Research
How to get involved in research – and enjoy it.
Research can be challenging, stimulating and fun. Your involvement will range from providing data to studies, to supporting multisite studies through to leading research yourself.
Like most things, when you start out you need support. The best way to get a taste of research is to link with an established academic team and work alongside them. They will welcome serious offers of help and should be able to support you with your own work in due course. Be patient. You rarely get awarded Michelin stars for the your first few efforts at cooking. Research is likewise a complex process that takes planning, knowledge, expertise and resources.
Guide to research for child and adolescent psychiatry
Look at the curriculum thoroughly - Victoria Thomas
If I'd looked at the curriculum in sufficient detail, I could have provided all of the evidence the first time round!
I graduated from Newcastle University and completed all of my postgraduate jobs in the UK. I passed each of the MRCPsych exams at my first attempt, however was unsuccessful in gaining a higher training post in CAMHS. I then took a staff grade/specialty doctor post, and, as I was settled in this role, I decided not to pursue further training.
I never planned to apply for CESR, but after a number of years I realised that I would like to have something formal to demonstrate the experience that I had had in my specialty. Most of my clinical experience had been in an inpatient setting, however I had also done two brief community posts and felt that I had gained sufficiently broad experience to attempt the CESR application.
There were no formal support mechanisms in place for this in my Trust, however I sought advice from a colleague who was also going through the process, and from our SAS Tutor, who had achieved CESR herself. I attended a course arranged by the Royal College of Psychiatrists, and it was useful to hear from other doctors who had been successful and hear from them how they had tackled it.
I started by looking at the GMC application form and taking note of each section and subsection. I then looked back retrospectively to find documents, reports, clinical letters etc relevant to each section. I found this fairly straightforward as I had mostly worked in one Trust, so could easily access electronic records and speak to colleagues to gather evidence.
I was fortunate that my clinical supervisor at the time was also the clinical director, and was very supportive in helping me gather the evidence and also in validating well over 1000 pieces of paper! There was a requirement to provide case histories – some of these I compiled specifically for the application, some were amended and anonymised assessment reports etc.
I was not successful in my first attempt. The feedback I received was extremely comprehensive, and I was given very detailed guidance on what I should provide if I wished to request a review of my application. From this I learnt that I should have paid more attention to the detail of the curriculum, rather than focussing on how to fill up each section on the application form.
If I’d looked at the curriculum in sufficient detail, I could have provided all of this evidence first time round, and saved myself the time and expense of the review! I was also asked specifically for workplace-based assessments relating to the outcomes for which I had not provided sufficient evidence. I had not included any of these first time round, so now recommend to colleagues considering this process that they do request colleagues to complete these and submit them with their evidence.
Where there were areas that I found difficult to provide evidence for, for example where I was unable to locate old reports, I found it helpful to include testimonial letters from colleagues who supervised me or were involved in cases with me. I was able to use SPA time to gain additional more up to date experience in different clinical areas where necessary.
From the date I made the decision to start the process to receiving the email to say I had finally been successful, was just under two years. I used most of my annual leave over this time to come into work and gather information, anonymise reports, write up case histories etc. The process overall was not difficult, just extremely time-consuming and expensive – but well worthwhile!
Victoria Thomas
Child and adolescent research resources
Look at the curriculum thoroughly - Victoria Thomas
If I'd looked at the curriculum in sufficient detail, I could have provided all of the evidence the first time round!
I graduated from Newcastle University and completed all of my postgraduate jobs in the UK. I passed each of the MRCPsych exams at my first attempt, however was unsuccessful in gaining a higher training post in CAMHS. I then took a staff grade/specialty doctor post, and, as I was settled in this role, I decided not to pursue further training.
I never planned to apply for CESR, but after a number of years I realised that I would like to have something formal to demonstrate the experience that I had had in my specialty. Most of my clinical experience had been in an inpatient setting, however I had also done two brief community posts and felt that I had gained sufficiently broad experience to attempt the CESR application.
There were no formal support mechanisms in place for this in my Trust, however I sought advice from a colleague who was also going through the process, and from our SAS Tutor, who had achieved CESR herself. I attended a course arranged by the Royal College of Psychiatrists, and it was useful to hear from other doctors who had been successful and hear from them how they had tackled it.
