ACAMH’s blogs bring together timely, evidence-based insights on child and adolescent mental health, written by leading researchers, clinicians, and those with lived experience. They are designed to translate cutting-edge research into accessible, practical guidance that supports better outcomes for children, young people, and families.
Blog
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Being and Becoming Mentally Healthy: A framework for understanding the mental health of babies and young children
Although there is increasing interest and investment in infant mental health, the term itself is not well understood. To support professionals to work together to protect and promote babies’ and young children’s mental health, we have worked with UNICEF-UK to create a new framework describing what it means to be mentally healthy in this life stage. The framework has two parts, “Being” and “Becoming” capturing both babies’ and young children’s current mental health as well as the capacities they are developing that will enable them to be mentally healthy in the future.
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Developing schools to enhance young people’s mental health
Research has shown that many risk factors influence young people’s mental health needs, one of which is school expectations. The youth mental health crisis continues, with one in six young people (aged 6-16) having a probable mental health problem. My research aimed to determine what young people thought of their mental health strategy. However, the way in which the research process developed suggests schools have much more to offer than just specific mental health support.
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Covid-19’s impact on Loneliness and Mental Health: A Study of Schizotypal Traits and Paranoia
The Covid pandemic lockdown has affected us differently, with some people being impacted more than others. Extensive research has indicated that lockdowns – which broadly include isolation measures, such as, in the UK, being required to stay at home unless for essential reasons – have disproportionately impacted individuals with higher levels of paranoia.
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Anxiety – Increasing Understanding and Improving Awareness
Celebrating its twelfth year, Mental Health Awareness Week has chosen to focus on ‘Anxiety’ – to increase public understanding of anxiety and improve awareness of the impact it can have on lives. Everyone, in some shape or form, experiences anxiety. However, anxiety can become overwhelming and, in some cases, can evolve into an anxiety disorder.
This Mental Health Awareness Week (15 to 21 May 2023), we encourage you to explore the FREE learning opportunities available on our website, and to share with your networks, to increase people’s awareness and understanding of the impact of anxiety on children and young people.
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Championing research about, by and for neurodivergent people
How neurodiversity-inspired thinking is casting a new light on brain development research, with neurodivergent young people at its core.
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Autism Resources Update
This World Autism Acceptance Week (27 March to 2 April 2023), we have collated a number of FREE learning resources from leading academics, clinicians, and researchers to build upon our previous catalogue of resources for World Autism Acceptance Week 2022.
We encourage you to explore the learning opportunities available on our website, sign up for our fantastic upcoming events below, and do share with your networks.
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Crisis care for children and young people
CAMH-Crisis2 is an NIHR research funded study exploring mental health crisis services for children and young people up to 25 years in England & Wales.
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Hunter-gatherer childhoods may offer clues to improving education and wellbeing in developed countries, Cambridge study argues
Hunter-gatherers can help us understand the conditions that children may be psychologically adapted to because we lived as hunter-gatherers for 95% of our evolutionary history. And paying greater attention to hunter-gatherer childhoods may help economically developed countries improve education and wellbeing. JCPP Editorial from Dr Nikhil Chaudhary, and Dr Annie Swanepoel.
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Tribute to phenomenal young campaigner Aisha Hamzat
A few weeks ago we were told about the tragic news of the death of Aisha Hamzat, who, for ACAMH, contributed to a blog and webinar, on predicting complex PTSD in foster care.
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Eating Disorders – Perception, Prevention, Intervention
According to the World Health Organisation, in 2019 almost 3 million children and young people, worldwide, experienced eating disorders. This Eating Disorder Awareness Week (27 February – 5 March 2023), we encourage you to explore the FREE learning opportunities available on our website, and to share with your networks.
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