Catalyst Seminar in Children and Young People’s Mental Health – Online
About this event
Children and young people’s mental health is an area of considerable societal need and has been the focus of a number of recent research council and charity funding initiatives. It is also one of the UCL Mental Health Research Strategy priority areas. UCL has substantial research strengths, across multiple domains, that can and should be at the forefront of leading innovative, cross-disciplinary work in this area.
The UCL Catalyst seminar series is intended to spark fresh thinking and debate, featuring cutting-edge UCL research relevant for children and young people’s mental health and facilitating new connections between scientists working in different disciplines.
The Zoom link will be provided nearer the time of the seminar.
Upcoming Seminar:
Wednesday 10 May, 1pm – 2.15pm
Addressing inequalities in children and young people’s mental health
Chair: Professor David Osborn, Professor of Psychiatric Epidemiology in the Division of Psychiatry, UCL Faculty of Brain Sciences
Speakers:
Dr Jen Dykxhoorn, Senior Research Fellow, UCL Division of Psychiatry. Dr Jen Dykxhoorn is a psychiatric epidemiologist and public mental health expert. Her research interests include the social and spatial determinants of mental illness and the application of longitudinal epidemiological methods.
Dr Jeanne Wolstencroft, Research Fellow, Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health at UCL. Her main research interests are understanding the impact of co-occurring mental health difficulties in children and young people with neurodevelopmental disorders and/or rare genetic disorders and digital approaches to assessment and psycho-social intervention for these children and young people.
Reena Anand is a solicitor and former ombudsman specialising in cases involving vulnerable consumers impacted by the Equality Act 2010. Reena founded her consultancy to address the lack of representation and bespoke support for parents from global majority backgrounds with autistic children. Her work focuses on recognising cultural biases and misconceptions which can impact autistic children getting a diagnosis and accessing support through talks and workshops on inclusion through an intersectional lens. Reena’s podcast Unpacking Autism discusses the impact of culture on the life of autistic individuals and their families. https://www.reenaanand.com/
Talk abstracts:
Dr Jen Dykxhoorn: “Public mental health in young people: Incidence in context”. This talk will draw on recent research exploring the incidence of common mental disorders in adolescents and young adults. I will also draw on our conceptual model of public mental health to contextualise these findings and provide a bigger picture.
Dr Jeanne Wolstencroft and Reena Anand: “Speaking about unspoken groups: Innovative approaches to addressing inequalities in autism assessment”. A conversation between Jeanne and Reena Anand on the under-representation of Black, brown and ethnically diverse children and their families in autism research. The data shows that these children fare worse longer-term because of shame, stigma, denial and judgement from communities and family members; a lack of support in healthcare and education; structural racism; missed or late diagnoses and more. The Children’s Autism Technology Assisted Assessments (CHATA) project aims to digitise autism assessment procedures for families from diverse ethnic backgrounds. The project is a collaboration between the UCL GOS ICH and NHS East London Specialist Children and Young People’s Services, where 80% of families are from an ethnic minority.
