Faculty of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Annual Conference 2025 Resources 

Please note that the presentations are the intellectual property of the speaker and the College and any unauthorised broadcasting/copying of the material is strictly prohibited. Presentations are only available where speakers have provided permission.

Thursday presentations:

Digital psychosocial intervention for adolescents with depression and anxiety on the waitlist for CYPMHS - Professor Ian Goodyer, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge

Digital psychosocial intervention for adolescents with depression and anxiety on the waitlist for CYPMHS - Dr Raphael Kelvin, National Clinical Educator Lead NHS England

Eating disorders: from community based research to improving services - Dr Benjamin Geers, University of Exeter

Friday presentations:

Adolescents in the wild web: bringing order to chaos through research - Lukas Gunschera, MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge

Innovations in neurostimulation in child and adolescent mental health - Dr Aldo Conti, King's College London

Innovations in neurostimulation in child and adolescent mental health - Prof Steven Marwaha, University of Birmingham, Severe Mood Disorders Clinic, Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Trust

Navigating during a storm: Improving information provision about CAMHS services for young people and parents/carers - Dr Shuo Zhang, King's College London, Dr James Roe, University of Nottingham, Dr Pallab Majumder, University of Nottingham; Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Thank you for attending the conference.

We'd really appreciate it if you could spend a few moments completing the feedback form/s and letting us know what went well and if there were any aspects that could be improved.

• Please complete the Thursday 25 September 2025 feedback survey
• Please complete the Friday 26 September 2025 feedback surveyAll comments received remain confidential and are viewed in an effort to improve future events.

Ed Beveridge is a consultant general adult psychiatrist and clinical director in north London. He has been working on reducing the risk of early death for people with mental illness for over 10 years, at a local, regional and national level. He is particularly interested in improving integration between parts of the health and care system, and collaborative work with patients and carers to improve quality, safety and experience. He has since 2023 been RCPsych Presidential Lead for physical health.

 Dr Anne-Marie Burn is a Chartered Psychologist and Senior Research Associate in the Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge.  Her research examines the organisation and delivery of health services, and the development and evaluation of interventions for young people's mental health. An experienced qualitative researcher, she is recognised for her expertise in participatory methods, particularly in co-producing digital interventions with patient and public involvement. 

Rebekah Carney  Research Fellow at JUICE - a Youth Mental Health Research Unit based at Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust. Has a particular interest in physical health inequalities and the relationship between mental and physical health. Has over 10 years experience conducting research in CAMHS, early intervention and detection settings and working with young people and adults with SMI.

 Prathiba Chitsabesan is the National Clinical Director for Children and Young People’s Mental Health (NHS England) and a Consultant in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, working clinically within a community children’s mental health service in Manchester (Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust).
She has worked with NHS England since 2017 providing strategic advice to government departments including Department for Health and Social Care and Department for Education. She was involved in developing the mental health response following the Manchester Arena Attack (2017) and contributing to the national framework for psychosocial and mental health care following incidents and emergencies (Emergency Preparedness Resilience Response, EPRR).

 Dr. Aldo Conti, PhD, MSc, is a Chartered Member of the British Psychological Society and a Research Associate at King’s College London. His research focuses on brain stimulation, pharmacological, and behavioural interventions in psychiatric populations, as well as the neurocognitive effects of psychoactive substances on the developing brain. Over the past four years, he worked as a postdoctoral researcher on the ATTENS project, a randomized controlled trial investigating the efficacy of external trigeminal nerve stimulation (TNS) on symptoms of ADHD in youth.

Aldo Faisal is a Professor of AI and Neuroscience at Imperial College London and Director of the $60m UKRI (UK Research and Innovation) Centres in AI for Health. He is a founding Co-Director of School of Convergence Science of Human and Artificial Intelligence at Imperial which comprises over 250 academic research groups. He also holds the Chair in Digital Health at the Universität Bayreuth, Germany. Aldo pioneered science and innovation at the interface of machine learning and human learning, such as the AI Clinician, with applications ranging from neuroscience to biomedical engineering, with applications in neurology, paediatrics, intensive care and public health. Professor Faisal is one of the few computer scientists worldwide leading clinical trials to translate his work from algorithm to bedside. He has received numerous international research prizes and awards, and spun-out his innovation to turn these into products that can be used in health and care. Aldo is an advocate for proactive adaptation of AI and healthcare regulation working with regulators and international organisations, he has been appointed in 2024 by the German Parliament to the German Ethics council.

