AMBIT Conference: Minds in Crisis

Please note each of the keynote speeches will be followed by small group discussion.

• 9:30-9:50 - Arrival, tea and coffee

• 9:50-10:10 - Welcome from Professor Eamon McCrory

• 10:10-10:30 - Why Minds in Crisis? AMBIT Programme - Liz Cracknell and Rebecca Smith

• 10:30-11:15 - 'Working alongside young people as they recover- from violence to relocation'. A strengths-based approach to supporting young people facing homelessness as a result of community violence - Kate Bond (New Horizons Youth Centre)

• 11:15-11:35 - Break, tea and coffee

• 11:35-12:20 - Minding Minds in Uncertain Times: How AMBIT supports workers under pressure - Shelly Simpson (Ellenhorn)

• 12:20-13:00 - Working together in the storm: AMBIT-informed practice for young people in mental health crisis - Kate Budge (Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust)

• 13:00-14:00 - Lunch and networking (delegates to provide own lunch)

• 14:00-14:50 - Parallel crises in community justice - The Inclusion and Involvement Team - (OPD I&I)

• 14:50-15:35 - Whose knowledge matters? Epistemic injustices across client, team, network and learning - Rebecca Smith and Liz Cracknell

• 15:35-15:50 - Break, tea and coffee

• 15:50-16:30 - Panel and closing discussions - James Fairbairn (Chair), Dr Peter Fuggle, Dr Dickon Bevington

Kate Bond - New Horizons Youth Centre, London, UK

Kate Bond has worked at New Horizon Youth Centre, a charity supporting young people who experience homelessness and housing instability, since 2012. In her current role as Head of Service for the Youth Justice team at New Horizon Youth Centre, she works directly to improve the housing options of young people who are impacted by exploitation and or community violence. New Horizon seeks systemic changes to a system that in its current form, prevents young people from being safe and recovering from harm.

Prior to this, Kate spent over a decade working for three different local authorities in Children’s Social Care and in her last role before coming to New Horizon was the Youth Disorder and Safety Co-ordinator for Camden Council. Over her twenty-year career, she has worked directly with young people and their families from across London and still feels extremely strongly about tackling systemic injustice that prevents these children and young people from reaching their full potential

Shelly Simpson - Ellenhorn, US

Shelly Simpson, a licensed clinical social worker, is Ellenhorn’s director of Adaptive Mentalization-Based Integrative Treatment (AMBIT), a specialized system of care that supports clients and clinicians by promoting mentalization, reducing anxiety, and fostering cohesive, well-connected teams. Shelly, whose previous roles at Ellenhorn have included founding clinical director of Ellenhorn Los Angeles and team lead at Ellenhorn Boston, established Ellenhorn as the only accredited AMBIT training centre in the United States and remains the country’s sole certified AMBIT trainer; she is supervised by Anna Freud in London, England.

Shelly earned a bachelor’s degree from Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas; a master’s degree from the University of Houston in Houston, Texas; and completed a postgraduate fellowship in psychodynamic theory at The Council on Recovery in Houston. She has also worked in management at The Menninger Clinic in Houston. Shelly is passionate about helping both clients and treatment teams strengthen their relationships, navigate multiple perspectives and manage relational anxiety. Her work is grounded in mentalization and deeply rooted in a relational approach.

Kate Budge - Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, UK

Dr Kate Budge is an Associate Director of Psychology and Consultant Clinical Psychologist at Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, where she provides strategic and clinical leadership across a broad portfolio of CYP and Young Adult mental health services. She has extensive experience leading service development, clinical governance, and transformation programmes across CAMHS, youth justice mental health, crisis care, and specialist pathways, alongside maintaining a highly specialist clinical caseload. With a background spanning inpatient, community, crisis, and multi‑agency contexts, Kate is particularly passionate about trauma‑informed practice, psychologically informed systems, and improving care for young people with complex needs.

The Inclusion and Involvement Team (I&I) - I&I – OPD London, UK

The I&I team are a grassroots service built from suggestions and input from people on probation under the London Offender Personality Disorder (OPD) Pathway, a joint HMPPS and NHS programme. The team consists of lived experience practitioners, psychologists and support workers, alongside partnership organisations with similar values and service priorities. The I&I service has multiple aims: to support people’s transition from custody into meaningful integration to the community, to support psychological wellbeing and risk management, and to embed service participant contributions into the fabric of how services run. AMBIT is a core model of the team, alongside community psychology, co-production and trauma-informed practice.

Laura Talbot - AMBIT Joint Programme Director at Anna Freud

Dr Laura Talbot is Joint AMBIT Programme Lead at Anna Freud, having joined the Programme as an Assistant Trainer in 2015. As a qualified Clinical Psychologist, she has specialised in working with adolescents and young adults in several different AMBIT-influenced teams across community outreach services across the health, social care, voluntary and education sectors. Within her AMBIT role, Laura currently works within the Pan-London Violence and Exploitation Support Service, offering training, supervision and consultation to youth caseworkers and managers, who support young people impacted by violence and exploitation.

