Prevention and Early Intervention in Child and Adolescent Mental Health
Join leading researchers and clinicians to discuss the latest findings in child development, neuroscience and mental health, and discover practical applications for clinical practice.
Limited early bird tickets
We are offering limited first come, first served £200 early bird tickets for this conference.
About this conference
Humans are invariably complex beings where relevant mechanisms can play out at multiple levels, from neurons to the social world. Mental health problems in children and youth are steadily on the rise, both globally and in the UK. Prevention and early intervention to stop mental health problems from emerging in the first place or becoming entrenched is therefore key. In order for these approaches to bear fruit, we must understand the mechanisms that underpin both risk and resilience to mental ill-health and how they change across development.
Our upcoming scientific conference aims to bring together experts in child development, developmental neuroscience, clinical psychology and psychiatry to share the latest research findings and discuss their relevance for clinical practice.
World leading experts will present their latest findings in relation to mental health and developmental psychopathology, with explicit and relevant links made for clinicians during the talks and the discussion forums. This will highlight synergies between, and complexities within, the dialogue of research and clinical work.
Through a series of talks, panel discussions and contributions from our lived experience advisors, the conference seeks to foster an active dialogue between bench and bedside - and everything in between.
This event is partly supported by the NIHR University College London Hospitals (UCLH) Biomedical Research Centre.
Aims of this conference
To bring together experts in child development, developmental neuroscience, clinical psychology and psychiatry.
To present the latest findings in neuroscience in relation to mental health and developmental psychopathology.
To make explicit and relevant links between the work of clinicians.
To highlight synergies between, and complexities within, the dialogue of research and clinical work.
Who is this conference for?
This event is suitable for mental health practitioners in services or schools who have an interest in basic and clinical research on mental health of children and young people.
The event is also suitable for junior and senior researchers with an interest in the clinical applications of basic research in developmental psychopathology.
Speakers and contributors
Professor Eamon McCrory
CEO of Anna Freud and Professor of Developmental Neuroscience and Psychopathology at UCL
Professor Linda Mayes
Chair of the Yale Child Study Center in the Yale School of Medicine
Professor Niko Steinbeis
Professor of Developmental Neuroscience at UCL
Professor Essi Viding
Professor of Developmental Psychopathology and Pro Vice Provost for UCL’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Grand Challenge
Professor Georgina Krebs
Professor of Young People’s Mental Health at University College London
Professor Pasco Fearon
Director of the Centre for Child, Adolescent & Family Research at the University of Cambridge
Dr Helena Rutherford
Associate Professor at the Yale Child Study Center
Dr Christina Carlisi
Prudence Trust Senior Research Fellow and Associate Professor at the UCL Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology
Nana Owusu
Head of Clinical Services at Anna Freud
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09:00 - Welcome (Professor Niko Steinbeis)
09:15 - 09:45 - ReSET: Outcomes from a randomised controlled trial of a preventative mental health programme for adolescents (Professor Essi Viding)
09:45 - 10:15 - Why cognitive therapy works for social anxiety in young people: Uncovering mechanisms to build briefer early interventions (Professor Georgina Krebs)
10:15 - 10:45 - Emotion processing as a mechanism in adolescent mental health: Evidence from brain and behaviour (Dr Christina Carlisi)
10:45 - 11:15 - Coffee break
11:15 - 11:45 -Targeting agency as a mechanism of resilience in children and young people (Professor Niko Steinbeis)
11:45 - 12:00 - Lived experience pre-recorded video
12:00 - 13:00 - Lunch
13:00 - 13:30 - The impact of addiction on parental development (Professor Linda Mayes)
13:30 - 14:00 - Social thinning, the brain and mental health (Professor Eamon McCrory)
14:00 - 14:30 - Parenting begins before birth (Dr Helena Rutherford)
14:30 - 15:00 - Coffee break
15:00 - 15:30 - The role of caregiver sensitivity in child development, from observation to intervention (Professor Pasco Fearon)
15:30 - 16:15 - Speaker panel (all experts plus moderator, Nana Owusu)
16:15 – 16:30 - Integrative comments (Professor Essi Viding)
16:30 – 16:40 - Closing comments (Professor Niko Steinbeis)
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Professor Eamon McCrory
Eamon McCrory is CEO of Anna Freud and Professor of Developmental Neuroscience and Psychopathology at UCL where he co-directs the Developmental Risk and Resilience Unit. He is also adjunct Professor at Yale University. Eamon co-founded the UK Trauma Council which creates and disseminates resources to support those working with children and young people who have experienced trauma. He is also the former Director of the UKRI Adolescent Health and Wellbeing Programme.
Eamon’s research uses brain imaging and psychological approaches to investigate the impact of trauma and adversity on children’s mental health. He is particularly interested in how research can help inform the prevention of future mental health problems and how latent vulnerability following adversity may be mediated by altered pathways of brain and social development.
Professor Linda Mayes
Prof Mayes is the Chair of the Yale Child Study Center in the Yale School of Medicine and Chief of Child Psychiatry in the Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital. She is the Arnold Gesell Professor of Child Psychiatry, Paediatrics, and Psychology at the Child Study Center, and Deputy Dean of Professionalism and Leadership at the Yale School of Medicine. Prof Mayes is also Director of Anna Freud - Yale Child Study Center Bridge Program. She oversees a collaborative master’s programme in developmental psychopathology and neuroscience, offered collaboratively between Yale and University College London (UCL). She is also a child and adult psychoanalyst, and a member of the faculty of the Western New England Institute for Psychoanalysis.