 Clara Faria is an Academic Clinical Fellow in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge investigating the transition between eating difficulties to eating disorders in Children and Young People

 Tamsin Ford’s research focuses on the effectiveness of interventions and the efficiency of services in relation to the mental health of children and young people, particularly at the health-education interface. She completed her PhD at the Institute of Psychiatry, Kings College London and moved to Exeter Medical School in 2007 where she set up the Child Mental Health Research Group. Arriving in Cambridge in October 2019 she became Head of the Department of Psychiatry in 2021 and is also an honorary consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist at Cambridge and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust.

 Veselina Gadancheva:

I am a Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist at Children’s Health Ireland at Crumlin Hospital, Dublin. I joined the liaison psychiatry team in 2023 and have supported the 22q clinic as a special interest throughout my training. My clinical interests include working with children with rare genetic disorders, informed by my previous specialty training in medical genetics.

 Benjamin Geers NIHR Academic Clinical Fellow in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Exeter and Devon Partnership Trust, Currently in CT2

 Ian M Goodyer is Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and Cambridge University. He is co-director of CambridgeBPI Ltd. A teaching and training and digital technology company focusing on therapeutics for youth mental health. Ho is a co-applicant on the NIHR research Development determining the reliability, validity and acceptability of digital BPI for mood disordered adolescents attending CYPMHS.

Lukas Gunschera is a PhD candidate at the University of Cambridge's MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit. He is interested in the cognitive mechanisms linking social media use and psychological wellbeing, in particular addictive behavioural patterns. Before moving to the UK, Lukas completed an MSc in Psychological Research at the University of Amsterdam and a BSc in Psychology from the Radboud University.

 Heidi Hales has a dual training in child and adolescent psychiatry and forensic psychiatry.  Much of her work has focused on adolescent forensic mental health but she has also worked in adult forensic psychiatry services and Child and Adolescent mental health services.  Having worked as a consultant psychiatrist in HMYOI Feltham and HMYOI Cookham Wood, secure wards for adolescents at St Andrews Healthcare and West London NHS Trust, the North West London Community Forensic CAMHS team, HMP Holloway and West London adult community forensic service, she is now working in inpatient and community child and adolescent mental health services based in North Wales.  She is an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at Bangor University and an Honorary Senior Lecturer with Cardiff University.  Her PhD investigated the effects of contact with suicide-related behaviour on young people in YOIs and in 2016 she was part of a team funded by NHSE to complete a service evaluation and census of all young people from England in secure care.  She is co-founder and co-chair of GIRAF (Group of International Researchers in Adolescent Forensic Mental Health).  Her main research interest is how to evaluate and improve treatment and care for young people who are in contact with the youth justice services due to emotional, mental health or neurodevelopmental needs and how we can learn from care systems in different jurisdictions through international research collaborations. 

 Dr Matthew Hodes has longstanding affiliation with Imperial College and CNWL NHS Foundation Trust, and more recently the  University of Turku, Finland.    Interest in evaluation of psychological treatments in CAMHS. In addition researches  the effect of war and displacement on child and adolescent mental health, recently involved in  investigating the  impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

 Dr Josephine Holland is an academic clinician in Nottingham. She splits her time between clinical work as a CAMHS PICU Consultant and completing health services research at the University of Nottingham. 

Dr Katherine Holland I am a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist in Training with Cambridge and Peterborough Foundation Trust, and an Academic Clinical Fellow (CAMHS).

