Blog
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The Transition Dip: Why School Transitions Are a Systemic Challenge for Adolescent Wellbeing
The transition to secondary school coincides with major adolescent neurodevelopment changes, creating unique challenges during a period of heightened neuroplasticity.
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How Neurobiology Can Inform Our Understanding of Non-Suicidal Self-Injury
Why does non-suicidal self-injury develop and what sustains it? Explore Kaess et al. (2021) on biological, psychological, and social factors, including stress, pain, emotion regulation, and vulnerabilities linked to ongoing self-injury.
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Adolescent Mental Health Training: Inside the Teen Brain – Season 2
What does the teenage brain tell us about adolescent mental health? Access free adolescent mental health training covering depression, ADHD, self-harm and more.
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The moral environment we create
Blog by ACAMH Malta. The moral health of our society matters to the mental health of our children. A society rooted in integrity, respect and accountability gives young people something invaluable: The confidence that the world around them can be trusted. A healthier society today helps lay the foundations for a healthier generation tomorrow.
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Supporting emotion regulation in adolescents with ADHD/ADHD symptoms: Evidence-informed tips for practitioners
Supporting adolescents with ADHD symptoms to develop their emotional regulation skills can contribute to their wellbeing. Amanda Russell and Aja Murray outline some key skills that evidence suggests could be most helpful.
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How empathy predicts bullying and victimisation
Sadly, bullying in schools is very common. Around one in three children report that they have experienced peer victimisation themselves. Victimised children are at an increased risk of feeling anxious or depressed, potentially missing school and struggling with their classes, and can even experience mental health problems later in life. Bullies on the other hand might be more likely to struggle with behavioural problems and have a propensity for later substance abuse.
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When Family-Based Treatment Stalls: Can We Adapt Earlier and More Precisely?
Family-Based Treatment (FBT) has the strongest evidence base among psychological treatments for adolescents with anorexia nervosa, yet a substantial proportion of young people do not achieve full recovery. A 2024 trial found that adding Intensive Parental Coaching did not improve outcomes overall for adolescents with limited early weight gain. However, it may help families with low parental self-efficacy, supporting a more targeted approach. Blog by Professor Francisco Mucish.
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Mentalising and Emotion Regulation in Children and Families
Midgley et al. (2023) describe the Emotion Regulation in Children (ERiC trial), the first large randomised clinical trial designed to evaluate a brief form of Mentalization-Based Treatment for children aged 6–12 with co-occurring internalising and externalising difficulties. The intervention aims to strengthen children’s and parents’ ability to understand behaviour in relation to thoughts, feelings and intentions, seeking to improve emotion regulation within the child and across the parent–child relationship.
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Annual Review of ACEs research
It is now over 20 years since the publication of the seminal research by Fellitti and colleagues (Fellitti et al 1998) ‘The Relationship of childhood abuse and household dysfunction to many of the leading causes of death in adults: The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study.’
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Cultural Formulation: When Does It Become Stereotyping?
Cultural formulation can help clinicians understand how culture shapes distress, help-seeking and experiences of illness. However, when cultural knowledge replaces curiosity about the individual, it can become the very stereotyping it is intended to prevent.
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