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Children and Young People's Mental Health: New Normal - Same Crisis

  • Thursday, 18 November 2021
  • The Royal National Hotel, London
  • 08:30 - 17:15
150+
Conference
Attendees
10
CPD
Credits
10+
Expert Speakers
20+
Sponsors & Supporters
  • Overview

Join us at our 6th Annual Children and Young People's Mental Health: New Normal - Same Crisis conference which will help you to develop a greater understanding of how care is going to be delivered across sectors in England over the next five years. This will be through keynotes, panels, knowledge sharing and dissemination of best practice - discussing contentious issues and challenging topics, as well as assessing the way forward.

Our fully CPD Accredited programme of expert speakers will feature an overview of the latest policy and guidance from organisations such as Care Quality Commission (CQC), The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust and Drawing & Talking plus many more… Further discussions around how the COVID-19 pandemic has compounded the likelihood of children and young people experiencing traumatic life events as more families are plunged into poverty, domestic abuse rises, and more children suffer bereavements.

You will have the opportunity to question, discuss and debate the very latest policies, projects. This face-to-face conference will equip delegates with knowledge of emerging trends and focus on the practical by covering topics such as early years interventions, generation Lockdown, online platforms for gaming, gambling and addiction as well as tackling issues with access to services.

Learn from innovative solutions being delivered in-tandem with NHS, schools, third-sector and local government initiatives providing targeted support to children whose mental health has deteriorated as a result of heightened anxieties, bereavement, changes in family circumstances - such as relationship strain or loss of employment, as a result of the pandemic.

Open Forum Events are delighted to be gaining a reputation for “truly inspirational” health and social care conferences. Our delegates are telling us that they leave our events with “new ideas and approaches” they can “actually apply” within their own organisations. We are proud to be recognised as a leading organiser of national conferences.

The COVID-19 pandemic has compounded the likelihood of children and young people experiencing traumatic life events as more families are plunged into poverty, domestic abuse rises and more children suffer bereavements. YouGov conducted a poll of 4,000 children and young people on behalf of Barnardo's for the charity's report Generation Lockdown, more than two-fifths of respondents (41%) said they were more lonely as a result of lockdown, 38% were more worried, 37% felt more sad, 34% said they were more stressed and one-third (33%) reported suffering from a lack of sleep.

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  • Confirmed Speakers

  • Event Programme

08:30

Registration and Coffee in the Networking Area

09:30

Chair's Opening Address

  • Tim McDougall, National Professional Advisor for Children and Young People, Care Quality Commission (CQC) (confirmed)
09:40
"Online Risks to Children & Young People: A Present Overview"
10:00

Speech from the Minister of State for Care and Mental Health

  • Gillian Keegan MP, Minister of State for Care and Mental Health, Department for Health and Social Care (confirmed)
10:30
"Innovating in Response to COVID-19"

This presentation will review the transferable benefits discovered by innovating in response to the coronavirus pandemic that could be carried over into the post-COVID world, both for service users - such as streamlining access to clinicians, as well as benefits to CAMHS service providers; including strengthened multidisciplinary working as a result of more regular meetings between teams, made more convenient by digital platforms.

 

The Liverpool CAMHS Partnership is a collaboration between the NHS and third sector organisations including Barnardo's, the ADHD Foundation and Mersey Care Trust that has adapted to remote working to support children and young people with a wide range of needs, introducing a multi-stream of digital services that have been utilised by more than 800 children, young people, parents and carers since April 2020, including:

  • Establishing a dedicated 24/7 access and crisis care service for children and young people up to the age of 18 years, meaning that any child or young person, parent or carer in crisis can access a mental health clinician directly, at any time, seven days a week via a freephone number or an email address; with the option should it be necessary to receive a more detailed mental health assessment via a video link on the same or next day. 
  • Targeted individual/group support for vulnerable people living with a wide range of MH challenges including sleeping and eating disorders through video or telephone discussions, leading to face-to-face consultations (fully risk-assessed for COVID-19) when required.
  • Increasing and targeting social media activity to promote the services, give advice and share links to support. Instagram has been used to engage children and young people with services, online coffee mornings have been hosted for parents/carer forums to understand their needs.   
10:45

Headline Supporter

"Healing is Human"

Neuroscientists have, now, proved that, for us to positively impact our nervous system we must form social relationships to re-establish brain patterns into feeling safe and secure.

Attachment based therapeutic interventions are an essential starting point for any child who is suffering emotionally and socially.

During this discussion we enquire into why asking why and bringing cognitive behavioural approaches to healing are not always sufficient in meeting individual needs.

