What does it take to support children’s mental health and learning when their classrooms are in the middle of a conflict zone?

In this Mind the Kids episode ‘Delivering School Intervention: Culture, Context and Conflict’ we explore how research can really work for children and young people in the real world, not just on paper.

Dr. Jane Gilmour and Professor Umar Toseeb sit down with Professor Jean Francois Trani to delve into a classroom based psychosocial intervention delivered in rural Afghan primary schools during a period of political upheaval.

Together, they unpack how an international research team and local community partners co designed and delivered a universal, school based programme that aimed to improve mental health, boost learning, and reduce stigma in a setting marked by decades of conflict. They discuss what it means to adapt activities to local culture, the difference between accumulated and intergenerational trauma, and why task shifting to trained community members can be so powerful in low resource settings.

If you’re interested in community led interventions, global South research, or how universal school provision can support both wellbeing and inclusion, you won’t want to miss this.

Get a free CPD/CME certificate for listening to this podcast by registering for a FREE ACAMH Learn account at https://bit.ly/4fF4BBW

Visit https://www.acamh.org
Facebook and LinkedIn search / ACAMH
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/assoc.camh
Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/acamh.bsky.social
X https://x.com/acamh

Why do so many studies – and headlines – focus on what goes wrong in childhood, when some young people go through adversity and still find ways to thrive?

In this episode of Mind the Kids, 'Protecting Mental Health, the Power of Positive', Dr. Jamie Hanson talks to hosts Dr. Jane Gilmour and Prof Umar Toseeb, about how early life adversity, positive affect, and internalizing difficulties like anxiety and depression are connected over time, using data from the large ABCD cohort in the United States. They unpack what counts as “early life adversity” beyond classic ACEs, what psychologists really mean by positive affect (and why it is not just the absence of negative mood), and how different trajectories of positivity across middle childhood may help explain which young people are most at risk – and who might be buffered.
​
The conversation moves from theory to practice: why optimism and joy are trainable, how strength‑based programmes and everyday passions (sport, music, clubs, “the best apple I’ve ever had”) can support resilience, and what this all means for schools, policymakers, and anyone trying to help children grow after difficult early experiences.

You can read the main JCPP paper discussed in this episode, “Positive affect as a developmental mediator of early adversity and internalizing psychopathology" at https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.70104

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

Visit https://www.acamh.org
Facebook and LinkedIn search / ACAMH
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/assoc.camh
Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/acamh.bsky.social
X https://x.com/acamh

Why do some teenagers seem permanently jet lagged, wide awake at midnight and exhausted at 8am? And what does that actually do to their mood, their learning, and their long term mental health?

In this episode of Mind the Kids, titled ‘Regular sleep, the balm of hurt minds’, Dr. Konstantin Drexl joins hosts Dr. Jane Gilmour and Professor Umar Toseeb, to unpack the science of adolescent sleep: from what terms like chronotype, circadian rhythm and REM sleep really mean, to how sleep loss and anxiety feed into each other in everyday life.

Together, they explore why regular sleep can act as a protective factor for some young people, why others seem especially sensitive to even small disruptions, and what this might mean for school start times, smartphones at bedtime, and whole family sleep hygiene. Whether you are a parent, teacher, clinician or researcher, this conversation offers clear, practical insights into how supporting teenage sleep could be one of the simplest ways to support teenage minds.

You can read the main JCPP Advances paper discussed in this episode, “Toward an idiographic understanding of the role of sleep-mood dynamics in adolescents' internalizing symptoms” https://doi.org/10.1002/jcv2.70082

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

Visit https://www.acamh.org
Facebook and LinkedIn search / ACAMH
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/assoc.camh
Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/acamh.bsky.social
X https://x.com/acamh

Children with mild intellectual difficulties are often overlooked, but the evidence suggests they may face real challenges in emotional wellbeing, behaviour and education, especially when support is patchy or late.

In this Mind the Kids episode, Dr. Foteini Tseliou joins hosts Dr. Jane Gilmour and Prof Umar Toseeb to discuss the paper 'Factors Associated with Better Emotional, Behavioural and Educational Outcomes in Children with Mild Intellectual Disabilities'.

They highlight three big messages: many children with mild intellectual difficulties are in mainstream schools and may not be formally identified; peer relationships emerge as one of the strongest protective factors across outcomes; and it is the accumulation of support across home, school and friendships that seems to matter most, rather than any single intervention on its own.

