davies, a specialist nurse in the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) in Bangor, received the Welsh Language Award at this year’s Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board Achievement Awards.

After several years of working as a therapist in CAMHS, Lowri now coordinates the FRIENDS Resilience Programme in the Gwynedd and Anglesey areas and provides training for education staff and community services.

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The FRIENDS programme was developed in Australia by Dr Paula Barrett in 1988, and has been based on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) to prevent and treat anxiety and depression in children and young people.

The programme is perfect to be facilitated in schools, promoting resilience in individuals of all ages, families and communities.

As FRIENDS was not available through the medium of Welsh, Welsh-medium schools were unable to facilitate the programme.

It was observed that there was a demand for the programme among all schools in North Wales so that children and young people were given the opportunity to build their resilience and able to express themselves in their first language.

Children and young people are one of the vulnerable groups identified in Welsh Government’s “More than Just Words” scheme, as a group who greatly need to communicate and express themselves in their first language.

In early 2020, the health board, CAMHS and School In-reach collaborated with the health board’s translation team to develop a Welsh language package, with the copyright consent of the FRIENDS organisation.

This development was funded by the Welsh Transformation Board, which means that children, young people and parents/carers are able to access bilingual materials in our schools and communities.

FRIENDS was officially launched in Welsh during 2022.

Alaw Griffith, from the health board’s Welsh language team, who nominated Lowri for the award, said: “Since beginning her nursing career, Lowri has felt very passionately about patients’ rights to access services through the medium of Welsh and she always goes the extra mile to ensure that this is able to take place.

“It is therefore no surprise that she takes great pride in the fact that children and young people are now able to attend the FRIENDS sessions through the medium of Welsh, whether that be face-to-face or online, and her support for them is invaluable.

“She is also proud of being able to provide training through the medium of Welsh to staff and schools in Gwynedd and Anglesey.

“Trying to develop any skill or technique to improve mental health and resilience is much easier if done in our first language and children, young people and their families will benefit from this.

“This also means that Welsh language schools are able to provide the FRIENDS sessions through the medium of Welsh and are able to reach their wellbeing and health targets as part of the new curriculum in Wales.”