11:05

Question & Answer Session

11:20

Coffee in the Networking Area

12:00
  • Professor Henrietta Bowden-Jones OBE, Founder & Director, National Centre for Behavioural Addictions, UK (National Problem Gambling Clinic & National Centre for Gaming Disorders) (confirmed)
"Gambling Disorder in Children & Young People: An Overview"

This presentation will provide an overview of the factors contributing to the rise in children and young people developing a problematic gambling disorder, delivered by Professor Henrietta Bowden-Jones OBE - Founder and Director of the UK's National Centre for Behavioural Addictions.  

12:20
"The Importance of Increasing Mental Health Support in Primary Education"

In this talk Dr Wendy Sims-Schouten will focus on the challenges and opportunities when it comes to spotting signs of potential mental health issues in the primary school age group; acknowledging the voice of the child and parents, as well as developmental pathways and milestones. When we talk about mental health support in schools, most of us picture a teenager, and most of the training such as Mental Health First Aid is geared towards this age group. Yet, there are signs and symptoms of specific mental health issues at primary school and earlier on, even when children are in the EYFS [the early years foundation stage].

 

Getting involved early on with the right interventions, training and support for teachers, may mean preventing those signs from turning into diagnosable mental health issues. Moreover, Dr Sims-Schouten will highlight that if we fail to give children a method of expression, there is a danger that this will manifest itself as behavioural problems, with the child being blamed for their ‘bad behaviour’, receiving punishments rather than support. While teenagers may be able to articulate their feelings, younger children often cannot and sometimes they do not really understand what they are feeling, and it is more likely they will say they have a stomach ache or they are not feeling well. It is not the role of teachers to diagnose mental health problems or attempt to "fix" them. Yet, spotting early signs and communicating about any concerns with parents is essential. This also means a need for more training and support for teachers.

12:40

Case Study

Chris will present a case study of Northpoint Wellbeing, a charity that is increasing access to talking therapies and emotional support services for children, young people and adults in Yorkshire. Northpoint Wellbeing is a delivery partner in NHS commissioned services and runs a Mental Health Support Team working in schools across Calderdale. Mental Health Support Team practitioners are based within schools offering early intervention for pupils with mild to moderate mental health needs and support schools with their whole approach to emotional wellbeing.

13:00

Question & Answer Session

13:15

Lunch

We'll be working with venues to ensure lunch at our events is as delicious as ever and caters for a range of dietary preferences - whilst being served in a safe and seamless manner. Some of the new measures we will be introducing to this effect are:

  • One-way queuing systems with safe distancing in operation.
  • Individual snacking bags containing fruit, trail mix and sweets provided on arrival - this will prevent people mixing around snack bars during networking breaks.
  • Individually portioned dishes and pre-sealed cutlery will be served at collection points.  

We will request food is sourced locally to reduce food miles, use seasonal vegetables, red tractor certified meat and eggs from free range hens.

14:15

Chair's Afternoon Address

  • Tim McDougall, National Professional Advisor for Children and Young People, Care Quality Commission (CQC) (confirmed)
14:20
  • Dr Sarah Wynick, Head of Psychiatry CAMHS, The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust (confirmed)
  • Andrew Balfour, Consultant Clinical Psychologist & Adult/Couple Psychotherapist, Tavistock Relationships (confirmed)
"Working with Parental Couples in CYPMHS"

The acknowledgement that, where there is inter-parental conflict, whatever work is done for the child will be undone if there is significant inter-couple conflict, led to the opening of discussions between Tavistock & Portman NHS Foundation Trust and local charity Tavistock Relationships around the idea of attaching couples therapy to children and young people’s mental health services. Since 2017 the couple’s therapist has delivered more than 300 sessions to parents of children who have been referred to CYMPHS. For some of these cases, the dysfunctional parental relationship was the primary cause of the children’s presenting symptoms. For others, the child had difficulties of their own, e.g. ADHD, depression and anxiety but the parental difficulties were either getting in the way of their treatment or exacerbating the symptoms. In some cases the child’s chronic illness had caused the parental conflict, which was then keeping the child stuck in a negative cycle and impeding recovery.

 

Both the psychiatrist leading the multidisciplinary team and also the social worker in the service found that having a couple therapist with psychoanalytic training and perspective was invaluable in helping parents reflect on the nature and quality of their relationships, as well as enabling the service as a whole to think about couple dynamics from a psychoanalytic perspective more often and in a more thorough way. Promisingly, outcomes for children (as well as parents) were very good, with reductions in children’s mental health problems and behavioural issues, and many of the cases closed as a result of this intervention.  

14:40
"Setting the Agenda for Change - Generation Lockdown and Beyond"

Barnardo’s experience pre and post pandemic has set a strategic direction of travel on how best to meet the mental health needs within our service models, and our key role in facilitating systems change with partners. This presentation will reflect on our learning and provide a best practice example from the Surrey Wellbeing Partnership, a new alliance of 14 organisations, bringing together NHS clinical expertise with local and national third sector organisations with a common goal to work with children and young people in the community to improve their mental health and wellbeing.

