Blog
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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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Nature and Mental Health: Benefits of Nature for Inpatient Care
At Marlborough House, an adolescent unit in Swindon, we have been working with nature to improve young people’s wellbeing. Nature-based approaches are increasingly recognised as valuable within CAMHS, including inpatient settings, and Marlborough House has contributed to this growing evidence. In this blog, Dr Gillian Combe, Dr. Liz Challis, and Dr. Catriona Mellor reflect on their work at Marlborough House and explore the growing role of nature and mental health within inpatient care.
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Nutritional Risk Beyond Weight in Autistic Children
Some autistic children eat a very narrow diet for years while their weight and growth stay on track. Because the numbers look reassuring, the nutritional risk underneath can go unnoticed. A stable weight measures whether a child has enough energy. It says little about whether the diet holds everything a body needs, and that gap is where serious harm can build unseen.
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Using Assessment to Build Better Case Conceptualisations
Case conceptualisation is central to psychological practice. It helps clinicians organise information, understand how a person’s difficulties may have developed and been maintained, and decide what treatment would be adequate. However, conceptualisations can become overly intuitive, static, or disconnected from both assessment evidence and treatment research. Christon, McLeod, and Jensen-Doss (2015) propose a science-informed approach designed to connect evidence-based assessment with evidence-based treatment.
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ADHD in the classroom: Why everyday interactions matter
A child with ADHD may collect corrections all day, small ones, one after another, until something starts to give. Long before the symptoms themselves cause lasting harm, a child can quietly conclude that school is not a place they are good at. Drawing on research discussed during a webinar by clinical psychologist Erin Schoenfelder Gonzalez, this article explores how the cumulative experience of everyday classroom interactions may shape a child’s confidence, relationships and sense of belonging at school.
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Beyond the Safety Plan in Suicide Care
Suicide care often reaches only as far as the acute moment. Nonetheless, the tools built for that moment may do little to identify or address what brought the person there. Professor David Jobes, speaking at a conference on brief interventions for young people and families, made the case that steadying a crisis and treating its cause are different tasks, and that aiming at the suffering itself is the harder and more neglected part.
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