Childhood and adolescence are pivotal periods for mental health development. Mental Health conditions contribute significantly to illness and disability among young people and, whilst globally around 8% of children and 15% of adolescents experience a mental disorder, most do not access the care or support they need. (WHO, 2026).
Mental Health Awareness Week 2026 (11–17 May) is a call to action. Awareness matters — but meaningful change happens when we act. Whether you’re supporting your own mental health or helping to build healthier schools, workplaces, and communities, every action counts. Together, we can create environments where good mental health can thrive.
This week, take the next step. Explore the FREE learning resources available on ACAMH Learn and our website — and share them with your networks to help drive real change.
Free Podcasts
OVER 1,000,000 listens and views to our podcasts. Subscribe on YouTube and search ACAMH wherever you get your pods from. Plus get CPD/CME for listens/views at ACAMH Learn.
- Mind the Kids ‘Protecting Mental Health, the Power of Positive’, with Dr. Jamie Hanson
This conversation explores the importance of focusing on positive experiences and emotions in mental health research, emphasizing the need for a shift in the literature towards understanding resilience and positive outcomes.
- Mind the Kids – Tics: Education, Education, Education, with Dr. Jane Gilmour and Professor Umar Toseeb
Inspired by the BAFTA award-winning film I, Swear, Jane and Umar discuss the difference between types of tics, what Tourette’s looks like in real life versus in media portrayals, and the realities for children and young people living with the condition today.
- Mind the Kids: Prenatal substance exposure – hope not judgement, with Dr. Meeyoung Min
This conversation explores the intricate relationship between maternal trauma, substance use, and child development.
Free ACAMH Learn recorded talks
- What Is Good Mental Health in Children – And How Do We Promote It?
In this talk, Sam Chapman explores what good mental health looks like in children and young people, and how it can be actively promoted. - Defining Good Mental Health in Children: Insights from a Concept Analysis
In this talk, Sam Chapman presents a systematic concept analysis exploring what good mental health means in children and young people, and how it can be recognised and promoted. - Improving child mental health and learning outcomes and reducing stigma and discrimination in conflict setting
In this Video Abstract, Professor Jean-Francois Trani investigates the effectiveness of a psychosocial intervention on child mental health in Afghanistan.
Free Blogs
- Adolescent school transition: How moving school impacts teenage wellbeing, by Mason Mi Zhou
Discover how primary to secondary school transition can affect adolescent wellbeing, anxiety, belonging, and motivation, and explore ways schools can support students through change. - Identifying Mental Health Difficulties in Children Living in Care: Is the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire enough?, by Dr. Eva Sprecher
This blog shares new findings that suggest current UK practice may not be sufficient for identifying children in care struggling with their mental health – and we suggest what might help improve things. - Social Fears in Children: The Roles of Parental Communication and Child Temperament, by Sophie Mizrahi
A recent longitudinal study by Zeytinoglu and colleagues (2025) provides insights into how parental verbal communication and child characteristics contribute to the transmission of social fears.
Open Access papers from ACAMH’s three journals
Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry (JCPP)
- ‘How global is our research on child and adolescent mental health? A worldwide concentration and imbalance – and an opportunity for JCPP to take the lead in disseminating globally diverse research‘, Sylia Wilson and Krupa Patel, First published 27 April 2026
- ‘Effectiveness of the school-based internet intervention StresSOS for the prevention of mental health problems in young people: a randomized controlled trial as part of the ProHEAD consortium‘, Laya Lehner et al., First published 13 March 2026
- ‘Annual Research Review: The role of caregiver sensitivity in children’s developmental outcomes – an umbrella review‘, Marissa D. Nivison et al., First published 07 January 2026
Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMH) Journal
- ‘Debate: Young people are living in unprecedented times – too much chaos or too little resilience?: No Pain, No Gain? Why articulating distress marks youth resilience’, Levi van Dam, First published 15 April 2026
- ‘A digital intervention to improve mental health and interpersonal resilience in young people who have experienced technology-assisted sexual abuse: a feasibility clinical trial’, Sandra Bucci et al., First published 06 January 2026
- ‘Letter to the Editor: Redesigning mental health support for youth – early interventions need to move away from the diagnostic model’, Maria E. Loades, First published 04 January 2026
JCPP Advances
- ‘Co-production with young people with developmental language disorder: Developing adapted materials for cognitive behavioral therapy’, Isabella Metcalfe et al., First published 21 April 2026
- ‘Weight concern and desire for weight loss support in adolescents: Results from a large cross-sectional school survey’, Melissa Little et al., First published 16 April 2026
- ‘Editorial perspective: Facilitating access to mental health research participation for children in care: Lessons from the ReThink project’, Charlotte Robinson et al., First published 25 March 2026