15:00

Dr Hannah Prytherch, Clinical Psychologist, Adolescent Mental Health Team and Advantage Programme, Newham Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (confirmed)

Dr Nick Isaacs, Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, Newham Child and Family Consultation Service (confirmed)

Konrad Deckers Dowber, Head of Advantage (confirmed)

"Removing Barriers to Accessing CAMHS: The Advantage Programme"

Delivered in partnership between East London NHS Foundation Trust, North East London NHS Foundation Trust and three London-based football community foundations - West Ham United Foundation, Arsenal in the Community and Leyton Orient Trust - Advantage is an innovative new mentoring programme for young people aged 14-21 years whose mental health and wellbeing has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Advantage provides young people with a dedicated mentor who works with them to set goals and help them get back on track to achieve and aspire in the new normal.

15:25

Case Study - NCFE

  • Janet King, Sector Manager for Education and Children, NCFE (confirmed)
  • Stacy Mann, Early Years and Childcare Subject Specialist, NCFE (confirmed)
  • Angela Rogers, Early Years and Childcare Consultant, . (confirmed)

Presenting a reflection of current challenges facing education practitioners, children and young people, contextualised with current thinking and evidence practice, as well as a case study for discussion and provocation.

15:45

Question & Answer Session

  • Dr Sarah Wynick, Head of Psychiatry CAMHS, The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust (confirmed)
  • Andrew Balfour, Consultant Clinical Psychologist & Adult/Couple Psychotherapist, Tavistock Relationships (confirmed)
  • Jonathan Daly, Strategic Programme Lead - Mental Health, Barnardo's (confirmed)
  • Dr Hannah Prytherch, Clinical Psychologist, Adolescent Mental Health Team and Advantage Programme, Newham Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (confirmed)
16:00

Afternoon Refreshment Break

16:15

Case Study

  • Matt Buttery, Chief Executive Officer, Triple P UK (confirmed)
"Children's Mental Health: Parents as Part of the Solution"

Anxiety disorders are the most prevalent category of mental disorders among children in the UK.  Whilst child-focused cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is regarded as the gold standard treatment, more than 40% of participants do not demonstrate significant improvement.

 

The role of parental factors in the maintenance of child anxiety highlights the importance of working with parents, and a parent-focused intervention can provide capacity for treatment to be briefer, reduce financial burden, and minimise stigma for the child, plus in extend reach to address parent factors related to child anxiety (e.g. parental modelling of anxious behaviours and cognitions). 

 

This presentation will explore a new addition to Triple P’s internationally recognised system, Fear-Less Triple P, and cover it’s evidence and flexible delivery formats from group to parent self-directed online support.

 

Ranked by the United Nations as the world’s most extensively researched family skills training programme, Triple P is backed by more than 40 years of ongoing research. Triple P parenting programmes are used in 30 countries around the world.  Triple P UK is a certified B Corporation®. Certified B Corporations meet the highest standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability.

16:35
  • Elaine Tabony, SCPHN Programme Lead for Health Visiting, School Nursing and Occupational Health Nursing, Brunel University (confirmed)
"Seasons for Growth"

Elaine Tabony has a background in paediatric nursing. Transferring her skills to the community as specialist community public health school nurse, Elaine was awarded the title Queens Nurse following an innovation award introducing the Seasons for Growth Grief Education programme. Currently, Programme Lead for Specialist Community Public Health Nursing at Brunel University London, Elaine was the first person to introduce the Seasons for Growth Grief Education to schools in England. Seasons for Growth Grief Education support children and young people following any significant loss such as death, separation, and divorce. Based on the belief that grief is a normal and valuable part of life, need is recognised to provide the opportunity to examine how grief, because of significant loss has impacted on our lives. Seasons for Growth provides the opportunity for each participant to integrate the appropriate knowledge, skills, and attitudes to understand and to cope with loss and grief. This takes place in an atmosphere of like- to- like peer support rather than a ‘one-to-one’ process.

16:45

Closing Keynote

"Promoting Digital Literacy, Digital Resilience and Wellbeing for Children and Young People"

This presentation will explore the factors that drive children and young people’s behaviour, and how we can promote digital literacy, digital resilience and wellbeing so they can thrive online and offline.

 

Dr Sangeet Bhullar is the founder of WISE KIDS, a non-profit company which has worked with thousands of young people, parents, teachers, other professionals and community groups to develop their digital literacy and competence, sense of agency and wellbeing so they can thrive in a connected world. She believes that online access, digital citizenship education (which promotes critical thinking and positive online participation) and wellbeing are vital if society is truly to harness the benefits of a connected world. She is a member the Welsh Government Digital Inclusion Management Board and a Board member of Wikimedia UK. She can be found on Twitter as @sangeet.

