From Neurons to the Social World: Prevention and Early Intervention in Child and Adolescent Mental Health

• 09:00 – Welcome - Professor Niko Steinbeis

• 09:15 – 09:45 - Essi Viding (Speaker)

• 09:45 – 10:15 - Georgina Krebs (Speaker)

• 10:15 – 10:45 - Cristina Carlisi (Speaker)

• 10:45 – 11:15 - Coffee break

• 11:15 – 11:45 - Professor Niko Steinbeis (Speaker)

• 11:45 – 12:00 - Lived experience pre-recorded video

• 12:00 – 13:00 - Lunch

• 13:00 – 13:30 - Professor Linda Mayes (Speaker)

• 13:30 – 14:00 - Professor Eamon McCrory (Speaker)

• 14:00 – 14:30 - Helena Rutherford (Speaker)

• 14:30 – 15:00 - Coffee break

• 15:00 – 15:30 - Professor Pasco Fearon (Speaker)

• 15:30 – 16:15 - Speaker panel (all experts plus moderator)

• 16:15 – 16:30 - Integrative comments - Essi Viding

• 16:30 – 16:40 - Closing comments - Professor Niko Steinbeis

Professor Eamon McCrory

Prof McCrory oversees all UCL postgraduate programmes at Anna Freud. Since 2006, he led the creation of one of the UK’s leading educational portfolios in child and adolescent mental health, helping to train a new generation of researchers and clinicians. For many years, he was also Director of the MRes in Developmental Neuroscience and Psychopathology with Yale, which he established. Prof McCrory continues to contribute teaching across several programmes, particularly focusing on the impact of childhood adversity, mental health vulnerability and advances in neuroscience research.

Prof McCrory is best known for his work on childhood adversity, maltreatment and the brain. He is interested in why mental health problems develop, and has investigated how childhood trauma can impact brain structure and function in ways that may lead to an increased risk of later psychiatric disorder. He has argued in his theory of Latent Vulnerability that alterations in brain structure and function, associated with childhood maltreatment, may in part represent adaptation to early dangerous or unpredictable environments that can create increased mental health risk in the longer term. His research has documented altered functioning in an array of neurocognitive systems, including the threat, reward and autobiographical memory systems.

He has recently argued for the importance of viewing the brain as a social organ, suggesting that mental health vulnerability following childhood maltreatment can in part be understood as a socially mediated process.

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, Pediatrics, 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 a developmental neuroscientist 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 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.

Other speakers include: Essi Viding, Georgina Krebs, Cristina Carlisi and Helena Rutherford.

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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