As one of the leading organisers of national mental health conferences, Open Forum Events is growing its portfolio of events focusing on the mental health needs of children and young people. The 10th Children and Young People's Mental Health conference will bring together key stakeholders, dedicated to improving young people’s lives, for a day of learning, conversation and networking.
There is growing concern in the UK of the increasing prevalence of mental health issues among children and young people and that support services are currently inadequate and unable to meet needs. In 2022, 18.0% of children aged 7 to 16 years and 22.0% of young people aged 17 to 24 years had a probable mental disorder. Mental health provision was struggling to meet demand before the pandemic, however, the residual impacts of Covid 19 and the current cost of living crisis has further exacerbated the situation.
The Children and Young People's Mental Health: Improving Access to Effective Support conference will present a series of plenary presentations, delivered by expert speakers, to update delegates on the current situation and discuss measures to make improvements. The agenda will highlight specific issues, showcase best practice and will share lived experience.
The conference is designed to encourage interactive engagement between speakers, contributors and delegates through the question and answer sessions and discussion groups, whilst interspersed between plenary sessions there will be ample opportunity for casual networking amongst peers and fellow professionals.
This biannual conference has seen strong delegate attendance at previous events and spaces are limited so reserve your place today.
This conference is designed to induce change with knowledge, innovation, and inspiration.
Any transformation of a process or service requires the input of products and services devised to make improvements such as digital technologies; training provision; workforce planning; outsourced services; data and analytics etc.
If your organisation supports change through your products and services, our delegates and conference participants will be ready to engage with you.
The Mental Health of Children and Young People (MHCYP) survey series provides England’s Official Statistics on trends in child mental health. This national survey series is a unique resource that allows us to track trends over time. These surveys enable us to understand population need and collect data on topics that are relevant to children and young people, such as barriers to services and the cost of living crisis. This presentation will focus on describing the survey series and will provide an overview of some of the key findings from the survey series.
What is grief? A young person may find it difficult to manage the overwhelming feelings they might experience when someone important to them dies. “Grief is very lonely. You feel as if you’re the only person in the world who has experienced this. When you start talking to other people you start understanding it and feeling less alone. Part of the pain of grief is the aloneness.”
What can we learn from bereaved young people, and what can help?
The role of social media within young people’s mental health and in particular Eating Disorders is currently very prominent.
Research is currently ongoing looking at this role however preliminary results will be spoken about here.
Young people are accessing social media at a much earlier age than ever before.
This will also explore the benefits of social media and how it can also help young people.
How HFEH Mind as a local Charity have utilised data from iaptus to mindfully develop and improve mental health services and outcomes for children and young people within the community. Touching on Effective clinical management within the voluntary sector to enhance and improve collaborative working with NHS & statutory services.
Allocated planned time for speakers to receive questions from the audience and induce further discussion.
Sam has been in recovery from a gambling addiction for over 7-years and now works tirelessly with his colleagues at Ygam to raise awareness of the potential harms that are associated with gambling. Sam’s gambling, that escalated during his late teens, had a detrimental impact on his mental health leading to ideologies of self-harm.
As a professional who supports, looks after, cares for and influences young people, do you understand the links between poor mental health and gambling harms?
This session aims to upskill professionals on the links between gaming, gambling and the impact on mental health whilst also exploring the role of shame, guilt and stigma. Details about the support services available and how to access them will also be outlined. Please note this session comes with a trigger warning due to content related to mental health, suicide and gambling products.
Exploring the Power of Group Work
Cath Beagley CEO of Drawing and Talking looks at the struggles our children and young people face.
The impact of world events, the lack of support for mental health issues and the pressure from social media to achieve unrealistic goals and lifestyles. All these elements create a feeling of isolation and not being or having enough.
By exploring the power of therapeutic group work and dynamics, using the Drawing and Talking approach, we can see how creating a sense of community, connection, understanding and bond in groups can help navigate the feelings of inadequacy and not being enough.
Research suggests that the inclusion of dogs in the delivery of psychotherapy for adolescents may have a positive effect on outcomes. These findings suggest that a therapy dog can enhance young people’s experiences in group therapy, particularly in the early stages, and increase discharge rates.
A hot, two-course lunch consisting of multiple options will be provided for delegates. We cater for all dietary requirements, including vegetarian, vegan and gluten/dairy-free; just notify us ahead of time should you have any allergens or requirements.
Our experience of delivering the emotional health and wellbeing service for care experienced children and care leavers in partnership with the local authority
Supporting young people who hear voices.
Hearing voices is a surprisingly common experience, especially in children and young people, and although it is often associated with psychosis and related diagnoses, it can span across other frameworks of understanding voices in terms of trauma, spiritual emergences, and neurodivergence or individual difference. Voice Collective supports young people who hear voices or have other sensory experiences (including visual, tactile, taste and scents), or young people who may have confusing or difficult beliefs about the world. We are a unique service working with young people in a way that centres the sense they make of their experiences and being alongside young people in their distress. We offer a range of support services that look to empower those we work with to process their experiences and develop their own narratives and understandings of themselves and their lives. This includes one to one work, peer support spaces, and creative workshops. Support is also offered to families and professionals working with young people, in the form of one to one support, peer support groups, and trainings. This presentation will give an overview of Voice Collective, the work we do, and an introduction to effectively supporting children and young people who hear voices or have other related experiences.
Young Changemakers is a 3-year funded programme supporting young people from Black and Black mixed-race communities to channel their lived experiences into tackling racial injustices in mental health support and services through social action, campaigning for policy and system change.
UK Youth, working alongside a collaboration of organisations including the Centre for Mental Health and the Diana Award, is supporting local youth organisations to deliver Young Changemakers to young people in their communities. We will share learning from work with Integrate UK who have worked alongside UK Youth to deliver Young Changemakers and support practice development and raise awareness in their work. The presentation will explore best practice in working with young people through developing tools, skills, and practices to support their mental health in a youth-led racially responsive way - recognising the power of youth work as a tool for change.
Childhood acquired brain injury is the biggest cause of death and disability in children and young people; yet it is the least recognised, least understood and least supported disability which has devastating life-long consequences for children and young people.
The NHS estimates that up to 500,000 children below the age of 16 attend A&E with a head injury every year. Many will have sustained a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) that will not have been diagnosed. 90% of these children are discharged with no further follow up.
Public Health Data estimates that by the age of 4 years old, 50% of young children will have sustained a TBI during their early childhood.
The Government recently estimated that 1/6 children, in every classroom, in every school across the UK, is living with the hidden effects of an undiagnosed traumatic brain injury.
This presentation is based on real world lived-experience will cover childhood acquired brain injury; it’s significance in the 0-25 population; and its negative long term impact on children and young people as they move through education and into adulthood.
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.