 Stephen Jackson is Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Nottingham and directs the university's Centre for Neuromodulation, Neurotechnology & Neurotherapeutics. His research utilises converging brain imaging and non-invasive brain stimulation approaches to understand human sensorimotor function. A key focus of his recent research has been to develop wearable non-invasive brain stimulation approaches for the treatment of brain health conditions.

 Iris Ji is a Research Associate at the Andrew and Virginia Rudd Centre at the University of Cambridge. She is interested in interdisciplinary approaches to understanding loneliness in contemporary society. Her work also uses longitudinal cohort studies to examine the interplay of cognitive, environmental, behavioural, and biological risk factors for the onset and development of mental health problems.

 Raph Kelvin is the National Clinical Educator Lead for NHS England’s MindEd program, A Consultant in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, formerly in Cambridge, CoFounding Director of CambridgeBPI Ltd and a former National Advisor to the Dept of Health, England. Raph remains passionate about the importance of good quality, evidence based, person centred care and treatment and is now focussed on delivering learning, training, and education to the next generation to support that into the future.

 Dush Mahadevan is a Consultant in Child & Adolescent Psychiatry working in East Lancashire. He is the Deputy Chief Medical Officer in Lancashire and South Cumbria Foundation Trust. He has recently been elected to the College CAP Faculty Exec Committee.

 Dr Pallab Majumder is a Consultant in child and adolescent Psychiatry and an Associate Professor at University of Nottingham. His area of research interest is exploring, evaluating the challenges and barriers in providing good quality service across the child and adolescent mental health service boundaries. He also researches the areas of mental health of looked after children and mental health, mental illness, and intervention for refugee and asylum seeking children and young people.

 Robyn McCarron is an inpatient consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist at The Darwin Centre for Young People in Cambridge. She has led on developing eating disorder pathways in General Adolescent Units across the East of England Provider Collaborative and champions values-based practice.

Sinead Murphy I am a 3rd year Higher Specialist Trainee in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. I am currently working as a Senior Registrar in Temple Street CHI as part of the Emergency Department Mental Health Team. I have a special interest in Neurodevelopmental Disorders and in Psychiatry of rare diseases.  I am the session Chair!

 Professor Amy Orben is a Research Professor at the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit and Fellow of St. John’s College at the University of Cambridge. She leads an internationally recognised research programme investigating the links between mental health and digital technology use in adolescence. She routinely advises policymakers and public servants around the world, for example as Director of a 2025 UK Government independent research commission on this topic and as a member of the Science Advisory Council at the UK Department for Education. Professor Orben completed her DPhil in Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford and MA in Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge. She has received a range of prestigious awards including the Association for Psychological Science Rising Star Award (2024), Medical Research Council Early Career Impact Prize (2022) and the British Psychological Society Award for Outstanding Contributions to Doctoral Research (2019). She also received the Society for the Improvement of Psychological Science Mission Award (2020) for her work to improve scientific practice and research culture in her field.

 James Roe is a Research Fellow based at the University of Nottingham. His research interests include mental health, stigma and identity. He has acted as the operational lead researcher on several multicentre research studies as part of the NIHR funded Applied Research Collaboration East Midlands.

 James Scott is the Conjoint Professor of Child and Youth Psychiatry at the University of Queensland and Children's Health Queensland. He has established a programme of research developing preventative strategies and interventions for mental illness in children and youth. He has published in excess of 370 peer reviewed papers and in 2025 was the inaugural recipient of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists Section of Youth Mental Health Excellence Award for his work supporting the mental health of young people.

James Scott is the Professor of Child and Youth Psychiatry at the University of Queensland. In 2010, he established the Brisbane Metro North Early Psychosis Service and continued as the Clinical Director until 2022. During this time, he led clinical trials into pharmacotherapy and psychotherapeutic interventions for young people with early psychosis. 

 Sue Fen Tan is an NIHR Academic Clinical Fellow in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Nottingham. She is also the current run-through trainee representative at the Royal College of Psychiatrists Faculty of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Her current research focuses on understanding the acceptability and tolerability of NIBS therapies to support their successful translation into clinical practice.

