The Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health (ACAMH)

13/03/2026

🚨 HUGE EARLY BIRD SAVING!

This conference will explore current debates around autism and ADHD, focusing on how scientific evidence, diagnostic practices, and rising demand for assessment intersect within contemporary neurodevelopmental care. Bringing together leading experts, the programme will examine how changes in diagnostic frameworks, service pressures, and social contexts shape who receives a diagnosis, when, and with what implications for young people, families, and services.

EARLY BIRD ENDS 16 MARCH! https://bit.ly/3Z9eaCX

Confirmed speakers; Professor Sam Cortese, Professor Jonathan Green, Professor Will Mandy, Professor Petrus de Vries, Professor Stephen Hinshaw, and Professor Simonoff.

Book now with fantastic early bird: https://bit.ly/3Z9eaCX

13/03/2026

In this Nip in the Bud film, Dr. Gordana Milavic, Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist at the Maudsley Hospital, explains how depression presents in children and why it is often missed or misunderstood.

Watch now to understand how depression can manifest in children, affecting both feelings and behaviour, and recognise why childhood depression is often under-identified and the risks of delayed support. https://bit.ly/4aHiWOs

13/03/2026

🧠 Working with children, adolescents, and families affected by ADHD?

Join Professor Samuele Cortese for a comprehensive 4-hour clinical expert session designed specifically for mental health professionals.

Through live case examples, interactive polls, and Q&A, you’ll gain practical skills and research-backed insights to improve assessment, treatment, and outcomes in daily practice.

A must-attend for psychologists, psychiatrists, nurses, and allied professionals. https://bit.ly/4pms6Vz

13/03/2026

"Current discussions increasingly situate ADHD within broader debates about neurodiversity, while retaining its status as a diagnosable condition associated with impairment and distress. From a clinical perspective, diagnosis relies on careful evaluation of symptom persistence, pervasiveness across settings, and functional impact, interpreted within a developmental framework."

This blog breaks down current evidence on assessment, medication, and psychosocial interventions for children and adolescents.

Read more 👉 https://bit.ly/46qy6VU

Plus join Professor Samuele Cortese, one of the world’s most influential researchers of the past decade, for a comprehensive 4-hour clinical expert session on ADHD, designed specifically for mental health professionals working with children, adolescents, and families. https://bit.ly/4pms6Vz

Research over the past decade have refined our understanding of ADHD epidemiology, neurobiology, diagnosis, and treatment, with growing emphasis on evidence-based assessment, multimodal intervention, and shared decision-making with young people and families.

12/03/2026

In this talk, Professor Snowling explores the relationship between language and reading development in children. She examines protective and risk factors that shape academic and emotional development, emphasizing the importance of early intervention, strong home literacy environments, and supportive relationships.

Professor Snowling also considers the links between language and literacy difficulties and mental health, underscoring the need for holistic approaches that address both learning and emotional wellbeing.

An interesting watch. https://bit.ly/4krjP18

12/03/2026

"In the Child Trauma and Recovery Group at University College London (UCL), we have worked with hundreds of children and young people living in care. Many of these young people have experienced struggles with their mental health, and these haven’t always been picked up early enough, too often leading young people to reach crisis point.

In this study, we wanted to understand whether the current government policy in England of using the carer-completed SDQ is enough to spot common and trauma-related mental health symptoms in children in care."

Read the full blog by Dr. Eva Sprecher to learn more.

Children living in care are more likely to experience mental health difficulties than children with no experience of care. Early intervention is important to ensure children living in care get access to the best evidence-based mental health treatment before reaching crisis point. This blog shares ne...

12/03/2026

Join us on 22 June for a fantastic webinar on 'ARFID in Autistic Young People: Assessment, Overlap and Practical Clinical Management'

Dr. Rachel Bryant-Waugh leads this advanced three-hour online event, bringing together leading experts to explore assessment, differential diagnosis, and formulation in this high-risk clinical group.

Book now with fantastic EARLY BIRD!

Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) presents particular complexity in autistic children and young people, where sensory sensitivities, anxiety, rigidity, and medical concerns frequently overlap. This advanced three-hour online event brings together leading experts to explore assessment...

12/03/2026

‘Complex Mental Health Needs: When Services Come Together for Service Innovation’ seeks to emphasise the importance of collaboration among agencies when standard practices fall short in meeting the needs of children and young people (CYP). It will showcase the collaborative efforts of various organisations in Portsmouth that support CYP and their families facing complex challenges. It is a webinar with opportunities to share reflections and experiences with the speakers and the panel.

📆 22 April 2026 2pm UK

Book now to learn more.

The event seeks to emphasise the importance of collaboration among agencies when standard practices fall short in meeting the needs of children and young people (CYP). It will showcase the collaborative efforts of various organisations in Portsmouth that support CYP and their families facing complex...

11/03/2026

"If you can explain things playfully, the child is more likely to understand what’s being communicated and feel emotionally safe to receive it, compared to just being told. There’s a huge difference. Sometimes parents take their child to a CAMHS appointment and the child completely shuts down. They leave feeling they couldn’t share what their child’s actually like. That’s quite common. Therapeutic play can bridge that gap."

On 17 March 2026, ACAMH will host a webinar Unlocking Therapeutic Powers of Play: Practical Techniques for Safe and Effective Play Therapy. https://bit.ly/4ppOayA

We caught up with the presenter – Laura Hanks, a Senior Lecturer at the University of South Wales and BAPT Accredited Play Therapist with experience across public and private sectors – about the topic itself, her career, and her hopes for the event. https://bit.ly/4amnf0r

Q&A with Laura Hanks on the therapeutic powers of play, her career, and her hopes for the event on 'Unlocking the therapeutic powers of play'

11/03/2026

This powerful episode dives into how a mother’s own childhood trauma can quietly shape the emotional lives of her children – and how that cycle can be broken.

Drawing on a rare 12‑year study of around 300 mostly Black, highly disadvantaged families in the US Midwest, Dr Meeyoung Min unpacks how her team followed mothers and babies from birth through early adolescence to understand what really drives later mental health.​ https://youtu.be/-D-wJcYZ9ns

11/03/2026

Join us on 26 March for a fantastic two-hour online training event focusing on social anxiety in adolescents, with a strong emphasis on developing practical clinical skills.

Book now to gain guidance and tools for the sensitive and accurate detection of social anxiety. https://bit.ly/4sI0vjQ

This advanced session will be ideal for professionals in child and family mental health who have therapeutic experience with children and families. Attention will be given to common challenges around engagement, particularly when working with adolescents who may be reluctant or ambivalent about support.

11/03/2026

In this 9-minute lived experience film, Susannah shares her journey with eating disorders, which began at age 10 with body image worries that led to dieting, weight loss, self-harm, and bulimia.

Through her story, she reflects on the power of recognising shared experiences and how openness and storytelling can play a vital role in recovery. https://bit.ly/4qWcEzB