Association For Child And Adolescent Mental Health (acamh)

10.13056/acamh.13687 Is adolescent mental health an early warning system for contemporary society? Are mental health difficulties in adolescence on the rise? What societal changes are impacting adolescent mental health? All this and more answered as Professor Umar Toseeb interviews Professor Gonneke Stevens about adolescent mental health in a rapidly changing world.

Watch the video at Inside the Teen Brain: The Heart of the Matter In this episode of Inside the Teen Brain, Dr. Eileen Kennedy-Moore joins Dr. Jane Gilmour to explore the complexities of emotional regulation in adolescence. Dr. Kennedy-Moore discusses how emotions serve as valuable sources of information rather than problems to be eliminated, emphasizing the importance of helping teens develop emotional literacy. The conversation highlights practical strategies, such as using feeling cards, the angry adult formula, and soft criticism, to support young people in understanding and managing their emotions. The episode also delves into the powerful role of peer relationships, social learning, and self-reflection in adolescent development, providing valuable insights for professionals, parents, and educators working with teenagers. Learning Objectives 1. To understand the role of emotions as a source of information rather than just a challenge to be managed. 2. To explore practical techniques that help teenagers

What are Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)? Do meaningful dimensions of childhood adversity exist? Should victimisation be considered an adverse childhood experience? All this and more answered as Professor Umar Toseeb interviews Athena Chow about her latest research into the existence of meaningful dimensions of childhood adversity.

What is the difference between languishing and depression? Is flourishing an indirect route to happiness? What are the six domains of human excellence? All this and more answered as Professor Umar Toseeb interviews Professor Corey Keyes about his work, the positive psychology movement, and the two continua model of mental health.

Watch the video here In this episode, Inside the Teen Brain: A Second Chance, Professor Rosie Meek explores the role of risk-taking, peer influence, and emotional regulation in adolescence, particularly among young people in the criminal justice system. She discusses how participation in structured sports programmes can provide a positive outlet for frustration, improve emotional regulation, and foster transformative changes in identity. Drawing on qualitative findings and real-world examples, Professor Meek highlights how sports settings create opportunities for young people to develop discipline, teamwork, and trust—skills that can translate into healthier behaviours and reduced conflict. The conversation also emphasizes the importance of mentoring and collaborative, youth-centred approaches to engage at-risk adolescents and help them reset their life paths.  Learning Objectives 1. To understand the role of structured activities, such as sports, in fostering emotional regulation and identity development a

What are the neural mechanisms of food choice among adolescents with anorexia nervosa (AN)? Is there a link between brain and behaviour among adolescents with AN? Do reward systems play a role early on in illness? All this and more answered as Dr. Clara Faria interviews Dr. Caitlin Lloyd about her research into food choice and neural reward systems in adolescents with anorexia nervosa.

What is ARFID? Are there structural differences in the brains of children with ARFID symptoms? Does autism and ARFID share neuroanatomical similarities?  All this and more answered as Dr. Clara Faria interviews Dr. Michelle Sader about her research into brain differences in children who show symptoms of avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID).

DOI: 10.13056/acamh.13672 In this Papers Podcast, Dr. Alex Lloyd and Romana Saleh discuss their co-authored JCPP Advances Methodological Review ‘No decision about me, without me: Collaborating with young people in mental health research’. There is an overview of the paper, methodology, key findings, and implications for practice. Learning Objectives 1. Insight into what is meant by Patient Public Involvement (PPI), co-production and co-design and the difference between these terms. 2. Why it is important to include young people with lived experiences in mental health research and how to convince researchers that people with lived experiences have a meaningful contribution to make to the research process. 3. What counts as lived experience and whether it is necessary to have a formal diagnosis to be regarded as having lived experience. 4. Insight into the ‘ladder of participation’ and other frameworks for participation. 5. How researchers can ensure that their engagement with people with lived experience is

Dr. Jane Gilmour talks to Dr. Dominique Thompson An important part of growing up is taking risks... but are our youngest generation still taking enough risks, or the right kind of risks? Are they in fact 'Generation Sensible', or is this a misunderstanding? How can we support them to take good risks whilst supporting their mental health? We cover all this and more in a fascinating discussion about teen risk taking.  Learning Objectives 1. To understand why teens take risks  2. To understand why this generation may be different  3. To discover some practical ways to support healthy risk taking 