 Dr Hannah Wishart is a Lecturer in Law at the University of Sunderland. Hannah is the co-editor of this book. She is co-author of the following books: Neurolaw in the Courtroom: Comparative Perspectives on Vulnerable Defendants (Routledge) and International Perspectives of Neuroscience in the Youth Justice Courtroom, which is forthcoming with Routledge. Hannah has published peer-reviewed journal articles on the relevance of neuroscience in youth justice, the abolition of the doctrine of doli incapax, and the unfair treatment of developmentally immature children in the English criminal justice system. Hannah’s research interests include youth justice, neurolaw, legal defences, and adolescent brain development.

 Dr. Shuo Zhang is a child and adolescent psychiatry higher trainee in Northwest London. She is currently out of programme to pursue a Wellcome Trust funded PhD on inequalities in access and outcomes whilst young people are waiting for child and adolescent mental health services at King’s College London.

Service Improvement Project: reducing risks and enhancing efficiency in CAMHS inpatient emergency department transfers

• Dr Blessing Alele

The use of restrictive interventions on a CAMHs inpatient units before and after the introduction of a DBT model

• Dr Matthew Leahy

Do Digital Diagnostic Assignments Predict CAMHS Referral Outcomes? A Secondary Analysis of a Multicenter RCT

• Dr Salah Basheer

The prevalence of eating difficulties and eating disorders in secondary school students in England

•  Dr Clara Faria

Lessons from the Australian Child Maltreatment Study (ACMS) - Professor James Scott

The ACMS is the first national survey in the world to measure the prevalence of the five forms of child maltreatment and the associated health and social outcomes. The results of the ACMS will be presented including trends over time of child maltreatment, family violence and other forms of childhood adversity. The mental health and suicide related outcomes will be reported. Strategies to reduce maltreatment and to prevent interpersonal harm and conflict in families will be discussed. Time will be available for a discussion to share learnings about ways in which we can improve the safety of children.

Learning following the Manchester Arena Bomb - Professor Prathiba Chitsebesan

Previous research suggests that traumatic events can disproportionately affect children who in addition to experiencing the event, may be exposed to secondary stressors and risks through the impact on parents, friends and schools. Learning following the Manchester Arena Attack identified the need to develop separate care pathways for children and young people from adults; providing universal messages of normalisation and validation to identifying and supporting those presenting with emerging and/or more established mental health disorders. The reporting of mental health symptoms for the 710 children and young people who registered with the hub over a 3year period is described and the subsequent learning for other major incidents.

Screen Savers: Protecting Adolescent Mental Health in a Digital World - Professor Amy Orben

Brain on Fire: The psychiatry of paediatric neuroinflammatory conditions - Dr Ashley Liew

Thursday 25 September - Session information

1.30pm to 3.00pm parallel sessions – three options, please choose one to attend

Session 1:

Digital psychosocial intervention for adolescents with depression and anxiety on the waitlist for CYPMHS - Prof Tamsin Ford (Chair)

• A co-produced digital intervention to support young people with depression on the waiting list - Dr Anne-Marie Burn This presentation will outline the co-production of a digital intervention designed to support young people with depression while they wait for specialist mental health services. Young people and parent/carers have been central to the development process, ensuring the intervention is both engaging and acceptable to its intended users. In parallel, we conducted interviews and focus groups with young people on the waiting list, their parents, and health professionals. Findings show the difficulties experienced by families during this period, as well as the challenges services face in providing timely early support.

• Evolving Digital Therapy from a Brief Psychosocial Intervention - Professor Ian Goodyer

  Brief Psychosocial Intervention (BPI) for mood disordered adolescents was adopted by NICE Uk as an approved treatment for moderate to severely depressed adolescents attending CYPMHS. With the growth in referrals and no likely increase in clinical staff to cope with rising demand a valid digital therapy for support / Intervention may reduce waitlist cases and/or prevent decline in mental state in those needing face to face treatment. Here I describe the translation of BPI concept and principles into a digital format.

