Lecture

Accessible, Community-based Youth Mental Health At Scale: What Africa Can Teach the World

Abstract

Around the world, young people are facing a mental health crisis—but traditional care systems remain costly, stigmatized, and inaccessible to most. In this talk, we share the story of the Shamiri model, a youth-led, evidence-based initiative launched in Kenya that has reached over 135,000 adolescents with brief, low-cost mental health interventions delivered by trained lay-providers. Built around a scalable three-tier care model and grounded in positive psychology principles—such as growth mindset, gratitude, and value affirmation—Shamiri interventions have consistently demonstrated clinical effectiveness through randomized controlled trials. We explore how this model has been scaled with fidelity and cultural sensitivity, offering a blueprint for accessible, community-driven mental health solutions globally. This is not only a lesson from Africa—it is a call to rethink who delivers care, how it is delivered, and what it means to make youth mental health truly inclusive and sustainable at scale.

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Tom Osborn is the Founder and CEO of Shamiri, Africa’s largest youth mental health provider, serving over 100,000 young people annually. Widely recognized for his leadership in social innovation, community building, and entrepreneurship, Tom is a TED Fellow, Ashoka Fellow, Echoing Green Fellow, Forbes 30 Under 30 Global Honoree, Mulago Foundation Rainer Arnhold Fellow, Acumen Fellow, and Draper Richards Kaplan Entrepreneur. Before founding Shamiri, Tom launched **GreenChar** at age 18, an award-winning clean energy venture that provided thousands of low-income families with life-saving clean cooking fuel. A committed researcher and innovator, he has led multiple research projects (securing over $5 million in funding) and authored more than 50 peer-reviewed papers in leading journals, including *JAMA Psychiatry*, *The British Medical Journal*, *World Psychiatry*, and *The Lancet*. He is also the co-author of *What We Can’t Burn*, a memoir on friendship, friction, and the global energy transition. Tom’s dedication to community and challenging the status quo is deeply rooted in his upbringing in rural Kenya. He attended Alliance High School and graduated with high honors from Harvard University. He now lives in Nairobi, where he continues to work at the intersection of social innovation, community empowerment, entrepreneurship, and systems change.

Lecture

Can ‘paradigm flipping’ reinvigorate the translational science of neuro-developmental conditions?

Abstract

Progress toward new science-driven interventions for people with neuro-developmental conditions has stalled. At the same time the scientific credibility of the framework of assumptions on which our current disorder paradigm rests is being challenged by data emerging from our labs. Solutions to this ‘crisis’ are sought in ever bigger data analytics, greater transparency increasing reproducibility, and/or technological advances. In this talk I argue, rather, that the time is ripe to explore alternative paradigms to shake up our thinking, reinvigorate our science and so increase its translational potential. Introducing the concept of ‘paradigm flipping’, I describe how this can be achieved by the exchange of ideas with collaborators from different intellectual traditions to our own and the experience-derived insight neurodivergent people. I illustrate this with reference to RE-STAR, an ongoing research programme, that ‘flips’ from a neuro-disorder to a neuro-diversity paradigm to build and test hypotheses about the roots of depression in ADHD and autism.

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Motivated by his own childhood experience of learning difficulties, Edmund has devoted his research career to improving the life chances of young people, especially those with neurodevelopmental conditions, such as ADHD. To this end he has developed new ways of thinking about and studying neurodevelopment using experimental developmental neuroscience methods and theories. Edmund is an elected Fellow of The Academy of Medical Sciences (2016), The British Academy (2018),The Danish Academy of Honorary Skou Professors (2019) and a Member of the Academia Europea (2023). He holds visiting professorships at the Universities of Aarhus and Hong Kong. He is Editor-in-Chief of The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. He is a Roman Catholic husband and father, soul music aficionado & lifelong Derby County supporter (Come On You Rams).

Lecture

A first psychotic episode : a combined family and expert perspective.

Abstract

Psychosis starts in adolescence and early adulthood in a sizeable proportion of cases. Impact of psychosis in patients and families is high, particularly in early-onset, and the way professionals and systems intervene during early stages of illness is crucial to determine prognosis. During this presentation, we will focus on novel insights on early-onset psychosis from both patient/family and expert perspectives, with particular attention to current challenges and pathways to enhance better health outcomes.

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Carmen Moreno is a Child and Adult Psychiatrist, Associate Professor of Psychiatry (University Complutense of Madrid, Spain), and Head Section of Psychiatry at the Institute of Psychiatry and Mental Health of the Gregorio Marañón Hospital (Madrid, Spain). Her research has focused on the early phases of psychosis and other severe mental disorders, and the development of specific interventions. She has participated in more than 25 competitive research projects and has published more than 150 research papers. She has been Coordinator of the Child and Adolescent Program of the Spanish Center for Biomedical Research in Mental Health (CIBERSAM) and Chair the Child and Adolescent Neuropsycopharmacology Network of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP), and is currently member of the Executive Committee of the Spanish Association of Psychiatry and Mental Health, and member of the EmprEMA Network within the EMA.

Lecture

Lessons from the psychiatrist as psychiatric patient

Abstract

“Individuals with mental illnesses and those of us who care for them are not that different from one another. But in being with our patients, how many of us share our fallibility, our vulnerability, our imperfection: how many of us share our own experience being on “their” side of the aisle? More to the point: how many of us professionals share with one another? Not nearly enough. We have been too caught up in a maladaptive search for perfectionism and infallibility. Sharing such personal information is understandably a bridge too far for many. When it comes to mental health, little of this state of affairs is due to the facile explanation of breaches in privacy. It is simpler than. And more painful. It is because of stigma.