17:00

Question & Answer Session

  • Matt Buttery, Chief Executive Officer, Triple P UK (confirmed)
  • Elaine Tabony, SCPHN Programme Lead for Health Visiting, School Nursing and Occupational Health Nursing, Brunel University (confirmed)
  • Dr Sangeet Bhullar, Founder and Executive Director, WISE KIDS (confirmed)
17:15

Chair's Closing Remarks and Conference Close

  • Tim McDougall, National Professional Advisor for Children and Young People, Care Quality Commission (CQC) (confirmed)
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  • Contact Details
  • Sponsors
  • Supporters
  • Venue
  • Featured Events
  • Downloads
  • Who will attend

Contact Details

Sponsors

Supporters

Venue

The Royal National Hotel, London

The Royal National Hotel, London

Offering breathtaking views across Russell Square the hotel is within easy walking distance to the British Museum. Well located with Russell Square underground station a 2 minute walk away.

Featured Events

  • Mental Health: Delivering Improved, Integrated and Accessible Services

    • 27 February 2014
    • 08:30 - 16:30
    • Contact us for venue
  • Mental Health: The Five Year Plan

    • 23 September 2015
    • 08:30 - 16:20
    • America Square Conference Centre, London
  • Mental Health: Better, Faster and Earlier Help

    • 04 March 2015
    • 08:30 - 16:45
    • Pendulum Hotel & Manchester Conference Centre
  • Children and Young People’s Mental Health: Promoting Integration and Early Intervention

    • 08 December 2016
    • 08:30 - 16:30
    • Pendulum Hotel & Manchester Conference Centre
  • Mental Health: Forward Thinking – Delivering the Strategy

    • 15 September 2016
    • 08:30 - 16:45
    • America Square Conference Centre, London
  • Mental Health: Moving Forwards – The Five Year Plan

    • 10 March 2016
    • 08:30 - 16:30
    • Pendulum Hotel & Manchester Conference Centre
  • Mental Health: Making the Forward Plans a Reality

    • 27 September 2017
    • 08:30 - 16:45
    • America Square Conference Centre, London
  • Children and Young People’s Mental Health: Taking Early Action

    • 06 July 2017
    • 08:30 - 16:30
    • The Royal National Hotel, London
  • Mental Health: Forward Thinking – The Implementation Plan

    • 16 March 2017
    • 08:30 - 16:30
    • The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester
  • Children and Young People's Mental Health: Improving Care, Treatment and Support

    • 12 December 2017
    • 08:30 - 16:30
    • The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester
  • Improving Mental Health Outcomes: Integrating, Coordinating and Transforming Services

    • 25 April 2018
    • 08:30 - 16:30
    • The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester
  • Children and Young People's Mental Health: Providing Effective Support

    • 03 July 2018
    • 08:30 - 17:00
    • The Royal National Hotel, London
  • Meeting Mental Health Needs: Practical Interventions to Improve Services

    • 12 December 2018
    • 08:30 - 15:50
    • Mary Ward House Conference & Exhibition Centre, London
  • Children and Young People's Mental Health: From Early Intervention to Improved Services

    • 12 February 2019
    • 08:25 - 15:45
    • Mary Ward House Conference & Exhibition Centre, London
  • Improving Student Mental Health Outcomes

    • 16 May 2019
    • 10:00 - 16:05
    • Mary Ward House Conference & Exhibition Centre, London
  • Safeguarding Students: Addressing Mental Health Needs

    • 26 November 2019
    • 08:30 - 16:25
    • The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester

Downloads & Resources

  • Open Forum Events Sponsorship Brochure
    Open Forum Events offer a number of partnership, sponsorship and exhibition opportunities that can meet your marketing and business development needs.
  • CAMHS Slides.zip
    CAMHS Slides.zip

who will attend

  • Academics
  • Acute and Community Mental Health Services
  • Allied Health Professionals
  • Area Managers
  • Business / Service Development Managers
  • CAMHS Clinicians
  • CAMHS Services
  • Care Co-Ordinators
  • Chairs of NHS Trust Board
  • Chief Constables
  • Chief Executives and Assistant Chief Executives
  • Clinical Commissioning Groups
  • Commissioning Managers
  • Directors / Heads of Adult Social Services
  • Directors / Heads of Children's Social Services
  • Directors / Heads of Housing
  • Directors / Heads of Nursing
  • Directors / Heads of Public Health
  • Disability Advisors
  • Equality and Diversity / Inclusion Managers
  • General Practitioners and Practice Managers
  • Heads of Commissioning
  • Heads of Service
  • Heads of Strategy
  • Headteachers
  • Health and Wellbeing Boards and Managers
  • Housing Associations
  • Medical Directors / Officers
  • Mental Health Researchers
  • Nurses
  • Pastoral Care Teams
  • Psychiatrists
  • Psychologists
  • School Counsellors
  • Social Workers