• Fitting the Dr in your pocket: the landscape for a digital BPI (Brief Psychosocial Intervention) - Dr Raphael Kelvin

  Where have we been, and where are we going with CYPMHS? How do we now meet the burgeoning needs of our children and young people’s mental health? Bearing in mind the 10-yr health plan, policy before and the current regulatory landscape for digital mental health tech, I will illustrate how we are planning the translational science to deliver a self-service digital version of BPI. Perhaps becoming one of ‘The Drs in your pocket’.

• Introducing Brief Psychosocial Intervention (BPI) in a NHS CAMHS setting - Dr Matthew Hodes

  Recent years have seen increased demand for accessible evidence based interventions for adolescent depression. This talk outlines some of the key steps in establishing BPI in a NHS Trust. These include the development of the depression pathway, gaining management support for BPI and a training programme, implementing the training and embedding the therapists in service settings. Data on outcomes of BPI and consideration of its role for those with ASD are discussed. Some opportunities and challenges in maintaining provision of BPI are presented.

• Digital psychosocial intervention for adolescents with depression and anxiety - Dr Anne-Marie Burn

Session 2:

Prescribing and discontinuing medications in early psychosis

Prof James Scott, University of Queensland, Australia

Despite well-established evidence to improve clinical care for people with early psychosis, current prescribing practices do not align with treatment guidelines. A practical clinical framework to support evidence-based prescribing for people with early psychosis will be presented. Key principles within the framework include: (1) medication choice informed by adverse effects; (2) metabolic monitoring at baseline and continuously; (3) comprehensive and regular medication risk-benefit assessment and psychoeducation; (4) routine early consideration of long-acting injectable formulations (preferably driven by informed patient choice); (5) identification and treatment of mania with lithium; and (6) early consideration of clozapine when treatment refractory criteria are met.

Session 3:

Health, justice and values;  embedding, ethical thinking and practice

Dr Jeremy Burn, Dr Hannah Wishart and Dr Michael Jewell. Dr Heidi Hales (Chair)

1 Why would you lock up this child?  (Jeremy Burn/Heidi Hales): In our workshop here last year we trailled a vignette survey in which participants explained their decision-making around whether the child in each vignette needed secure care.  We have analysed over 100 responses to 5 different clinical vignettes and will present the findings, with analysis of what factors impact upon the recommendations made by professionals.

3.30pm to 5.00pm parallel sessions – three options, please choose one to attend

Session 4:

Child psychiatrists  - the need for leadership, innovation and sustainability

Dr Elaine Lockhart (Chair), Dr Anupam Bhardwaj and Dr Dush Mahadevan

Over the past 20 years the prevalence of childhood mental illness has increased, the number of referrals to specialist services has rocketed, the number of consultant child psychiatrists has stalled. At the same time there has been a mushrooming of mental health awareness and different supports offered in other health and community services. The recent STADIA study found that many children and young are not accepted into specialist services even when they meet clinical criteria for mental illness using a structured tool, the DAWBA and only 10% within services received a formal diagnosis. Child psychiatrists can't see all children with mental illness and our services are still hard to reach for those who are most socially marginalised. This symposium will explore how child psychiatrists can support all aspects of their team’s functioning and their engagement with their communities through working differently. We will talk about how providing consultation within our services and our communities helps build a better understanding of where the greatest need is and empowers others to join in this work, with examples from collaborative work within primary care and schools. Finally we talk about the need for service transformation and the role of psychiatrists as clinical and strategic leaders, educators and advocates for children. We will reflect on how many colleagues in health, education, social care and the third sector recognise their role in supporting children who are struggling with their mental health and may develop mental illness, but who lack confidence and competence to do this. 

Session 5:

Eating disorders: from community based research to improving services - Prof Tamsin Ford (Chair)

• Prevalence of Eating Disorders in Children and Young People in England: findings from the MHCYP Survey and the OxWell Student Survey - Dr Clara Faria

  The main aim of this presentation is to provide an overview of the latest research regarding eating difficulties and eating disorders (EDs) screening and prevalence estimates in the community. I will be presenting findings from two datasets - the first is a large population based English cohort (the Mental Health of Children and Young People National Surveys) and the second is a large cross sectional school based survey (the OxWell Student Survey).