At the same time, the conversation makes clear that outcomes are not fixed by IQ. With the right support, many children with mild intellectual difficulties can do well, and the protective factors that help them often help other children too – which makes a strong case for universal, inclusive provision rather than waiting until problems become severe.

You can read the main JCPPA Advances journal paper discussed in this episode, “Factors associated with better emotional, behavioural and educational outcomes in children with mild intellectual difficulties” https://doi.org/10.1002/jcv2.70072

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

Visit https://www.acamh.org
Facebook and LinkedIn search / ACAMH
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/assoc.camh
Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/acamh.bsky.social
X https://x.com/acamh

AI chatbots can feel warm, human and tailored, but this brings real risks when the advice is wrong or incomplete, especially for vulnerable young people with eating or body-image concerns. 

In this Mind the Kids episode “Adolescence and Appearance. AI eat your words”, Dr. Florence Sheen talks to hosts Dr. Jane Gilmour and Prof Umar Toseeb.

They highlight three big issues: we rarely know what sources the chatbot is drawing on; there is no built‑in safeguarding link back to parents, schools or services; and its list‑style “here’s what to do” responses may particularly appeal to perfectionistic or rigid thinkers, potentially fuelling disordered behaviours rather than challenging them.

At the same time, young people are using AI alongside social media and official sites in quite a savvy way – they might go to the NHS for physical symptoms, but to chatbots for lived experience and emotional validation – so opinion and evidence are constantly blended. The Florence, Jane, and Umar argue this makes digital literacy crucial: talk openly with young people about what they see, encourage them to check information against other sources, and model responsible use rather than banning AI outright. 

They also call for independent, transparent evaluation of any AI tools aimed at youth mental health, and for developers to work with researchers, clinicians and people with lived experience so that future systems are both safer and better able to support real-world wellbeing.

You can read the main CAMH journal paper discussed in this episode, “How do Artificial Intelligence chatbots respond to questions from adolescent personas about their eating, body weight or appearance?” https://doi.org/10.1111/camh.70047

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

Visit https://www.acamh.org
Facebook and LinkedIn search / ACAMH
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/assoc.camh
Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/acamh.bsky.social
X https://x.com/acamh

Trauma-informed and trauma-responsive care are at the heart of this thoughtful conversation about how we support children and young people who have experienced adversity.

In this Mind the Kids episode 'Trauma responsive care: It's all about me', hosts Dr. Jane Gilmour and Professor Umar Toseeb, talk with Dr. Sarah Parry, University of Manchester, about what trauma actually is, how it overlaps with adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), and why simply “totting up” ACEs scores can miss the individual context and meaning of events for each young person.

They explore the principles that should underpin good practice with all children and adolescents – consistency, curiosity, low emotional tone, and sensitivity to triggers – and ask whether these should be seen as core to high-quality care rather than an “add‑on” labelled trauma-informed.

The discussion moves from definitions to practice: Sarah unpacks the difference between being “trauma-aware”, “trauma-informed” and “trauma-responsive”, arguing that truly responsive care must be embedded across whole organisations and systems, not just in the therapy room. Drawing on her work in residential care and with young people who hear voices, she highlights the importance of framing, coping strategies, choice, safety, and timing in talking therapies, as well as the potential harms of blame and poorly timed debriefing after traumatic events.

The episode also touches on intergenerational and indirect forms of trauma, links with cultural humility, and how environments can be shaped so that all young people – including those in care or from marginalised communities – can engage and recover.

Whether you are a clinician, researcher, educator, or caregiver, this conversation offers a nuanced, practical look at moving beyond buzzwords toward everyday, trauma-responsive environments that genuinely support young people’s mental health.

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

Visit https://www.acamh.org
Facebook and LinkedIn search / ACAMH
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/assoc.camh
Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/acamh.bsky.social
X https://x.com/acamh

In this episode of Mind the Kids, hosts Dr Jane Gilmour, honorary consultant clinical psychologist and Child Development Programme Director at UCL, and Professor Umar Toseeb, Professor of Psychology at the University of York, explore what happens when children and young people with severe or complex mental health difficulties are admitted to hospital.

Drawing on a powerful real-world case that sparked Umar’s interest, they ask: when is inpatient care really needed, what does a good ward environment look like, and how does admission affect young people and their families over time?

