Webinar 19: Maternal anxiety associated with childhood food allergy and psychological intervention 

On By ToksSanwoIn Education, Training, UncategorizedLeave a comment

The next PMHA Webinar will be on Monday 16th May at 7.30pm.

It is on “Maternal anxiety associated with childhood food allergy and psychological intervention”, and will be given by Dr Matthew Hodes, Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer in Child & Adolescent Psychiatry at Imperial College London, and Dr Bea Vickers, Consultant Psychiatrist, South West London and St Georges Mental Health NHS Trust.  

Please sign up using your professional email address (@nhs.net or nhs.uk) via the link below and we will contact you when your registration has been approved.

Click here to register for the webinar

RCPCH Training Course: How to manage eating disorders

On By Paediatric Mental Health AssociationIn Education, Events, TrainingLeave a comment

The RCPCH has an interesting day-long, online training course taking place on the 20th June 2022:

Eating disorders are classified as mental health disorders which can result in serious and life-threatening short and long-term medical consequences and are increasingly common in day to day paediatric practice.

This course will help delegates develop an approach to the management of children and young people with eating disorders. It provides a clinical framework for the recognition, clinical risk assessment and management of children and young people with eating disorders.

It aims to increase knowledge, skills and confidence in assessing and managing a child or young person with an eating disorder in outpatient and inpatient paediatric medical settings.

The course is held online on 20th June, between 9.15am – 4.10pm 

Click here for more information and to reserve a place

Webinar 18: The Role of Psychology within an Oncology Team   

On By ToksSanwoIn Events, Resources, TrainingLeave a comment

Monday 25th April at 19.30 (on Zoom)

The next PMHA Trainee webinar will be on ‘The Role of Psychology within an Oncology Team’. The webinar will be delivered by Dr Angela Kirby, Clinical Psychologist at Addenbrooke’s Hospital and will also cover medically related trauma.  

Click here to sign up for the webinar 

Please sign up using your professional email address (@nhs.net or nhs.uk) and we will contact you when your registration has been approved.

ACAMH Event: Suicide in children and young people

On By nolczakIn Events, News, Resources, TrainingLeave a comment

The Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health (ACAMH) recently announced the following interesting event being held online on the 6th May 9.30am to 12pm.

Suicide in children and young people: Everyone’s concern

The topic of suicide has been identified as a high priority area, particularly in the context of Covid and lockdown, and subject we should all be concerned with. We need to identify those that need help early, and give them the support they need, and provide their support networks with the tools they need to assist. Additionally, we need to be helping families, friends, teachers, and these support networks work through the trauma in the aftermath of a suicide.

This practically focused online conference, organised by ACAMH Scottish Branch, will have talks from clinicians, education professionals, leading agency and charity professionals, and Public Health Scotland. Join us for the latest evidence-based research, and learn how you and your colleagues can better support those in need.

Who should attend

Mental health professionals, health professionals, education professionals, social workers and allied professionals, and those interested in the topic.

Key takeaways

  • How to identify better children and young people at risk of suicide and how to talk to them
  • Improved knowledge of range of services available to support children young people and their families
  • Improved knowledge about the differences in what differing services have to offer.


Click here for more information about the event and to book

Research highlight

On By ik285In Research, Resources, TrainingLeave a comment

Surveillance methodology has been widely used in paediatrics (British Paediatric Surveillance Unit, BPSU) and psychiatry (Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Surveillance System, CAPSS) to provide epidemiological data on conditions of interest. This study aimed to investigate the degree to which community paediatricians are involved in the care of children and young people (CYP) with mental health conditions, with implications for the surveillance of these conditions.

The authors concluded that community paediatricians are most involved in the care of children with neurodevelopmental disorders, and that joint BPSU and CAPSS surveillance would be recommended for these disorders. Whilst community paediatricians are also involved in the care of CYP with emotional difficulties, often due to limited access to CAMHS, it was felt that the decision for single or joint surveillance should be made after consideration of all relevant factors. The authors also highlighted the urgent need to expand CAMHS services in order to provide support for CYP with emotional difficulties, who are currently being managed by community paediatricians.

