This episode ‘Depression Symptoms - Should Fatigue be in the Major League?’ extends well beyond clinical perspectives to offer a vivid, human portrayal of what fatigue truly means for young people experiencing depression. By the end of the episode, listeners gain a clear understanding of why fatigue is significant, the scientific revelations about its impact, and how young people themselves wish for their voices and struggles to be acknowledged—inviting reflection, debate, and a renewed commitment to innovation in youth mental health care.

Dr Nina Higson-Sweeney joins Dr. Jane Gilmour and Professor Umar Toseeb in an open, insightful discussion that blends lived experience with the latest research. The conversation encourages listeners to look beyond clichés—emphasising that fatigue is not simply ‘being tired’ but a profound, subjective exhaustion that rest does not alleviate, and which profoundly affects motivation, self-concept, and daily activities.

Personal accounts reveal fatigue as both a physical and mental force—sometimes striking without warning, often unseen by others, yet disruptive to education, friendships, and self-esteem. Listeners learn how this ‘all-encompassing’ symptom can generate feelings of guilt and social isolation, exacerbated by misunderstandings from peers and even healthcare professionals. The episode adeptly explores the blurred distinctions between fatigue, tiredness, and executive function challenges such as procrastination, considering how depression complicates these concepts.

The discussion further examines how current therapies address fatigue—whether they focus on general depression or also reduce fatigue as a distinct symptom. Nina’s research offers promising insights: whether through psychoeducation, cognitive behavioural therapy, or psychoanalytic methods, treating depression in adolescence can alleviate fatigue; however, more nuanced, targeted interventions may yield even better outcomes. 

 In this episode of Mind the Kids, host Dr. Clara Faria sits down with Dr. Alice Wickersham, Zoe Frith, and Professor Johnny Downs from the CAMHS Digital Lab at King's College London to explore how digital innovation is transforming child and adolescent mental health services. The conversation delves into their groundbreaking work bridging the gap between research and real-world practice, addressing the critical challenge of implementing digital mental health technologies in clinical settings.​

The team discusses their multi-faceted approach to digital mental health innovation, including developing user-centered digital therapies and assessment tools, creating apps like My Journey and My Health that engage young people at the point of referral, and pioneering electronic health record linkage between CAMHS and education systems. They share insights on using natural language processing to extract meaningful clinical information from patient notes, reducing administrative burden through ambient voice technology for clinical assessments, and engaging schools and young people through creative partnerships like their collaboration with Elstree Screen Arts Academy.​

This episode offers a comprehensive look at how digital technologies can address waiting lists, improve research participation, and provide better outcomes for young people facing mental health challenges. Whether you're a clinician, researcher, policymaker, or anyone interested in the future of child mental health services, you'll gain valuable insights into the practical challenges and exciting possibilities of digital mental health innovation.​

For details on CAMHS Digital Lab visit https://www.camhsdlab.co.uk/ 

 This Mind the Kids episode, ‘Therapy and Autism: Actions for Adaptations’, asks what does truly neurodiversity affirming therapy look like for autistic young people with co occurring mental health difficulties? 

Dr Jane Gilmour and Professor Umar Toseeb are joined by clinician researcher Professor Francisco Musich to step inside the therapy room and examine how it actually feels for autistic children and adolescents with co occurring conditions to navigate CAMHS support.

Across the conversation, they move beyond theory and guidelines to the lived details that make or break engagement: the speed and style of language, the sensory impact of the clinic environment, and how far therapists are willing to adapt around special interests, alternative media and different processing speeds. 

Along the way, they weigh personal clinical instincts against a still emerging evidence base, asking which accommodations genuinely improve outcomes and which might be comforting but ineffective, and what this means for designing neurodiversity affirming, research informed care. 

Professor Francisco Musich will be delving into this topic more in February 2026 at the ACAMH webinar - Autism and Co-occurring Conditions: Adapting Psychological Therapies https://www.acamh.org/event/autism-cooccurring-conditions/ 

Get a free CPD/CME certificate for listening to this podcast by registering for a FREE ACAMH Learn account at www.acamhlearn.org 

What actually is a ‘meltdown’, and when do big feelings in kids become a problem that families and schools can’t ignore? In this episode of Mind the Kids, hosts Dr. Jane Gilmour and Professor Umar Toseeb sit down with Associate Professor Erin Gonzalez from the University of Washington School of Medicine, to unpack meltdowns in real-life, everyday language rather than just research jargon.