Liz Cracknell - AMBIT Joint Programme Director at Anna Freud

Liz Cracknell is the joint Programme Director for AMBIT at Anna Freud. As a Mental Health Nurse and Systemic Practitioner, Liz has specialised in work with young people with multiple, risky problems in both outreach and secure settings, utilising the AMBIT approach. Liz has contributed to a number of key publications and the development of AMBIT and has trained and consulted with hundreds of workers in AMBIT in the UK and internationally.

Peter Fuggle - Co-founder of AMBIT and Consultant to the Programme and Community

Peter is a clinical psychologist who has worked in child mental health throughout his career. He currently works as a Consultant to the AMBIT team at Anna Freud. He worked in the NHS as Clinical Director of Islington CAMHS and was concerned about the children and young people with major needs who did not come to the main services that were provided. This led him to join a group at Anna Freud who were concerned about the same issue, which resulted in the development of the AMBIT approach. He has been involved in publishing two books on AMBIT.

Dickon Bevington - Co-founder of AMBIT and Consultant in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Dickon is a Consultant in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and has worked for 30+ years in the NHS, where he leads a team for young people with substance use and multiple other needs, and is Mental Health Lead for the planned new Cambridge Children’s Hospital on the Addenbrookes site. He co-founded AMBIT, and he now works as a consultant to the AMBIT Programme at Anna Freud.

James Fairbairn - AMBIT Joint Deputy Programme Director at Anna Freud

James is joint Deputy Director for the AMBIT programme and is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist. James first became connected with AMBIT in 2011 as the lead psychologist in a regional adolescent inpatient service, helping develop the AMBIT model on the unit, then moving into training others in the approach. James leads on the evaluation of the AMBIT program and jointly leads the AMBIT international study group.

Rebecca Smith - AMBIT Joint Deputy Programme Director at Anna Freud

Rebecca is joint Deputy Director for the AMBIT programme. She progressed to this role having become a Lead Trainer in 2019. Her journey into AMBIT started in 2014 whilst working for Wandsworth Local Authority. In the 18 years she spent in Wandsworth, Rebecca’s roles included work as a team manager in the Evolve Team (who support young people and young adults impacted by gangs, youth violence and exploitation), and as a Youth Offending Team Practitioner.

Verity Beehan-Heath - Lead AMBIT Trainer at Anna Freud

Verity is a Registered Mental Health Nurse. She worked for many years in the NHS, in an AMBIT influenced Specialist Drug and Alcohol Service for young people with substance use, mental health and multiple other needs. Verity has also worked as a Clinician, Team Manager and Service Manager within NHS Child and Mental Health Services (CAMHS) including Core CAMHS, Specialist Eating Disorders and a Multi-Agency Emotional Wellbeing Referral Hub. Verity started working in the AMBIT Programme Team as an Assistant Trainer in 2018 and moved into a lead trainer role in 2023.

Karlys Thompson – Reaching Higher Youth Charity

Karlys is a dynamic youth worker with a background in therapeutic intervention. She is trained as an Integrative Counsellor and Psychotherapist and is a member of the BACP. Karlys has worked therapeutically with adults through agency work and in both primary and secondary mainstream schools.

Prior to working at Reaching Higher, she was a Mental Health Lead at two alternative provisions in Bromley working long and short term with the students and offering clinical spaces to the staff. She was previously Lead Counsellor at a South London college, overseeing the work of trainee counsellors and started at Reaching Higher as Senior Therapeutic Practitioner supporting frontline youth workers with clinical supervision and training; believing that those who pour out also need to be poured back into intentionally. Karlys is the Head of Contextual Safeguarding at Reaching Higher and serves as the charity’s Designated Safeguarding Lead

We will be providing refreshments, including tea, coffee and biscuits. Please note that lunch will not be provided. There are shops and cafés near Anna Freud where you can buy lunch, or you’re welcome to bring your own packed lunch.

Please let us know of any dietary requirements or allergies related to the refreshments before attending.

Accessibility

Step-free access is available throughout the building. A lift serves both the Lower Ground and First Floor Training Suite. Accessible and gender-neutral toilets are available on site.

Please let us know in advance if you require a hearing loop or other auditory assistance. Quiet spaces or adjustments (e.g. to lighting or seating) can be arranged on request. If you have any specific access needs or may require assistance during emergency procedures, please let us know in advance.

Travel

Open the map for travel directions.

There is a secure bike rack available outside of the main entrance. Unfortunately, there is no parking available at Anna Freud. Nearest parking can be found at Judd Street, WC1H 9QR (NCP). Please arrive at least 10 minutes early to allow time for registration and refreshments.

Refreshments

We will be offering refreshments including tea, coffee and biscuits. Please note that lunch is not provided. There are shops and cafés close to Anna Freud to buy lunch or please bring your own packed lunch. Please inform us of any tea, coffee and biscuit dietary requirements or allergies before you attend.

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi is available, please ask Reception for access code.

Further correspondence

You will receive a pre-course e-mail a week before the Event. If you have any queries, please contact training@annafreud.org.

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