Jane and Umar are joined by Dr Dawn Cutler, Principal Clinical Psychologist, and Guy Larrington, Principal Family Therapist at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, who discuss:

The episode also touches on neurodiversity in inpatient settings, systemic inequalities in who is detained, and the transdiagnostic skills and therapeutic relationships that can support recovery across diagnoses. This is a practical, reflective conversation for clinicians, researchers, and anyone wanting to better understand inpatient child and adolescent mental health care.

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

Visit https://www.acamh.org
Facebook and LinkedIn search / ACAMH
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/assoc.camh
Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/acamh.bsky.social
X https://x.com/acamh

For many families of autistic young people, leaving school feels less like a gentle transition and more like falling off a cliff into a fragmented, underfunded adult service system where no one is clearly in charge. In this Mind the Kids episode 'Navigating the service cliff - Supporting autistic youth transition into adulthood', Mark Tebbs speaks with Professor Julie Lowndes Taylor from Vanderbilt University Medical Center about ASSIST (Advocating for SupportS to Improve Service Transition), a 12‑week parent advocacy programme designed to equip families with the knowledge, skills and confidence to navigate that maze.​

Drawing on a large multi-site randomised controlled trial of 185 families, they discuss how ASSIST weaves together national-level information on adult disability services with local expert input, how moving the programme online during COVID reshaped both accessibility and peer support, and what the data show about changes in parents’ advocacy skills, service knowledge and actual access to government-funded programmes. The conversation also looks ahead to next steps, including using the ASSIST curriculum to train peer navigators, tackling structural barriers such as underfunding and provider shortages, and ensuring that efforts to boost advocacy do not inadvertently widen existing inequities.
​
You can read the main JCPP paper discussed in this episode, “Effects of a parent advocacy intervention on service access for transition-aged autistic youth,” via https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.70036

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

Visit https://www.acamh.org
Facebook and LinkedIn search / ACAMH
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/assoc.camh
Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/acamh.bsky.social
X https://x.com/acamh

In this special episode of Mind the Kids, “Tics: Education, Education, Education”, hosts Dr. Jane Gilmour, Honorary Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Child Development Programme Director at UCL, and Professor Umar Toseeb from the University of York, take a deep dive into Tourette’s syndrome—what it is, how it manifests, and how it’s often misunderstood.

Inspired by the BAFTA award-winning film I, Swear, Jane and Umar discuss the difference between types of tics, what Tourette’s looks like in real life versus in media portrayals, and the realities for children and young people living with the condition today.

Their conversation spans everything from neurological and functional tics to the challenges of recognition, school experiences, and how we can all respond with greater empathy and understanding.

Get a free CPD/CME certificate for listening to this podcast by registering for a FREE ACAMH Learn account at https://bit.ly/4fF4BBW

Visit https://www.acamh.org Facebook and LinkedIn search / ACAMH
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/assoc.camh
Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/acamh.bsky.social
X https://x.com/acamh

This episode of 'Mind the Kids: Lessons from the ABCD data revolution' unpacks why “how we measure puberty” really matters for understanding adolescent mental health and development. Professor Adriene Beltz talks to Mark Tebbs about the huge US Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study, which is following nearly 12,000 young people over 10 years with regular brain scans and surveys, giving an unprecedented window into how early experiences shape later outcomes.​

While investigating multisite pain and sex differences, her team stumbled on a problem: researchers using ABCD data were often relying on a convenient categorical puberty score (pre‑, early, mid‑, late, post‑puberty) that drops information and heavily weights the onset of menstruation, rather than using a richer continuous score based on all five pubertal development items. Their analyses show the continuous score is generally more reliable, better aligned with existing puberty research, and less distorted by big “jumps” around menarche, especially for girls.​

The conversation becomes a wider call to action: if puberty timing and tempo can shape lifelong trajectories in mental health, pain, and social experiences, then getting the measurement wrong risks misleading conclusions and missed opportunities for prevention. Adriene urges researchers to be thoughtful and transparent about how they score puberty in large datasets, to report clearly what they used, and to remember that puberty is a normative but highly sensitive transition where context, culture, and support all matter just as much as hormones.

 Read the paper 'Research Review: On the (mis)use of puberty data in the ABCD Study® – a systematic review, problem illustration, and path forward' at https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.70035

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

Visit https://www.acamh.org

Facebook and LinkedIn search / ACAMH 

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/assoc.camh

Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/acamh.bsky.social

X https://x.com/acamh