Drawing on her clinical work with families in crisis, Erin explores what happens in a child’s brain and body during a meltdown, why these episodes are so common in neurodivergent children, and how screens, sleep, and anxiety can create a ‘perfect storm’ for explosive behaviour. She offers practical, evidence-informed strategies for parents and teachers, including how to respond in the moment, why “doing less” can sometimes de-escalate faster, and how to use meltdowns as opportunities to build emotional literacy instead of shame.

The conversation also previews Erin’s upcoming ACAMH webinar, ‘Mastering Meltdowns: Managing Big Feelings in Kids’, and highlights why emotional competence should be treated as just as fundamental as learning to read. This episode is essential listening for parents, carers, educators, and clinicians supporting children whose emotions sometimes feel bigger than they are.

Don’t miss Associate Professor Erin Gonzalez deliver the ‘Mastering Meltdowns: Managing Big Feelings in Kids’ from just £5, details at https://www.acamh.org/event/no-more-meltdowns/ 

‘Mental Health Needs in Care, but Missed Out’ takes listeners inside the realities and challenges faced by children in the UK care system. This episode brings real human stories and statistics together, highlighting that care experiences are diverse and often compounded by instability, repeated moves, and separation from familiar environments. 

The team’s guest, Dr. Eva Sprecher, unpacks not only the scale of the issue but also the pitfalls of current screening tools—revealing how many children’s trauma-related mental health needs go undetected. The episode ultimately advocates for holistic, individualised approaches, emphasizing that recovery and positive trajectories are possible when we truly see and support the whole child, rather than focusing solely on their status in the care system. 

Hosts Dr. Jane Gilmour and Professor Umar Toseeb not only discuss powerful research but also weave in personal anecdotes, legal definitions, and hard-hitting societal themes—from the nuances of terminology like “in care” versus “looked after children,” to the impact of pivotal legislation such as the 1989 Children’s Act. The conversation spotlights stark realities: young people enter care due to layered adversities—neglect, abuse, poverty, parental mental health difficulties, and more—which frequently lead to complex emotional and behavioural needs.

Listeners will leave with real takeaways, fresh understanding, and hope that with the right awareness and policy change, outcomes for these vulnerable young people can be transformed.

More information

Read the Open Access JCPP Advances paper 'Sufficiency of current practice: How well does the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire detect clinically elevated PTSD, anxiety, and depression symptoms in children in care?'

In this episode ‘Special Educational Needs to Label or Not to Label? That is the question’ Dr Jane Gilmour and Professor Umar Toseeb address the nuanced and complex issue of diagnostic labels within education.

Together, they delve into whether the use of diagnostic labels such as ADHD, autism, and dyslexia should continue or if it is time to reconsider their role. The discussion explores the challenges and benefits of these terms, as well as the deeper philosophical questions surrounding how such classifications shape understanding, support mechanisms, and young people’s identities.

They examines the current framework used: communication and interaction, cognition and learning, social, emotional and mental health difficulties, and sensory and physical needs. It considers the impact these labels have on children’s educational provision and inclusion, weighing them against a potential shift towards a needs-led system that might allow for a more personalised and human-centred approach.

Drawing from both professional experience and current research, the conversation reflects on the delicate balance between the necessity of shared terminology for effective communication and the risk that such labels may oversimplify complex individual needs or contribute to stigma.

This episode invites listeners to reflect on how best to support neurodiverse young people within education, ensuring their unique strengths and challenges are both recognised and respected without losing sight of their individuality.

It offers fresh perspectives for academics, practitioners, families, and educators alike on the practice of diagnosis, its effects on young people, and the possibilities for creating a more inclusive and supportive educational environment.

In this episode ‘Does minor aggression have a major impact?’ we confront a sensitive but crucial area: the effects of intimate partner violence and aggression on children.

Dr. Jane Gilmour and Professor Umar Toseeb are joined by Dr. Hedwig Eisenbarth from Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand, the lead author of the paper The Impact of Less Severe Intimate Partner Aggression on Child Conduct Problems, published in JCPP Advances. This paper focuses on lower levels of violence, so they use phrases like ‘minor’ or ‘less severe’. This phraseology, of course, does not imply that they are considered acceptable. 

They explore how attachment theory, social learning, and even genetic factors may intersect with a child’s experience of aggression in the home. The discussion covers the importance of the home environment, the need for intervention, and the complex challenge of studying these behaviours across different cultures.

Hedwig Eisenbarth, Karina Clavijo Saldias, Paul E. Jose, Johannes A. Karl, Karen E. Waldie

Welcome to "Mind the Kids," where stories, science, and lived experience collide to shed light on the mysteries of child development. What if the answer to why some children struggle with attention or language isn’t just written in their DNA, but also shaped by the world their parents create?