I started by looking at the GMC application form and taking note of each section and subsection. I then looked back retrospectively to find documents, reports, clinical letters etc relevant to each section. I found this fairly straightforward as I had mostly worked in one Trust, so could easily access electronic records and speak to colleagues to gather evidence.
I was fortunate that my clinical supervisor at the time was also the clinical director, and was very supportive in helping me gather the evidence and also in validating well over 1000 pieces of paper! There was a requirement to provide case histories – some of these I compiled specifically for the application, some were amended and anonymised assessment reports etc.
I was not successful in my first attempt. The feedback I received was extremely comprehensive, and I was given very detailed guidance on what I should provide if I wished to request a review of my application. From this I learnt that I should have paid more attention to the detail of the curriculum, rather than focussing on how to fill up each section on the application form.
If I’d looked at the curriculum in sufficient detail, I could have provided all of this evidence first time round, and saved myself the time and expense of the review! I was also asked specifically for workplace-based assessments relating to the outcomes for which I had not provided sufficient evidence. I had not included any of these first time round, so now recommend to colleagues considering this process that they do request colleagues to complete these and submit them with their evidence.
Where there were areas that I found difficult to provide evidence for, for example where I was unable to locate old reports, I found it helpful to include testimonial letters from colleagues who supervised me or were involved in cases with me. I was able to use SPA time to gain additional more up to date experience in different clinical areas where necessary.
From the date I made the decision to start the process to receiving the email to say I had finally been successful, was just under two years. I used most of my annual leave over this time to come into work and gather information, anonymise reports, write up case histories etc. The process overall was not difficult, just extremely time-consuming and expensive – but well worthwhile!
Victoria Thomas
Research teams
The Child Psychiatry Research Society (CPRS) was founded in 1972 and exists to foster research in child and adolescent psychiatry, facilitate links between child and adolescent psychiatry researchers, and foster new research and researchers by organising scientific meetings.
Members can be full members, associate members, honorary members or corresponding members depending on their level of research activity and location. New members are nominated by full members to the secretary, Professor Dasha Nicholls (Imperial College London) d.nicholls@imperial.ac.uk. The current CPRS chair is Professor Alan Stein (University of Oxford).
| University | Team lead | Department or Group | Specialism | Happy to be approached to support CPRS nomination? Y/N |
| University of Bristol | Dr Helen Bould | Centre for Academic Mental Health | My work concerns the epidemiology, prevention and treatment of eating disorders. I am also involved in work on how young people use the online world | Y |
| Cambridge University | Professor Tamsin Ford, Emeritus Professor Ian Goodyear |
| The effectiveness of services and interventions for children’s mental health, particularly at the interface with schools. | Y |
| Cambridge University | Professor Paul Ramchandani |
| Early prevention of mental health problems, play, child development and education | Y |
| Cardiff University School of Medicine | Professor Anita Thapar | Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Section and Wolfson Centre for Young People's Mental Health | ADHD, adolescent depression: genetics, longitudinal research/development | Y |
| University College Dublin | Prof Fiona McNicholas | Academic Child & Adolescent Psychiatry | Burnout; Eating Disorders; Transition; 22Q11DS; Liaison; Pharma o-epidemiology; ADHD | Y |
| University College London | Professor David Skuse | Population, Policy and Practice Dept, UCL GOS Insitute of Child Health | Our primary interest is in rare Mendelian genetic disorders that are associated with cognitive & behavioural phenotypes. Our longitudinal MRC-funded prigram (IMAGINE-ID) is following a national cohort of affected children into early childhood. We also collaborate internationally on Duchenne Muscular Dystrphy studies, including gene therapy, & are developing novel online assessment procedures for detecting ASD in BAME populations. | Y |
| University College London | Dr Priya Rajyaguru | Institute of cognitive neuroscience and division of psychiatry | Early prevention of mental health problems, social influences, executive functioning, rumination, repetitive negative thinking, depression, anxiety, adhd, asd, emotion regulation | Y |