• Respect, Safety, and Discovery: a new way of working with young people with treatment-resistant eating disorders and RISH - Dr Robyn McCarron

  Whilst most young people with eating disorders recover in the community, a subset of complex young people deteriorate in the face of traditional evidence-based interventions. These young people are at high risk of sustained restrictive interventions, dependence on nasogastric feeding, and iatrogenic harm. Over the past year the Darwin Centre for Young People has developed a new therapeutic model for working with young people with treatment-resistant eating disorders and RISH. Grounded in values of respect, safety, and discovery, the model uses core processes of contracting, containment, exploration, and individuation to create hope in sustainable change and a life worth living.

• Eating disorders - Dr Benjamin Geers
• Eating disorders - Dr Katherine Holland

Session 6:

Developing clinical care pathways for psychiatry care in children with rare disorders: examples from UK Centre for Interventional Paediatric Psychopharmacology and Rare Diseases (CIPPRD) and CHI Crumlin Clinics for 22q11DS, Romano-Ward Syndrome, and SCID - Prof Fiona McNicholas (Chair)

• Integrated Care for 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome - Dr Veselina Gadancheva

  22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome (22q11.2DS) is a microdeletion syndrome with a prevalence of 1 in 2,000–3,000 live births. It is characterised by multisystemic clinical features, significant individual variability, a high prevalence of neurodevelopmental disorders, and diverse psychiatric comorbidities, including psychosis.
  This presentation describes the development of a liaison psychiatry clinic for children with 22q11.2DS, integrated into a paediatric hospital care pathway. As part of the service, additional support has been made available to parents and young people with 22q11.2DS through mental health psychoeducation, parenting groups, and social support groups.
  The challenges associated with transition to adult services are also being explored.

• Developing clinical care pathways - Dr Laura Bond
• Developing clinical care pathways - Dr Sinead Murphy
• Developing clinical care pathways - Prof Paramala Santosh

Faculty of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Annual Conference

 Friday 26 September 2025 - Session information

11.30am to 1.00pm parallel sessions – two options, please choose one to attend

 Session 1:

 Improving physical health care for young people in child and adolescent mental health services - Dr Shermin Imran (Chair)

Dr Rebekah Carney, Dr Naomi Wilson and Dr Ed Beveridge, RCPsych Presidential Lead for Physical Health

People living with severe mental illness continue to experience poorer physical health outcomes and greater health inequalities than the general population, resulting in a 20-year premature mortality rate. Despite growing awareness and a range of policy solutions such as health check programmes, the problem is getting worse and becoming more apparent at an early stage. Young people with mental illnesses and neurodevelopmental conditions (such as Autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) experience similar poor mental and physical outcomes, many of which have the same underlying risk factors. The seeds for poor physical health outcomes, including high rates of long-term conditions and multimorbidity, are sown early in life and link to wider socio-economic determinants of health. Many of the solutions lie in other policy areas (including education and local government), but there is scope within health and social care to intervene much earlier in life than we currently do. In our symposium we will be making a range of recommendations for children and young people’s services which have been developed with input from specialists and young people with lived experience. We will introduce the Royal College of Psychiatrists upcoming position statement on physical health (2025/26) emphasising the need for prevention and earlier intervention. Specific examples of clinical practice and research with young people experiencing serious mental illness, emerging mental ill-health and neurodevelopmental conditions will be presented covering a range of clinical populations and settings to equip delegates with a wealth of knowledge to take away. 

Session 2:

Adolescents in the wild web: bringing order to chaos through research

Prof Fiona McNicholas (Chair), Dr Laura Bond and Dr Iris Ji

This symposium explores the evolving relationship between digital content, social media, and adolescent mental health (MH). Drawing on interdisciplinary research, it examines how exposure to streamed media and online discourse may influence young people’s developmental and psychological wellbeing. 