In this episode, “Neurotypes, Genotypes and Phenotypes,” our hosts Professor Umar Toseeb and Dr. Jane Gilmour invite Dr. Laura Hegemann to talk about her JCPP paper ‘Direct and indirect genetic effects on early neurodevelopmental traits’ and the wider implications of the topic.

Laura unravels why understanding genetic influences isn’t about fate or fatalism; it’s a nuanced story of possibility, risk, and hope. Her research offers powerful new insights: the mix of direct genetic effects and subtle environmental influences, and why “knowledge is power” for clinicians and parents trying to support neurodiverse children. You’ll hear candid reflections on why communicating these findings is fraught with risks and responsibilities—and stories of families who find both challenge and strength in their inherited traits.

As you listen, expect real talk: about how early intervention makes a difference, why neurodevelopmental traits can be both a challenge and a gift, and how science can help us support—not stigmatise—those on different developmental paths. 

This isn’t just another academic debate; it’s a conversation about how research shapes practice and lives. So settle in for a journey through dilemmas, discoveries, and transformative moments in child behavioural genetics. The story starts here.

From the JCPP paper ‘Direct and indirect genetic effects on early neurodevelopmental traits’ Laura Hegemann, Espen Eilertsen, Johanne Hagen Pettersen, Elizabeth C. Corfield, Rosa Cheesman, Leonard Frach, Ludvig Daae Bjørndal, Helga Ask, Beate St Pourcain, Alexandra Havdahl, Laurie J. Hannigan

Welcome to this episode of Mind the Kids, the podcast from the Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health. In an episode titled 'Income(ing): Poverty and Resilience' Dr. Jane Gilmour and Professor Umar Toseeb are joined by Dr. Divyangana Rakesh from King’s College London, to discuss her groundbreaking research on cognitive resilience among children growing up in poverty.

The discussion centers on the paper 'Beyond the Income Achievement Gap: The Role of Individual, Family, and Environmental Factors in Cognitive Resilience Among Low-Income Youth' published in JCPP Advances. You can access the full article via DOI: 10.1002/jcv2.12297.

Dr. Rakesh shares insights into how some children manage to thrive cognitively despite economic hardship. As she explains, “Although growing up in poverty carries many risks, some children defy the odds and demonstrate positive cognitive outcomes. Identifying factors that promote such resilience in disadvantaged contexts is essential for informing interventions and policies.” She highlights the crucial role of family, community, and individual factors that can foster resilience and improve educational outcomes.

Join us as we explore the complex interplay of these factors and what they mean for child mental health and societal action. This episode is essential listening for anyone invested in understanding and supporting young people’s development in disadvantaged contexts.

Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share with your networks.

Does it really matter which type of therapy you choose? In this Mind the Kids episode, hosts Dr. Jane Gilmour and Prof. Umar Toseeb sit down with Professor Ian Goodyer from the University of Cambridge to unpack one of the most provocative findings in youth mental health research: different types of psychotherapy for adolescent depression work equally well—but not for the reasons we thought.

Drawing from the landmark IMPACT trial (the largest UK study of its kind with 465 participants), Professor Goodyer reveals surprising insights that challenge decades of therapeutic orthodoxy. Using cutting-edge network analysis, his team discovered that the key drivers of recovery aren't what therapists predicted—they're fatigue and insomnia, not the psychological symptoms clinicians typically focus on.

The Common Factors Debate: Why CBT, psychoanalytic therapy, and brief psychosocial intervention showed no significant differences in outcomes

The Speed of Recovery: Why most young people improved faster than any therapy manual predicted (often in just 6-12 sessions instead of 20-30)

Network Science Meets Mental Health: How symptoms influence each other over time—and why this changes everything about diagnosis and treatment

The Sleep Connection: Why addressing fatigue and insomnia might be more crucial than we realized for adolescent depression

The Role of Time: Why recovery continues for 12 months after therapy ends, with remarkably low relapse rates

This isn't just an academic debate. These findings have profound implications for:

Clinicians: Rethinking assessment priorities and treatment planning

Trainees: Understanding what really drives therapeutic change

Researchers: Opening new avenues for investigating mental health interventions

Policy makers: Allocating resources more effectively in child and adolescent mental health services

Perfect for: Clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, therapists, researchers, students, and anyone interested in what really works in mental health treatment—and why.

Madison Aitken, Sharon A.S. Neufeld, Clement Ma, IMPACT Consortium, Ian M. Goodyer

https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.14175