| University of Edinburgh | Professor Ian Kelleher | Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, Division of Psychiatry | We apply data science approaches to understanding trajectories of mental health and illness from childhood to adulthood. We also carry out pharmacoepidemiological research to understand how treatments in childhood and adolescence might affect mental health outcomes in adulthood. We're especially interested in new approaches to the prediciton and prevention of psychosis. We also look at the health economics associated with mental ill health in childhood and adolescence. | Y |
| University of Glasgow | Professor Helen Minnis | Adverse Childhood Experiences Lab | Our work aims to understand and develop interventions for the mental health problems associated with maltreatment | Y |
| Imperial College London | Professor Dasha Nicholls, Emeritus Profesor Elena Garralda, Dr Matthew Hodes, Dr Cornelius Ani | Child and Adolescent Mental Health Research Group | Prevention and early intervention in young people's mental health, especially emotional and behavioural dysregulation and the interface between physical and psychological health. | Y |
| Kings College London | Professor Stephen Scott | Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IOPPN) | Interventions work to improve child functioning, including reduction of antisocial behaviour and promotion of secure attachment. | Y |
| Kings College London | Professor Andrea Danese | Stress & Development Lab at IOPPN | Our work aims to understand how stressful experiences in childhood affect development and later health, and how to best support children who had such traumatic experiences. | Y |
| Kings College London | Professor Emily Simonoff | Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry | Autism; ADHD; ID; Antisocial behaviour; Genetics; Epidemiology | Y |
| Kings College London | Dr Gonzalo Salazar de Pablo | IOPPN | Prevention and Early Intervention of psychotic disorders and bipolar disorder/ affective disorders | Y |
| University of Leeds | Professor David Cottrell | Division of Psychological & Social Medicine | Understandings of & interventions for self-harm | Y |
| Newcastle University | Dr Aditya Sharma | Translational & Clinical Research Instuitute, Faculty of Medical Sciences | Mood disorders in children, adolescents & young adults.
Digital interventions, Global mental health, Paediatric psychopharmacology trials, links with autism & neurodevelopmental disorders | Y |
| University of Nottingham | Professor Kapil Sayal, Prof Chris Hollis (Full Members); Dr Josephine Holland, Dr Puja Kochhar, Dr Pallab Majumber (Associate Members) | Institute of Mental health | Our main research themes & expertise span intervention research (RCTs), Health Services Research, Perinatal & developmental epidemiology; Digital technology; Biological mechanisms undepinning psychiatric disorders; Translational neuroscience; Psychopharmacology; Systematic reviews | Y |
| University of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust | Dr Pallab Majumder | Institute of Mental health | Mental health, illness, intervention and service provision for Looked After Children. Mental health and treatment for refugee children. Transition of care between different parts of the mental health and care system. | Y |
| University of Nottingham and Cambridge & Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust | Dr Anupam Bhardwaj | Institute of Mental health | Clinical trials for Mood Disorders in children & adolescents; Evidence based service developments | Y |
| University of Oxford | Professor Alan Stein | Department of Psychiatry | The development of very young children & adolescents in the face of adversity including parental physical illness, psychological disorders, poverty & malnutrition. | Y |
| University of Oxford | Professor Mina Fazel | Department of Psychiatry | School-based mental health interventions; | Y |
| University of Oxford | Dr Tony James & Professor Francis Szele | Department of Psychiatry | Stem cell research in early-onset schizophrenia and healthy adolescents. | Y |
| Queen Mary University of London | Professor Dennis Ougrin | Wolfson Institute of Population Health | Therapeutic interventions for adolescents with self-harm and understanding early predictors of self-harm | Y |
| University of Reading | Dr Leticia Gutierrez-Galve | Therapeutic interventions for adolescents with self-harm | Y | |
| University of Southampton | Professor Samuele Cortese | Centre for Innovation in Mental Health | Advanced evidence synthesis methods (network meta-analyses, individual participant data meta-anlyses, dose-response meta analyses, umbrella reviews etc) and prediction science in neurodevelopmental disorders | Y |
| Tavistock Research Unit | Dr Eilis Kennedy | Tavistock Research Unit | Clinical trials; Early intervention & prevention; Longitudinal research; Gender identity; Personalised intervenions | Y |
| University of York (Hull & York Medical School) | Professor Bernadka Dubicka (also Honorary MAHSC Chiar Univeristy of Manchester) | Department of Health Sciences | Clinical trials for adolescent depression; brief interventions for depression; online harms; environment & mental health | Y |
| University of York (Hull & York Medical School) | Professor Paul Tiffin | Mental Health & Addictions Research Group | Mental health services, the health workforce, machine learning and predictive modelling in youth mental health | Y |