The last three blogs have been a hard read.
You, as a parent, may have found yourself looking at your teenage son or daughter and felt your heart sink. The online space now has more of an influence over how teenagers see the world than their communities, their parents and even their friends.
With the algorithms on platforms like X shaping what teenagers see, more and more of them are being exposed to pornography and extreme influencers. This has led to a warped perception among many teens about consent and is leaking into classrooms and daily interactions. This is meant to be a time when teens are learning about relationships, consent and intimacy.
Of course, you cannot ban the internet. So, what’s the answer? Keir Starmer is proposing a programme that introduces kids to the dangers of misogyny, taught by teachers, with pilots taking place in 2026, with a full rollout being proposed by 2029. The issue about misogyny is larger than this, and simply put, to be effective, it can’t be taught by teachers. They are stressed, overworked and hardly have enough time as it is.
The answer to misogyny, and all of the issues discussed in the previous blogs, is FRESH. Not a blame game aimed solely at boys.
What Is FRESH?
FRESH stands for Forming Relationships Evolving Sexuality Healthily and is a structured, psychologist-led group programme aimed at young people aged 13-15 who may be showing early, non-criminal patterns around relationships and sexual behaviour.
It is intended for those who are showing green zone behaviours on the Hackett Continuum. Higher risk cases are better supported through one one-on-one psychological work but will be picked up on via FRESH.
The aim is to promote what is good in relationships and sexuality. There is no demonisation of a group, no blame and it is structured to also reduce shame.
Why Early, Specialist Intervention Matters
As noted in the blog “The Extent” waiting until something happens is simply too late. The evidence has shown that early patterns, if left unaddressed, can become entrenched attitudes, and adolescence is the prime period of significant brain development and plasticity. Meaning this is the most powerful window for learning about learning and growth.
FRESH is designed with the current NICE guidelines, which highlight that interventions for young people showing harmful sexual behaviours should be trauma-informed and holistic. It should also be tailored to developmental needs and, rather than focusing on what is “wrong” with attitudes, FRESH helps teenagers to build empathy, understand boundaries and develop better relational skills.
What Does the Programme Look Like?
FRESH runs over 15 weekly sessions, each lasting two hours with a break. Around two-thirds of each session focuses on positive, skill-building content. The topics include:
- Understanding fact vs. fiction around sex and relationships
- Emotional regulation and psychological insight
- Communication, attachment, and identity
- Culture, cognition, and peer influence
- Developing a personal plan for the future
The learning is active, engaging, focused on group discussions, role play, questionnaires and reflective exercises. As highlighted in the Russell Report 2025, group work, when well done and delivered well, allows young people to practice new skills in real time. It also allows them to receive peer feedback and feel less isolated. FRESH groups are designed to prevent the reinforcement of harmful beliefs while also modelling communication, boundaries and helping with emotional regulation, while also being able to spot signs of emotional dysregulation and distress.
Who Delivers FRESH?
Each FRESH group will be led by two trained facilitators, ideally one being male and one being female, who have expertise in therapeutic work with teens and are comfortable talking about sex and healthy relationships. For this project, the facilitators will receive regular clinical supervision to ensure that they are working ethically, safely and providing effective practice.
At the time of writing, the plan is for FRESH to be delivered online via secure Zoom sessions, which will make it accessible and maintain confidentiality. As mentioned before, if one of the young people needs additional support or wants to talk about something with the facilitators, then additional one-to-one sessions can be offered.
The programme works with the school’s safeguarding and pastoral team and will require parental consent.
The Pilots of FRESH
At the time of writing, FRESH is due to be piloted in two schools. One type of the programme will be offered in person, while the other will take place online. This will help the facilitators to see which is the most effective, as well as which produces the best results. It will also highlight any potential issues with the programme going forward, which will allow the course creators to iron out the issues before it gets to mainstream schools.
Who is Luisa Williams?
So, who has devised the FRESH programme and why should you, as parents, trust them to oversee the emotional and sexual development of your children?
Luisa Williams, a forensic psychologist with over 23 years of experience, devised the FRESH project and here is a bit about her.
Starting her career in mental health in the 1990s, Lusia worked as a Research Interviewer for the government department of the Office for National Statistics (ONS). She gathered data for The British Crime Survey and The Mental Health Survey for Children and Young People.
She has also worked for Victim Support and is trained in counselling victims of serious sexual assault. She developed psychological aspects in an enrichment programme for the Sure Start Programme for socially disadvantaged young people.
She has worked and trained in both HM Liverpool and HMP & YOI Doncaster, conducting research and running programmes. Luisa has also been involved in global work, spanning from a regional project in India aimed at protecting and educating women and children about domestic violence, as well as working in Paris on a treatment programme for young men involved in gang violence.
She devised a psychoeducation programme for psychosis, which is still running-
https://shop.bps.org.uk/clinical-psychology-forum-no-204-december-2009.
She is an Expert Witness to the Family and Crown Court, Parole Boards, and Mental Health Tribunals; registered with the British Psychological Society (BPS) and other relevant bodies. She consults on high-profile cases involving complex psychological factors and also works with the media and holds the post of Honorary Senior Lecturer in Psychology at a number of universities, continuing research and sitting on Ethics Committees.
Her latest project was to create the Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) in Durham for child victims of sexual assault and children who were at risk of exhibiting sexual harm to others.
References
Ballonoff Suleiman, A., & Dahl, R. E. (2017). Leveraging neuroscience to inform adolescent health: The need for an innovative transdisciplinary developmental science of adolescence. Journal of Adolescent Health, 60(3), 240–248.
Beech, A. R., & Hamilton-Giachritsis, C. E. (2005). Relationship between therapeutic climate and treatment outcome in group-based sexual offender treatment programs. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 17(2), 127–140.
Education Scotland. (2025, September 23). Safeguarding: Identify, understand and respond appropriately to sexual behaviours in young people. https://education.gov.scot/resources/safeguarding-identify-understand-and-respond-appropriately-to-sexual-behaviours-in-young-people
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. (2022). Self-harm: Assessment, management and preventing recurrence (NICE Guideline NG225). https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng225
Russell, D. H., Trew, S., Smith, R., Higgins, D. J., & Walsh, K. (2025). Primary prevention of harmful sexual behaviors by children and young people: A systematic review and narrative synthesis. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 81, Article 102022
Worling, J. R. (2004). The Estimate of Risk of Adolescent Sexual Offense Recidivism (ERASOR): Preliminary psychometric data. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 16(3), 235–254