What does current research tell us about the adolescent brain, and how can it inform the way we work with young people?
Drawing on work from the Blakemore Lab at the University of Cambridge, with contributions from its lead Professor Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, this interactive online workshop session will explore the cognitive and emotional processes shaping adolescent behaviour.
Through a combination of scientific insights and interactive activities, participants will develop a clearer understanding of how these processes play out in real-world settings, and what this means for everyday practice.
Booking
Sign up at this link or on the Book Now button at the top of the screen, and complete the form that follows. You’ll then receive an email confirmation and a link to the webinar, plus we’ll send you a calendar reminder nearer the time. Delegates will have exclusive access to recordings for 90 days after the event, together with slides. Plus you will get a personalised CPD/CME certificate via email.
- ACAMH Members MUST login to book onto the webinar in order to access this webinar and get a CPD/CME certificate
- Non-members this is a great time to join ACAMH, take a look at what we have to offer, and make the saving on these sessions
EARLY BIRD £99 (until 06/06/26, then £129) – ACAMH Members (Online, Concession) Join now and save
EARLY BIRD £129 (until 06/06/26, then £159) – ACAMH Learn Account Holders
EARLY BIRD £129 (until 06/06/26, then £159) – Non Members
£15 – ACAMH Undergraduate/Postgraduate Members
FREE LMIC Members
Don’t forget as a charity any surplus made is reinvested back as we work to our vision of ‘Sharing best evidence, improving practice’, and our mission to ‘Improve the mental health and wellbeing of young people aged 0-25’.
Who should attend
The primary audience for this session is clinicians and professionals working directly with children and adolescents, including clinical psychologists, CAMHS psychiatrists, psychotherapists, and practitioners in youth mental health services, as well as educational psychologists and school-based mental health leads.
Others that may find the session of interest would include; teachers, SENCOs, pastoral staff, youth workers, early help and family support practitioners, alongside researchers and other professionals with an interest in adolescent development and mental health.
About the session
Adolescence is a period of profound neurocognitive and socioemotional change, shaped by social, educational and environmental contexts. This interactive session provides a research-informed overview of adolescent development, highlighting how these contextual influences relate to neural, cognitive and mental health outcomes.
This session is structured in two complementary parts. In the first part, Professor Sarah-Jayne Blakemore will present an overview of current knowledge on adolescent brain development. This talk will highlight key findings on neural, cognitive and social development, and consider how these insights inform broader societal issues and common misconceptions about adolescence.
In the second part, Dr Blanca Piera Pi-Sunyer will lead an interactive session in which participants engage directly with tasks and materials commonly used in developmental research. Through first-hand experience, attendees will explore how cognitive and socioemotional processes are measured and reflect on how these measures are shaped by specific contexts. Participants will consider how findings from controlled research settings translate into real-world environments such as schools and neighbourhoods, with particular emphasis on how social context influences adolescent behaviour and decision-making.
Designed for researchers, educators, clinicians and practitioners working with young people, this session bridges the gap between experimental research and applied settings. Overall, it will equip attendees with an understanding of how adolescent development is studied, and how research findings can be critically interpreted and meaningfully applied within real-world contexts.
Learning objectives
- To understand key principles of adolescent neurocognitive development
- To gain insight into how cognitive and socioemotional processes are measured using experimental tasks in developmental research
- To recognise how social and environmental contexts shape adolescent behaviour
Programme
2:00pm Professor Sarah-Jayne Blakemore 30-minute talk + 10-minute Q&A, setting the scene on current knowledge of the adolescent brain, including key findings and common misconceptions
2:40pm Refreshment break
2:50pm Dr. Blanca Piera Pi-Sunyer: Interactive session (1), where participants engage directly with cognitive tasks used in research (e.g. tasks assessing cognitive control) to understand how these measures are collected and what they reveal about adolescent cognition.
3:50pm Refreshment break
4:00pm Dr. Blanca Piera Pi-Sunyer: Integrative session (2), where participants think about how these findings relate to real-world contexts (e.g. school or social environments).
4:40pm Final Q&A of the day
5:00pm Close
About the speakers
Professor Sarah-Jayne Blakemore is the Chair of Psychology in the Social Sciences at the University of Cambridge, where she leads the Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Group, and serves as Deputy Head of Department for Research. She is a member of High Table at Newnham and Gonville and Caius.
Dr. Blanca Piera Pi-Sunye is a researcher specializing in adolescent psychology, mental health, and cognitive neuroscience, currently affiliated with the University of Cambridge and University College London (UCL). She is a Gates Cambridge Scholar and PhD candidate in the Department of Psychology at Cambridge.
FAQs on the topic
1. Why is adolescence a vulnerable time for mental health?
Adolescence increases vulnerability to mental health difficulties like anxiety, depression, and eating disorders due to simultaneous hormonal, cognitive, social, and brain changes. Scientific evidence shows these interact with environmental experiences to heighten risk.
2. What changes happen in the adolescent brain?
During adolescence, brain regions for planning, decision-making, and self-regulation develop into early adulthood, while emotion and reward systems mature earlier. This imbalance drives emotional sensitivity, risk-taking, and behaviour shaped by peers.
3. How do researchers study adolescent brain development?
Researchers use behavioural experiments, cognitive tasks, and brain imaging like MRI to study adolescent behaviour, emotions, and decision-making. These methods reveal processing in lab and real-world social settings.
4. How does stress and environment affect adolescent brain development?
Stressful environments like poor school climate, peer exclusion, family dynamics, or adversity negatively shape adolescent brain development and mental health. Supportive relationships build resilience.
5. How can adolescent brain research help clinicians and educators?
Adolescent brain research informs clinicians and educators by contextualising emotional sensitivity, peer influence, and risk-taking as developmental, not just problematic. It promotes tailored support over punitive responses.
Infographic
Download the pdf
Booking
Sign up at this link or on the Book Now button at the top of the screen, and complete the form that follows. You’ll then receive an email confirmation and a link to the webinar, plus we’ll send you a calendar reminder nearer the time. Delegates will have exclusive access to recordings for 90 days after the event, together with slides. Plus you will get a personalised CPD/CME certificate via email.
- ACAMH Members MUST login to book onto the webinar in order to access this webinar and get a CPD/CME certificate
- Non-members this is a great time to join ACAMH, take a look at what we have to offer, and make the saving on these sessions
EARLY BIRD £99 (until 06/06/26, then £129) – ACAMH Members (Online, Concession) Join now and save
EARLY BIRD £129 (until 06/06/26, then £159) – ACAMH Learn Account Holders
EARLY BIRD £129 (until 06/06/26, then £159) – Non Members
£15 – ACAMH Undergraduate/Postgraduate Members
FREE LMIC Members
Don’t forget as a charity any surplus made is reinvested back as we work to our vision of ‘Sharing best evidence, improving practice’, and our mission to ‘Improve the mental health and wellbeing of young people aged 0-25’.