What Works for Whom: Treatment Selection Approach for Single-Session Interventions for Depression

In this Papers Podcast, Isaac Ahuvia (above) discusses his JCPP paper ‘Evaluating a treatment selection approach for online single-session interventions for adolescent depression’. Discussion points include:

How the treatment selection algorithms were created and tested. Implications for future research and front-line clinicians. Will these types of machine-learning algorithms be refined to be usable for the future?

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The ACAMH weekly podcast has over 200 FREE episodes for you to listen to via the website. An even better option is to search ‘ACAMH’ where you get your podcasts from and subscribe to our podcast direct every week.

Exploring the Role of Nature in Childhood Development and Mental Health

The importance of nature in children’s development and mental health is a topic that is increasingly gaining attention in contemporary research. From improving cognitive functions to reducing symptoms of stress, studies suggest that regular nature experiences not only enhance the well-being of children but are also essential for their holistic development. In this blog post, William Lan, MPhil student in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge, dives into the world of child and adolescent psychiatry and explore how experiences in nature can serve as a catalyst for healthy growth. Read the blog

Other recent blogs

February 11 was established in 2015 as the International Day of Women and Girls in Science to recognise us as agents of change, yet women are still underpaid and undervalued for the work they do. Dr. Zoe Smith of the ACCTION Lab at Loyola University Chicago, kindly blogged for ACAMH on this topic.

In this blog, Dr. Luis Farhat comments on the importance of mentoring and shares his experience of being part of the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry?(JCPP)’s Affiliate Editor (AE) program to support, through mentorship, young professionals in child and adolescent mental health.

Help us test the new CPD learning platform – ACAMH Learn

Can you spare 40 minutes in early March to work with our team on testing the interface, sampling the content and telling us what you think? All participants will be offered payment for their time. See website for more details

WEBINARS

You DO NOT have to be an ACAMH Member to come to our events. All ACAMH webinars are centred around evidence-based research, and our speakers are some of the leading lights in the field. ACAMH is a charity, and we receive no government funding, nor do we ask for donations. We try to keep our costs as low as possible. Don’t forget as a charity any surplus made is reinvested back as we work to our vision of ‘Sharing best evidence, improving practice’.

Mood Disorders in Children and Young People: What is new?

The 2024 Emanuel Miller International Conference has an incredible line-up, and not one to miss. Thursday 21 and Friday 22 March.

Can’t make it on the day? Don’t worry! Delegates have exclusive access to recordings and slides for 90 days after the event, plus a personalised CPD certificate via email.

Book before 8 March, 12 noon UK time, and you’ll be entered into a prize draw to get your place for FREE! We’ll refund your place if you are our lucky winner (one Member place and one Non-member.

Professor Boris Birmaher ‘The Challenging of Diagnosing Pediatric Bipolar Disorder’. Professor Valeria Mondelli ‘Mechanisms underlying depression: immunopsychiatry’. Dr. Rasim Somer Diler ‘Differential Diagnosis of Bipolar vs Unipolar Depression in Youth’. Professor Bernadka Dubicka ‘Coping with demand: brief interventions in adolescent depression & UK BAY trial’. Professor Andrea Cipriani ‘Antidepressants in Children and Adolescents: Meta-Review of Efficacy, Tolerability and Suicidality in the Acute Treatment’. Associate Professor Meredith Gunlicks-Stoessel ‘Updates on Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Children and Adolescents’. Professor Argyris Stringaris 'Fundamental Problems with the Evidence Base for Adolescent Depression Treatments'. Dr. Matthew Hodes ‘The ongoing importance of social disadvantage in depression in young people’. Dr. Victoria Pile ‘Harnessing Mental Imagery to Develop Early Interventions for Adolescent Depression’.

See website for details and registration.

JUST RELEASED! Pleasures and pitfalls of technology

In today’s evolving technological landscape, the integration of digital devices into children’s lives raises both opportunities and challenges. Bringing together researchers, educators, and practitioners, this interdisciplinary dialogue seeks to unravel some of the complexities surrounding technology’s impact on education and mental health in children and young people.

Hear from a selection of speakers and explore how technology can be beneficial for young people’s mental health and how issues with technology could be mitigated. Hear from Professor Pete Etchells, Professor Minhua Eunice Ma, Associate Professor Anna Mankee-Williams, and members of staff from The Greater Horseshoe School. See website for details and registration.

Why do children end up being bullied or bullying others – and what we can we all do about it?

Professor Lucy Bowes, Professor of Developmental Psychopathology at the University of Oxford, and PI of the oRANGE lab (Oxford risk and resilience, genes and environment) will share her expert knowledge and insights into the current research and practical strategies about how we can collectively tackle bullying. This is part of the ‘Professor Judy Dunn Webinar Series’, it will disseminate the evidence-based research on different mental health topics, to help parents, and those working with children and young people.

JUST ￡10, FREE for ACAMH Members! See website for details and registration.

Understanding and supporting children looked after and adopted children

It is recognised that the children looked after population is often on clinical caseloads, yet there appears to be little discussion around both the impact of their early life experiences on their neuropsychology, and the practical aspects of working with this specific population due to this. This webinar will focus on the mental health of children looked after and adopted children. See website for details and registration.

FREE ACAMH Posters! Helping You, Help Others

As part of our commitment to sharing information and best practice globally, we are delighted to offer you the chance to get FREE A3 posters, including FREE delivery! Order now and be part of the advancement of child and adolescent mental health.

Featured Papers from The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry (JCPP)

Exposure to prenatal infection and the development of internalizing and externalizing problems in children: a longitudinal population-based study

A large body of work has reported a link between prenatal exposure to infection and increased psychiatric risk in offspring. However, studies to date have focused primarily on exposure to severe prenatal infections and/or individual psychiatric diagnoses in clinical samples, typically measured at single time points, and without accounting for important genetic and environmental confounders. In this study, we investigated whether exposure to common infections during pregnancy is prospectively associated with repeatedly assessed child psychiatric symptoms in a large population-based study.

Authors: Anna Suleri, Anna-Sophie Rommel, Alexander Neumann, Mannan Luo, Manon Hillegers, Lotje de Witte, Veerle Bergink, Charlotte A. M. Cecil

Testing the social motivation theory of autism: the role of co-occurring anxiety

The Social Motivation Theory proposes that social reward processing differences underlie autism. However, low social motivation has also been linked to higher anxiety. Given the co-occurrence between autism and anxiety, it is possible that anxiety drives the association between social motivation and autistic characteristics. This study tests the mechanisms underlying the association between social motivation and autistic traits.

Authors: Eloise Bagg, Hannah Pickard, Manting Tan, Tim J. Smith, Emily Simonoff, Andrew Pickles, Virginia Carter Leno, Rachael Bedford

Editorial: Prevention is the best cure – or is it? A cautionary tale

In large parts of the Western world prevention is considered a necessary, core component of successful youth care practice. Yet, mental health problems in young people do not appear to have declined over the past decades. How to explain this paradox? In this editorial for the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, several possible explanations are explored, one of which centers around how prevention is being operationalized—primarily, nowadays, as a screen-and-resolve ‘troubleshooting’ approach, rather than as an approach that supports the development of good health, competence, and resilience.

Authors: Geertjan Overbeek