DOI: 10.13056/acamh.13671 In this Papers Podcast, Dr. Lena Keuppens discusses her co-authored JCPP Advances Research Review ‘Sleep parameters and problems in adolescents with and without ADHD: A systematic review and meta-analysis’. There is an overview of the paper, methodology, key findings, and implications for practice. This paper was the recipient of the 2024 ACAMH Awards JCPP Advances Best Paper Award. Learning objectives: 1. The rationale behind the paper and the prevalence of sleep problems in adolescence with ADHD. 2. Comparing subjective and objective sleep parameters, sleep problems and sleep hygiene in adolescence with and without ADHD. 3. The importance of taking the subjective experience of sleep problems seriously. 4. The next steps for interventions considering the importance of sleep for mood regulation and for neurodevelopment. 5. Insight into a new sleep intervention for adolescents with ADHD called SIESTA (Sleep IntervEntion as Symptom Treatment for ADHD).

Dr Jane Gilmour talks about the new ACAMH series 'Inside the Teen Brain'. Jane is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist (Hon) at Great Ormond Street Hospital, and Course Director for postgraduate child development programmes at University College London, where she lectures on neuropsychology, neurodevelopmental conditions (Tourette’s syndrome, autism, OCD) and therapeutic issues. She has published numerous academic articles and chapters on these topics. Her media presence, commenting on young people’s well-being, includes appearances on BBC TV, BBC radio and broadsheet press commissions. How to Have Incredible Conversations with your Child (co-authored with Dr Bettina Hohnen) is her latest book. Using an innovative format, families use the book together in a shared experience to strengthen communication skills and their relationship. She wrote (with co-authors Dr Bettina Hohnen and Dr Tara Murphy), best-seller The Incredible Teenage Brain Book (Everything You Need to Know to Unlock Your Teen’s Potential) whic

DOI: 10.13056/acamh.13668 In this Papers Podcast, Dr. Franjo Ivankovic discusses their co-authored JCPP paper ‘Optimization of self- or parent-reported psychiatric phenotypes in longitudinal studies’. There is an overview of the paper, methodology, key findings, and implications for practice. Learning Objectives 1. The reliability and validity of consistent self-endorsement of a given psychiatric diagnosis. 2. Insight into the low agreement between parent-reported, child-reported, and clinician reported psychiatric phenotypes and why these different informants might report different levels of mental health difficulties when the target child is the same. 3. The over-endorsement and under-endorsement of symptoms of mental health difficulties when self-reporting and the impact on the prevalence of mental health conditions. 4. Insight into the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study and the narrow diagnosis construct. 5. Whether there is evidence of a relationship between the over-endorsement of sym

DOI: 10.13056/acamh.13664 In this episode, Inside the Teen Brain: Youth Experience in CAMHS, Isabella Plows shares her lived experience of accessing Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and reflects on the key factors that supported her recovery. She highlights the importance of building trusting, consistent relationships with professionals, the value of clear communication, and the need for structured and goal-oriented care. Isabella also discusses the challenges young people face while waiting for services, offering practical suggestions such as regular updates, access to resources, and community-based support to bridge this gap. Emphasizing the importance of continuity, she highlights the value of extending CAMHS support to age 25 to better align with ongoing brain development and life transitions. This insightful conversation provides invaluable perspectives for professionals striving to improve services for young people. Learning Objectives A. To understand the importance of building tru

DOI: 10.13056/acamh.13665 In this Papers Podcast, Dr. Sarah Griffiths discusses her co-authored JCPP Advances paper ‘Special educational needs provision and academic outcomes for children with teacher reported language difficulties at school entry’. There is an overview of the paper, methodology, key findings, and implications for practice. Learning Objectives 1. Definition of Developmental Language Disorder and other language difficulties, as well as insight into the Surrey Communication and Language in Education Study (SCALES). 2. Context around the English education system and insight into when the identification of various types of difficulties typically starts to happen. 3. The types of Special Educational Needs (SEN) that children might be identified as having during the Primary years at school and the need to distinguish between children who have language impairments and other children who have English as an additional language. 4. The relationship between teacher reported language difficulties at sc

DOI: 10.13056/acamh.13662 In this Papers Podcast, Dr. Nicky Greaves discusses her JCPP Advances Clinical Review paper ‘Emotion regulation difficulties and differences in autism including demand-avoidant presentations—A clinical review of research and models, and a proposed conceptual formulation: Neural-preferencing locus of control (NP-LOC)’. Learning Objectives 1. Insight into a definition of emotion regulation and emotion dysregulation and what the research says about the emotion regulation difficulties and differences in autistic young people. 2. The impact of core autistic features on emotion regulation in autistic individuals and the relationship between emotion regulation difficulties and demand-avoidant presentations in autism. 3. Effective and ineffective strategies for emotion regulation and the current models for emotion regulation differences for autistic young people. 4. How emotion regulation abilities develop in neurotypical populations. 5. Insight into the Neural Preferencing Locus of Contro

