CSMH Seminar Series: Four Horsemen
Four Horsemen: How uncertainty, evaluation, loss of belonging and lack of opportunity for recovery are driving a mental crisis in young people
In this seminar, Dr Sarah Hughes CBE will share the findings from the topic group she chaired for the Independent Review of Mental Health Conditions, ADHD and Autism, which looked at a range of social and environmental factors that may be driving increasing prevalence of mental health problems among young people. These included digital environments, educational pressures, economic security, family life, sleep, community infrastructure and the pandemic. The Review identified four mechanisms through which these factors and impacting on the mental health of young people. Sarah will share the Review's findings as well as the lived experience perspectives that informed the group's work.
About the Speaker
Dr Sarah Hughes has spent more than 35 years championing mental health and social justice. She is Chief Executive of Mind, the UK’s leading mental health charity, where she leads national efforts to transform services, influence policy, and amplify the voices of people with lived experience.
Sarah’s work in mental health began when she was just 15, and she formally entered the field at 18 with Mind in Haringey. She trained as a social worker and went on to manage mental health services across community settings, residential care, and Holloway Prison before becoming Chief Executive of Cambridgeshire, Peterborough and South Lincolnshire Mind (CPSL Mind), a role she held for more than a decade. She later became Chief Executive of the Centre for Mental Health — an international think tank recognised for shaping progressive mental health policy and practice.
Her leadership extends beyond Mind. Sarah sits on the boards and advisory groups of One Small Thing, A Better Way, and the Central East Integrated Care Board. She is also the founder of The Muse Nine, an online leadership studio dedicated to rebellious leadership and feminist thought.
A respected media commentator and keynote speaker, Sarah is frequently invited by governments, broadcasters and global organisations to share her insights on mental health, social change and inclusive leadership.
A Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, the Sciana Health Leaders Network, and Salzburg Global, she holds a professional doctorate in women and leadership and an honorary doctorate from Hull University, where she originally studied social work.
Rooted in her own lived experience of social injustice and working-class identity, Sarah’s leadership is defined by clarity, compassion and courage. She is known for challenging convention and championing inclusion at every level of society.
She lives in Cambridgeshire with her family — and an ever-growing collection of pets and plants.