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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The World is constantly changing for young people
This year the focus for World Mental Health Day is ‘Young People and Mental Health in a Changing World’. We often forget that young people are at a stage of their lives when significant change is a common occurrence to them.
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No more to this ‘pitiful’ investment – A World Mental Health call from our chair
World Mental Health Day reminds us of the very large number of people who live with distress and anguish for long periods of their lives.
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Raising Awareness for Body Dysmorphic Disorder
BDD is not something that clinicians always think of, so what are the symptoms that we should be looking out for and what evidence-based treatments can help relieve the symptoms that people experience?
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Getting help with parenting makes a difference – at any age
Parenting interventions for helping children with behavioural problems are just as effective in school age, as in younger children, according to new Oxford University research.
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Back to school
“The government has recognised the need for greater focus on child and adolescent mental health and wellbeing, although is yet to provide adequate funding to match its rhetoric or a clear strategy for what in-school intervention would look like. Whilst early preventative programmes can be really useful for young people, I can’t help but think that the newly proposed in-school mental health initiatives might to some extent be treating problems created by the education culture that has been set up.”
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How can we identify and treat Body Dysmorphic Disorder?
Body Dysmorphic Disorder is a mental health condition where a person worries about perceived flaws in their appearance — flaws that are unnoticeable to others, or else appear incredibly slight. It affects people of any age but is most prevalent in teenagers and young adults, and although common, it frequently goes unrecognised or misdiagnosed.
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Dramatherapy: History, Applications and Outcome Measures
Dramatherapist, Kairo Maynard, on the development of dramatherapy and how it can be used to help support young people.
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Does mental health awareness do more harm than good? A response from Prof Tamsin Ford to The Spectator
The Spectator recently published an article on mental health awareness. Professor Tamsin Ford responds, “The dismissive tone of the article is unfortunate and undermines the important point that the author could have made, which is that policy should be evidence-based and evaluated for unexpected consequences.”
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Developmental Trauma: How useful is this framework?
Dr Catherine Frogley reflects on the use of the developmental trauma framework from her perspective as a Clinical Psychologist working in a Post-Adoption Support Service.
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A cup half full or half empty? A reflection on 15 years working with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) in the UK
“It has been 15 years now that I have been working within the field of specialist diagnosis and behavioural management of individuals with FASD. At this point in my journey, as well as the journey of FASD diagnostic services in the UK, it felt like a good time to step sideways and reflect on how far we had come and where we still have yet to go.”
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