DOI: 10.13056/acamh.13660 In this Papers Podcast, Associate Professor Magnus Nordmo discusses his co-authored JCPP Advances paper ‘The diminishing association between adolescent mental disorders and educational performance from 2006–2019’. There is an overview of the paper, methodology, key findings, and implications for practice. Learning Objectives 1. If mental health difficulties have increased over time in the child and adolescent population and how different forms of symptom measurement can impact the types of trends we see. 2. What educational performance, independent of mental health conditions, has looked like in the last decade, with a particular focus on Norway. 3. Insight into the hypothesis that increases in mental health difficulties might be driven by pressure to do well educationally. 4. The mental health conditions explored in the paper and what indicators were used, as well as the indicators used for educational performance. 5. The ‘Prevalence Inflation Hypothesis’ (Lucy Foulkes) and how th

 Watch the video at https://acamhlearn.org/Learning/Inside_the_Teen_Brain_-_Just_be_Yourself/1cda6d0f-b326-4e89-bd94-55fbfaf0654f Description In this episode, Inside the Teen Brain: Just Be Yourself, Professor Deborah Christie joins Dr. Jane Gilmour to discuss the complexities of identity formation during adolescence. Professor Christie explores how creative therapeutic approaches, such as metaphors and frameworks, can provide adolescents with a safe space to reflect on their strengths, abilities, and aspirations. The conversation highlights the significant role of peers, family, and supportive networks in shaping a young person’s sense of self. Professor Christie also emphasizes the importance of fostering environments where adolescents can explore their evolving identities in a positive and empowering way. Drawing on her extensive experience, she shares practical insights for professionals to help young people navigate this pivotal developmental stage.  Learning Objectives  1. To understand the key challe

DOI: 10.13056/acamh.13594 In this Papers Podcast, Professor Jennifer Hudson and Lizél-Antoinette Bertie discuss their co-authored JCPP Editorial Perspective ‘Extending IPDMA methodology to drive treatment personalisation in child mental health’. There is an overview of the paper, key findings, and implications for practice. Learning Objectives 1. Define and summarise how Individual Patient Data Meta-analysis (IPDMA) works. 2. The limitations of randomised control trials, systematic reviews and conventional meta-analyses in terms of answering research questions about what works for an individual. 3. Why the study focused on anxiety disorders in the context of youth. 4. Messages that researchers should take from this Editorial Perspective. 5. How the researchers envisage the approach outlined in the paper moving the field towards evidence-based personalised mental health care and how this can be translated into practice. 6. Insight into PADDY (the Platform for Anxiety Disorder Data in Youth) and the need for,

With our children being our future and our long-term societal wellbeing depending on them, Professor Kate Pickett and Professor Richard Wilkinson provide insight into their recent CAMH journal Editorial ‘Socio-economic inequality and child and adolescent mental health’. Richard and Kate are co-authors of the bestselling and award winning The Spirit Level (2009) and The Inner Level (2018).  Described by Penguin as ‘the most influential and talked-about book on society in the last decade’, The Spirit Level won the 2010 Bristol Festival of Ideas Book Prize and was the 2012 Publication of the Year of the Political Studies Association. The New Statesman listed it in the Top Ten Books of the Decade, and the Guardian among the 100 most influential books of the century. Learning Objectives 1. The relationship between socio-economic inequality and child and adolescent mental health. 2. What causes the lack of good data in low-and-middle income data. 3. The pathways and mechanisms through which socio-economic inequali

https://acamhlearn.org/Learning/For_better_or_for_worse_Intended_and_unintended_consequences_of_science_communication/97fc6c78-93ac-485d-98c4-dd35e9272c51 Recently, there has been an increase in the amount of effort dedicated to ensuring that scientific knowledge can be mobilised to make a positive impact on individuals and society. In this Papers Podcast, Dr. Fatos Selita and Professor Yulia Kovas discuss their co-authored JCPP Editorial ‘For better or for worse? Intended and unintended consequences of science communication’. Learning Objectives 1. The pressures and challenges that scientists often face regarding communicating their findings. 2. The three risks that might lead to confusion or unintended consequences of science communication. 3. Insight into the extent to which scientific miscommunication is a problem and examples of where science miscommunication in the field of child psychology and psychiatry can go wrong. 4. The importance of training scientists in science communication and some of the