Mental health
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What are the most important life events for teens
Most adolescents and young adults identify positive, everyday milestones—such as education, relationships and growing independence—as the most important events in their lives, rather than crises. However, those with higher anxiety and depression are more likely to emphasise stressful experiences and interpersonal difficulties, highlighting how mental health shapes the way life events are perceived. Blog by David Bürgin on his recent paper.
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Safeguarding & Suicide Risk in CAMHS: Assessing and Managing Risk in Children and Young People
This set of talks explores updated best practice in suicide prevention within CAMHS, highlighting a shift toward personalised, collaborative safety assessment, formulation, and management following new 2025 national guidance. It also examines suicidality in autism, multiagency learning from recent cases, and broader safeguarding approaches including child exploitation and forensic CAMHS perspectives.
- Event type
- Introductory and Update Session
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Mental Health and School Achievement: Why Gender and Age at Onset Matter
Discover how mental health conditions impact school performance in children and adolescents. Explore research on over 837,000 young people, highlighting the effects of anxiety, depression, gender differences, and age of onset on academic achievement—and why early support matters.
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Why Trauma-Focused CBT Isn’t Reaching Children
Trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy (TF-CBT) is one of the best-supported psychological treatments for children and adolescents with post-traumatic stress symptoms. Yet the existence of an evidence-based treatment does not mean that children and families can access it in routine care. Blog by Professor Francisco Musich.
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Trauma in Care Experienced Children: Improving Access to Trauma-Informed Care
Care experienced children and young people are much more likely to experience trauma and trauma-related mental health difficulties than their peers. Yet many do not receive timely support or access to treatments that are backed by evidence. Recent research highlights that the challenge is not simply identifying distress but ensuring that care-experienced children can access effective interventions, particularly trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapies (TF-CBTs). In this blog, we explore these barriers, as well as what effective trauma-informed care could look like. Blog by Professor Francisco Musich.
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Relational trauma: looking beyond the child
When a child has been affected by relational trauma, it might be easy to assume that the child is the one who needs to be treated. But in practice, working with the child matters just as much as working with the adults who care for them and with the everyday relationships the child lives inside. That second part seems to be the one most easily overlooked.
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Autism Assessment Across the Lifespan: Diagnosis, Clinical Challenges, and Measuring Change
As awareness grows and more individuals seek assessment later in life, demand is increasing for clinicians to develop expertise in autism diagnosis across the lifespan, including nuanced understanding of gender differences in autism, cultural influences, and late or adult diagnosis pathways. Join us at this advanced masterclass with world-renowned expert Professor Catherine Lord.
- Event type
- Masterclass
- Location
- Online
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Autism: Camouflaging and Masking (Impression Management) — Evidence and Clinical Implications
Explore the latest evidence on camouflaging and masking in autism (also known as Impression Management), including developmental considerations, clinical debates, and implications for assessment and support. Led by expert Associate Professor Dr. Meng-Chuan Lai.
- Event type
- Advanced session
- Location
- Online
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Trauma and Autism: How It Affects Children and Young People
Autistic children and young people are more likely to experience adversity and traumatic events than their non-autistic peers. Yet, trauma is often missed in autism. Why? Professor Francisco Musich explains.
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Meet the expert: Emotion Regulation with Dr. Alessio Bellato
In November, ACAMH will host a two-part short course Assessment Tools and Interventions for Emotion (Dys)Regulation: Practical Approaches. We caught up with the course leader – Dr. Alessio Bellato, Lecturer in Children and Young People’s Mental Health at the University of Southampton – about the topic itself, his career, and his hopes for the event.
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