Speaker 1 will introduce a widely viewed Netflix series ‘adolescence’, outlining key themes such as identity, isolation, and gender dynamics.  (10mins) 

Speaker 2 will present a mixed methods media analysis of five major UK and Irish outlets selected for their high youth readership. All articles published in the six months before and after the Netflix series release will be identified via systematic keyword searches (e.g. “incel,” “femcel,” “manosphere,” “misogyny”) in media databases. (15 mins) 

Speaker 3 will focus on the links between social media use—and misuse—in adolescent MH, reviewing current evidence linking digital engagement with loneliness, anxiety, and body image concerns. (20mins) 

Speaker 4 will address parental roles in the digital landscape, presenting new tools to assess parents’ understanding of social media and its impact on adolescents. It will highlight challenges faced by both mothers and fathers in keeping pace with rapidly evolving platforms and online behaviours. Strategies for supporting parents through key developmental transitions will be reviewed, alongside implications for clinical practice and policy aligned with recent UK and international initiatives. (20mins) 

Discussion: 25 mins 

Together, these talks offer a comprehensive view of digital influences on adolescent mental health and opportunities for evidence-informed support. 

2.00pm to 3.30pm parallel sessions – two options, please choose one to attend

Session 3:

Innovations in neurostimulation in child and adolescent mental health - Dr Shruti Garg (Chair)

• The efficacy of external Trigeminal Nerve Stimulation (TNS) in youth with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): a multi-centre, double-blind, randomized, sham-controlled, parallel-group, phase IIb trial - Dr Aldo Conti

  External trigeminal nerve stimulation (TNS) received FDA clearance in 2019 as the first device-based, non-pharmacological treatment for ADHD, based on a small pilot sham-controlled RCT reporting symptom improvement in 62 children with ADHD. We conducted a confirmatory, multi-centre, double-blind, randomized, sham-controlled, phase IIb trial in 150 children and adolescents with ADHD. Participants received nightly real (n=75) or sham (n=75) TNS for four weeks. Intention-to-treat analysis showed no significant group differences in ADHD symptom reduction (primary outcome) (adjusted mean difference = 0.83; 95% CI –2.47 to 4.13; p=0.622; d=0.09). No serious adverse events occurred. TNS appears safe but does not demonstrate clinical efficacy for paediatric ADHD. ISRCTN82129325. Prof Stephen Jackson

• Repetetive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for adolesents with depression - Prof Steven Marwaha

  The session will outline the previous evidence in this area, and the TRIDENT study

• Innovations in neurostimulation - Dr Sue Fen Tan

Session 4:

Navigating during a storm: Improving information provision about CAMHS services for young people and parents/carers - Dr Josephine Holland (Chair)

Although often referred to as a single entity, CAMHS is an umbrella term encompassing a network of teams, with structures that vary by region. As young people and their families navigate these services, they often face multiple transitions. Each transition brings potential challenges: new waiting lists, repeating personal histories, forming new therapeutic relationships, and sometimes losing contact with services altogether. Access to clear, quality information is a critical first step to empowering families in their mental health journeys. Yet, a persistent gap exists between the information available and what young people and parents say they need and can understand.
This symposium will highlight recent innovations aimed at improving how information about services is provided, with a focus on helping young people, families, and professionals better understand the structure, purpose, and scope of CAMHS.

• Please mind the gap: a roadmap to accessible information in South London  - Dr Shuo Zhang

  Young people and their caregivers often report that a lack of clear, high-quality information about mental health services is a barrier to seeking help. In South London, communities asked NHS trusts to improve the information that is available to families whilst they are waiting for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. Dr. Shuo Zhang will showcase the collaborative work that is underway between academic, NHS, and community partners to enhance the availability and quality of local information. By building stronger local partnerships, we hope to increase the dissemination of our information to further support equitable access to mental health services.

  Dr Josephine Holland and Dr Pallab Majumder will explore a project on jointly-held care documents, focusing on what information young people want and how they wish to access it.

• Knowing Where You Are Going - Dr James Roe

A project co-produced with young people and parents/carers to develop a standardised template of essential information all CAMHS websites should display.

You will automatically receive a certificate of attendance 1 week after the event has taken place.