Involvement of community paediatricians in the care of children and young people with mental health difficulties in the UK: implications for case ascertainment by child and adolescent psychiatric, and paediatric surveillance systems

Ayyash HF, Ogundele MO, Lynn RM, et al. Involvement of community paediatricians in the care of children and young people with mental health difficulties in the UK: implications for case ascertainment by child and adolescent psychiatric, and paediatric surveillance systems. BMJ Paediatrics Open 2021;5:e000713. doi: 10.1136/bmjpo-2020-000713

Follow this link to read the full paper.

RCPCH Webinar: Mental Health Leadership in Paediatrics

On By Paediatric Mental Health AssociationIn Events, Ideas, Organisations, TrainingLeave a comment

Key Audience: Paediatricians with an interest in Mental Health

Wednesday 30th March 2022, 1pm to 2pm, ONLINE

Dr Karen Street, RCPCH Officer for Mental Health, Dr Emma Blake, Chair of the Paediatric Mental Health Association (PMHA), and Dr James Dearden, Consultant Paediatrician and Mental Health Lead, will talk about the role that paediatricians can play in supporting children and young people’s mental health, and the opportunities that mental health lead roles offer for paediatrics.

Click here to learn more about the event and how to register.

Research highlight

On By ik285In Research, ResourcesLeave a comment

The bidirectional interplay between physical and mental health is well recognised, and yet the research methodology used to study the impact of childhood chronic illness on mental health outcomes has in the past often been suboptimal. A recently published longitudinal study aimed to remediate this by using data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) to explore the relationship between chronic childhood illness and adolescent psychiatric disorders, including possible mediating factors, in children aged between 10 and 15 years.

One of the main study findings was that a high level of health-related school absenteeism was the most consistent predictor of mental health problems in adolescents. While there are multiple possible explanations for this, it nevertheless provides an important and interesting insight into the impact of chronic illness on a child’s life and health outcomes.  

Chronic illness in childhood and early adolescence: a longitudinal exploration of co-occurring mental illness

Brady AM, Deighton J, Stansfeld S. Chronic illness in childhood and early adolescence: A longitudinal exploration of co-occurring mental illness. Dev Psychopathol. 2021 Aug;33(3):885-898. doi: 10.1017/S0954579420000206. PMID: 32362290.

Follow this link to read the full paper.

Webinar 17: Transference and Countertransference in Paediatrics

On By ToksSanwoIn Events, TrainingLeave a comment

The next PMHA webinar will take place on Monday 21st March at 7.30pm. The topic of this webinar is “Transference and Countertransference” and it will be delivered by Dr Emma Blake, Consultant Paediatrician in Child Mental Health and Convenor of the Paediatric Mental Health Association

To book a place at the webinar, please click here.

Please sign up using your professional email address (@nhs.net or nhs.uk) and we will contact you when your registration has been approved.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Research highlight

On By ik285In Research, ResourcesLeave a comment

Secure parent-infant relationships are a crucial factor in ensuring good mental and physical wellbeing throughout life. The Parent-Infant Foundation recently published this report, which includes a summary of qualitative and quantitative research conducted with parents, focusing on the parent-infant relationship.

Here are some of the key research findings, but do follow this link to read the full report (page 25-29 for the parent research).

  • Parents ranked the parent-infant relationship as the third most important influence on child development, below the impact of domestic violence and parental drug use.
  • 50% of parents thought there was not enough support available for developing the parent-infant relationship.
  • The fear of judgement and stigma are barriers to parents seeking support with their parent-infant relationship.

Securing Healthy Lives: An extended summary of research about parent-infant relationship help and support across Cwm Taf Morgannwg

Bateson DK., Sercombe M., Hamilton W. Securing Healthy Lives: An extended summary of research about parent-infant relationship help and support across Cwm Taf Morgannwg. Parent-Infant Foundation. December 2021.

Child in Mind Podcasts

On By Paediatric Mental Health AssociationIn Organisations, Resources, TrainingLeave a comment

The Anna Freud Centre has produced a number of expert podcasts to help parents and carers understand and manage mental health problems

To view these please click here

The Anna Freud Centre (National Centre for Children and Families) works in collaboration with children and young people, their families and communities to transform children and families’ mental health

You can go to their home page here.