Free adolescent mental health training to develop your knowledge of the teenage brain and support your professional development.
Explore adolescent mental health through the teenage brain
During adolescence, the brain goes through a lot of development. But what do those changes actually mean for a young person’s mental health? And how do they affect the way a teen learns and behaves in school and everyday life?
In this six-part mental health training for professionals, you’ll hear from mental health experts about what happens in the brain during adolescence and why it matters.
Each episode covers a different topic: depression, education, self-harm, bullying, ADHD, and the lived experience of receiving a diagnosis. And each conversation looks at three big questions: What’s the background? So what? And now what?
Learn from leading experts in teenage brain development
In this training, you’ll learn from researchers, clinicians, educators, and people with lived experience who discuss teen mental health through the lens of adolescent development.
This season’s guests include:
- Dr Victoria Pile: A leading clinical psychologist and senior lecturer, discussing the co-design and delivery of innovative, evidence-based early mental health interventions for young people.
- Professor Dennis Ougrin & Michael Kaess: Internationally renowned experts in child and adolescent psychiatry, exploring adolescent self-harm and risk-taking.
- Professor Susan Young: A clinical and forensic psychologist who shares practical guidance on how ADHD shapes teen behaviour and decision-making.
All episodes are hosted by Dr Jane Gilmour, a Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Child Development Programme Director at UCL.
What this adolescent mental health training covers
Season 2 of Inside the Teen Brain looks at six different areas of adolescent mental health and brain development. Tune in to find out what the latest research tells us about the teenage brain, and more importantly, what that means for your work with young people.
Topics this season include:
Depression: Through the lens of the teenage brain
Why are rates of adolescent depression increasing? And how well do our current treatments actually work? This episode considers these questions along with the signs of depression and newer approaches to treatment.
Education: Leveraging the power of the adolescent brain
The teenage brain doesn’t learn in isolation. Social and emotional cues matter, too. You’ll learn why this is, as well as how it relates to supporting young people at school.
Self-harm: Supporting the overwhelmed teen brain
In this part of the adolescent mental health training, you’ll explore self-harm in the teenage years: what it is, why it happens, how common it is, evidence-based treatment approaches, and prevention strategies.
Bullied: The teenage brain under threat
You’ll take a closer look at bullying and cyberbullying, including what they are and why they happen. You’ll also hear experts discuss the complexities of bullying, the impact it can have on the developing brain, and what we know about responding effectively.
ADHD: Risk, reward, and teenage mental health
What does ADHD look like through the lens of adolescent development? Research is only one part of the picture. This episode brings together evidence, clinical experience, and the realities neurodivergent young people face in their daily lives.
Diagnosed: The teenage brain experience
Find out what getting a diagnosis can be like for a young person from someone who has experienced it themselves. You’ll discover how a diagnosis shapes the way a teen sees themselves, their sense of identity, and where they fit in.
Who this learning series is for
Inside the Teen Brain – Season 2 offers mental health CPD for professionals working with children and young people, including:
- Clinical psychologists
- Psychiatrists
- Mental health professionals
- Educators
- Researchers
It’s also suitable for parents, students, and academics who are curious to learn more about child and adolescent mental health.
What you’ll gain
Research is useful. But if you work with young people, you also need to know what to do with findings. Throughout the adolescent mental health training, speakers connect what we know about the teenage brain with what happens in real life.
So, whether you want to understand the teenage brain a bit better or look at adolescent mental health from a different perspective, this series can boost your knowledge base. You can also use the series towards your CPD.
Start learning today
Join thousands of professionals learning with ACAMH and access Inside the Teen Brain – Season 2 for free. Dip into the episodes that interest you most or work through all six. Either way, you’ll hear directly from people researching, working in, and experiencing mental health.
Work through the six episodes at your own pace, fitting them around your clinical work or dedicated CPD time.
Watch online today or listen on your favourite platform.