Last summer, we were proud to announce that the CEO and Chief Clinical Officer of Diespeker’s long-term charity partner stem4, Dr Nihara Krause was awarded an MBE in the King’s Birthday Honours List for services to the mental health of young people.
On Wednesday January 24, Dr Krause went to Windsor Castle where the Investiture was held. With the King due to be treated in hospital, and the Prince and Princess of Wales absent from their regular duties after Kate’s abdominal surgery, it was the Princess Royal who conducted the ceremony at Windsor Castle’s Grand Reception Room, presenting the award to Dr Krause and the many other worthy recipients.
Over the last 30 years Dr Krause has been dedicated to improving mental health support for young people and families. In 2011 she founded the charity stem4, which focuses on increasing access to early evidence-based mental health interventions to protect the mental health of children and young people. She also advocates for placing the voice of young people and families at the heart of policy-making decisions to drive positive change.
Dr Krause, and stem4 work with students, parents and teachers in over 1,800 secondary schools and colleges. Head Ed, stem4’s free multimedia resource, is used in Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education (PSHE) lessons to teach pupils about mental health.
Since the launch of Calm Harm in 2016, Dr Krause has created and launched four more NHS-approved smartphone apps, all deploying evidence-based strategies, to help young people in handling their mental health difficulties. In addition to Calm Harm, they are: Clear Fear for anxiety; Move Mood for low mood; Combined Minds, which provides families and friends with practical strategies to support teenage mental health, and Worth Warrior, which helps young people experiencing eating difficulties and body image issues.
This is not Dr Krause’s first award, although she says it is her greatest honour. In 2014 she received the Mayor of London’s Award for her commitment to the community In 2015 David Cameron presented her with the Point of Light Award for her work and . In 2019 she received the British Citizen’s Award, health (BCAh) for her contribution to the health of children and young people in the UK.
Dr Krause said: “I really value the support I’ve had from Diespeker over the past 12 years. This long-term commitment has been a huge help with every aspect of stem4’s work.”
Diespeker has supported stem4 in multiple different ways during this time, from fundraising marathons and bike rides, to providing auction prizes. We extend our congratulations once again to Nihara. This MBE is a fantastic recognition of her hard work and commitment to the mental health of young people.
To support the ongoing work of stem4 you can make a donation by visiting: https://stem4.org.uk/donate/