Professor Niko Steinbeis
Prof Steinbeis is Professor of Developmental Neuroscience at UCL. His primary research interest are the development and plasticity of socio-cognitive and affective skills during childhood, with view to identifying targets for intervention and prevention of mental health problems. The current focus of his research group centres around understanding the importance of control, both its execution as well as related self-beliefs. He uses an array of different methods including computational modelling and functional and structural imaging to identify sensitive periods in psychological functions key for well-being and mental health.
Prof Steinbeis is also Co-Director of Postgraduate Studies at Anna Freud, where he also delivers two academic programmes, an MRes and a PhD on Developmental Neuroscience and Mental Health, both run jointly with UCL and Yale University.
Professor Essi Viding
Essi Viding is Professor of Developmental Psychopathology and Pro Vice Provost for UCL’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Grand Challenge. Her research integrates behavioural genetics, neuroimaging, and developmental psychology to better understand how biological predispositions interact with environmental factors to influence mental health and behaviour. A key aim of her work is to move towards early, evidence-based interventions that can help at-risk children and young people.
Prof Viding’s work has contributed to public understanding of child psychology, and her research has informed both academic theory and practical policy on youth mental health and criminal justice. She is a Fellow of the British Academy and the Academy of Medical Sciences.
Professor Georgina Krebs
Georgina Krebs is a Professor of Young People’s Mental Health at University College London, where she co-leads the Anxiety, Self-Image, and Mood (AIM) Lab with Professor Argyris Stringaris. Her work focuses primarily on understanding the phenomenology, mechanisms and treatment of emotional disorders in young people. To address these aims, she uses diverse methodologies including epidemiology, behavioural genetics, experimental approaches, and treatment trials.
Her research has been funded by the Medical Research Council, Wellcome Trust, National Institute for Health and Care Research, and the British Academy and Leverhulme Trust. In addition to her academic work, Georgina is an Honorary Consultant Clinical Psychologist and leads the AIM Clinic, a specialist NHS service supporting students with body dysmorphic disorder and related conditions. She is also a Clinical Advisor for the BDD Foundation, a national charity, and Topic Advisor for the OCD/BDD NICE guidelines
Professor Pasco Fearon
Prof Fearon is a developmental and clinical psychologist, and Director of the Centre for Child, Adolescent & Family Research at the University of Cambridge. He is internationally recognised for his work on child development, children’s mental health, and the critical role of caregiving in shaping emotional, cognitive, and psychological outcomes. His research spans large-scale longitudinal studies — including the Children of the 2020s Study — and multiple intervention trials aimed at supporting families facing adversity.
Prof Fearon also contributes to national policy efforts in the UK and internationally, and actively collaborates with partners in countries such as Canada, the Netherlands, Ghana, and South Africa. At the heart of his work is a deep commitment to promoting positive developmental outcomes through early intervention, sensitive caregiving, and mental health support.
Dr Helena Rutherford
Helena Rutherford is an Associate Professor at the Yale Child Study Center, with appointments in Yale’s Department of Psychology, the Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, and the Combined Program in Biological and Biomedical Sciences. She is Deputy Programme Director at Yale for the UCL–Yale MRes in Developmental Neuroscience and Psychopathology, and co-directs the UCL–Yale PhD in Developmental Neuroscience and Mental Health. As Director of the Before and After Baby Lab, Dr Rutherford’s research focuses on the neurobiology and psychology of parenting and mental health, with a particular emphasis on the perinatal period.
Dr Christina Carlisi
Christina Carlisi is a Prudence Trust Senior Research Fellow and Associate Professor at the UCL Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, where she directs the Cognitive and Affective Neurodevelopment Lab (CANDL). Dr Carlisi’s research uses epidemiology, behavioural and computational methods and neuroimaging to understand how young people process emotional information, and how this impacts mental health and treatment outcomes across development.
She is particularly interested in how individual differences in diverse factors such as environment and neurocognitive mechanisms give rise to (or protect us from) the development of anxiety and depression, and what these factors might be able to tell us about treatment response. She is also involved in UCL’s Clinical Psychology Doctorate, including co-leading the Clinical Academic Training Pathway.
Nana Owusu, Head of Clinical Services at Anna Freud
Nana Owusu is Head of Clinical Services at Anna Freud, where she provides operational and clinical leadership within the Clinical Division and contributes strategic leadership across programmes supporting children, young people, and families. She is a Registered Mental Health Nurse and Therapist with over two decades of experience across the NHS, voluntary sector, and international settings, including work linked to gaming within the e-sports space.
Her work centres on prevention and community-based approaches to mental health, with a particular focus on the early years, crisis prevention, and parenting. She conceived and led the development of The Circle, launched as the United Kingdom’s first dedicated mental health crisis prevention café for children and young people under 18. Her practice focuses on strengthening the capacity of parents, professionals, and wider systems to understand children’s needs and build culturally responsive support for marginalised and underserved communities.
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The event will be taking place at Logan Hall, 20 Bedford Way, London, WC1H 0AL.
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