Anxiety disorders

Anxiety disorders in children and young people are common and can have a significant impact on mental health and well-being. Anxiety disorders can affect family, school and social life, leisure activities and educational achievement and they often occur alongside other mental health problems.

  • Beautiful curly toddler looking forward and holding his hand on his mouth, boy trying not to speak, shut up

    Creating Safety Before Speech: A Nervous System Approach to Selective Mutism

    EARLY BIRD FROM £5! The session explores the connections between early development, emotional regulation, movement, retained primitive reflexes, and the nervous system, illustrating how these systems interact to shape a child’s capacity to engage, relate, and communicate. It places particular emphasis on how safety, predictability, and reduced pressure can support regulation and communication across both home and school environments.

    Event type
    Talk with Q&A
    Location
    LIVE STREAM
    Read more
  • Eleanor Leigh

    Practical techniques for managing social anxiety in everyday clinical work

    EARLY BIRD! Associate Professor Eleanor Leigh will focus on social anxiety in adolescents, with a strong emphasis on developing practical clinical skills. This advanced session will be ideal for professionals in child and family mental health who have therapeutic experience with children and families.

    Event type
    Introductory to Advanced
    Location
    LIVE STREAM
    Read more
  • Portrait of son hugging his father, together at home. Son caring for his father, putting hand on his shoulder, comforting and consoling him. Family love, bonding, care and confidence

    Social Fears in Children: The Roles of Parental Communication and Child Temperament

    A recent longitudinal study by Zeytinoglu and colleagues (2025) provides insights into how parental verbal communication and child characteristics contribute to the transmission of social fears. The study shows the impact of both positive and negative maternal statements about ambiguous social situations, finding that positive comments were linked to reductions in children’s social fear beliefs, while negative comments predicted increases, especially among children who were behaviourally inhibited or had high anxiety.

    Read more
  • 08

    Blades and Wounded Minds: exploring the links between youth mental health and knife crime

    This webinar examines the complex relationship between youth mental health issues—particularly trauma and anxiety—and the rise in knife crime among young people.

    Read more
  • gen z girl on sitting on skateboard on phne

    Putting Sustainability at the Front of Digital Mental Health

    Research has indicated the urgent importance of embedding sustainable practice into research and healthcare. With the rapid deployment of AI and other novel technologies across healthcare, we must consider sustainability in the research and development of digital mental health technologies. Here, two mental health researchers reflect on their work in digital mental health and what is next for sustainable mental health research.

    Read more
  • 02

    Advancing the Understanding and Treatment of Anxiety Disorders in Young People – Emanuel Miller International Conference 2025

    Anxiety disorders remain among the most common mental health challenges faced by children and adolescents, demanding ongoing innovation in both research and practice. Despite widespread recognition, critical gaps persist in understanding, diagnosing, and treating these conditions.

    Event type
    Emanuel Miller
    Read more
  • Dr. Shuo Zhang

    From COP29 to Net Zero Mental Health Care: What does it mean for Child and Adolescent Mental Health professionals?

    Climate change and biodiversity loss are affecting the mental health of children and young people worldwide. Although many of us care deeply about ecological issues, they can seem less relevant to clinical practice and research. In this blog, Dr Shuo Zhang and Shailpriya Nand briefly summarise the literature on climate change and youth mental health before considering how Child and Adolescent Mental Health professionals can play a vital role in both reducing the carbon costs of healthcare and strengthening population mental health.

    Read more
  • Stephan Collishaw

    Professor Stephan Collishaw

    Professor Stephan Collishaw serves as co-director for the Wolfson Centre for Young People’s Mental Health and Professor in the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Section in the Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences at Cardiff University.

    Read more
  • 21

    Mood Disorders in Children and Young People: What is new? – Emanuel Miller International Conference 2024

    ACAMH is delighted to have the privilege of introducing world-renowned researchers and clinicians, working in the field of mood disorders, for the 2024 Emanuel Miller International Conference. Following seminal studies and the publication of clinical guidelines, recognising and treating mood disorders in children and young people continues to improve. However both depressive disorders and bipolar […]

    Event type
    Emanuel Miller International Conference
    Read more
  • 02

    Childhood anxiety problems: Helping parents to help their children – Presented by Professor Cathy Creswell and Dr. Chloe Chessell as part of the ‘Professor Judy Dunn Webinar Series’

    As part of the ‘Professor Judy Dunn Webinar Series’ we are delighted to welcome Professor Cathy Creswell (pic) and Chloe Chessell, both University of Oxford. They will share their expert knowledge and insights into the current research to explain what anxiety is, when anxiety becomes a problem and the evidence-based tools and techniques to help children to overcome anxiety problems.

    Read more