In this session, two psychiatrists with histories of mental illness share their experiences and provide a framework toward health-promoting action.”

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Dr. Andrés Martin is the Riva Ariella Ritvo Professor at the Child Study Center, in the Yale School of Medicine (New Haven, CT, USA). As part of the Center for Medical Education, he teaches best practices in training the next generation of physicians. Martin serves as medical director of the Children’s Psychiatric Inpatient Services at Yale-New Haven Hospital, and his clinical work focuses on younger children with serious psychopathology. His research centers on the stigma of mental illness, and on the use of qualitative medicine methods in child psychiatry. Martin is editor emeritus of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (’08 – ’17). A native of Mexico City, Martin trained at the National University of Mexico (MD ’90), at Harvard-affiliated hospitals (psychiatry and child psychiatry, ’92 – ’96), at the Yale School of Public Health (MPH ’02), and at the University of Groningen, in the Netherlands (PhD ’22).

Lecture

Metas and Umbrellas: The Opportunities & Limitations of Evidence-Based Child Psychiatry in the Real World

Abstract

In my keynote lecture, I will discuss how, and to what extent, evidence synthesis approaches – including standard (pairwise) meta-analyses, network meta-analyses, dose-response meta-analyses, individual participant data meta-analyses, and umbrella reviews —- can inform daily clinical practice in child and adolescent mental health. I will also present the ongoing development of freely available, user-friendly online platforms designed to inform clinicians, patients, guideline developers, and other stakeholders, and to support shared decision-making in daily practice.

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Samuele Cortese is currently NIHR Research Professor, Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Southampton, Honorary Consultant for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, UK and professor of child neuropsychiatry at the university of Bari, Italy. Prof. Cortese’s main research interests are around neurodevelopmental disorders. He has published more than 450 peer-review papers. He has secured funding as main/co-applicant for more than £ 23 M. Since 2022, he has been included in the top 1% scientists in the field of psychiatry/psychology (Web of Science). Since 2022, he has ranked #1 worldwide in terms of expertise on ADHD (Expertscape). He is the Chair of the European ADHD Guidelines Group.

Lecture

Lessons from the psychiatrist as psychiatric patient

Abstract

“Individuals with mental illnesses and those of us who care for them are not that different from one another. But in being with our patients, how many of us share our fallibility, our vulnerability, our imperfection: how many of us share our own experience being on “their” side of the aisle? More to the point: how many of us professionals share with one another? Not nearly enough. We have been too caught up in a maladaptive search for perfectionism and infallibility. Sharing such personal information is understandably a bridge too far for many. When it comes to mental health, little of this state of affairs is due to the facile explanation of breaches in privacy. It is simpler than. And more painful. It is because of stigma.

In this session, two psychiatrists with histories of mental illness share their experiences and provide a framework toward health-promoting action.”

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Cecil Prins-Aardema is a child- and adolescent psychiatrist and researcher at GGZ Drenthe Family Psychiatry (the Netherlands). Driven by her personal experience with the impact of mental illness and stigma on her family, she and her family co-founded the international cycling campaign ‘Break the Stigma for Families’ together with Andrés Martin.
The stories shared by participating families serve as a key inspiration for her research, which focuses on stigma and recovery in families affected by serious mental illnesses.

As a child- and adolescent psychiatrist, she primarily works in the inpatient family unit at the Expertise Center for Assessment and Treatment of Parenthood within GGZ Drenthe Family Psychiatry. This center provides both outpatient and inpatient family treatment for families at risk of—or already experiencing—the out-of-home placement of one or more children. Families are referred by child safety professionals, including community teams, family guardians, and juvenile court judges. Goal of the family treatment program is to provide parents with an intensive inpatient intervention that strengthens their parenting capacity while guiding placement decisions to ensure a timely, safe, and lasting permanency plan for the child(ren).

Lecture

Climate Change and Children Mental Health

Abstract

Climate change is a growing public health crisis with profound implications for children’s mental health. This state-of-the-art presentation explores the multiple pathways through which climate change affects young people’s psychological well-being, including direct exposures (e.g., extreme weather events, displacement) and indirect effects (e.g., food insecurity, air pollution, eco-anxiety). We will review the latest research on the prevalence and nature of climate-related mental health challenges in children, emphasizing disparities affecting marginalized communities. Additionally, we will discuss emerging interventions, from trauma-informed care to community-based resilience programs, and the role of child and adolescent psychiatrists in advocacy and systemic change. Drawing from interdisciplinary and international perspectives, this presentation aims to equip clinicians, researchers, and policymakers with the knowledge to address climate-related mental health risks in youth and to foster resilience in an era of environmental uncertainty.

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Dr. Laelia Benoit, MD, PhD is a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, trained in France, currently based at the Yale Child Study Center. She co-directs the QUALab, Qualitative and Mixed Methods Lab, a collaboration between Yale (Dr. Andrés Martin) and the French NIH (Inserm, CESP, Dr. Bruno Falissard). Her research focuses on qualitative methods, youth mental health, climate change, school refusal, migration, and access to care. Her current project examines the impact of climate change on child and adolescent mental health in the US, Brazil, and France, using citizen research approaches that engage youth, families, and professionals. She teaches qualitative methods at Yale, the University of São Paulo, and the University of Paris. Awards include the Yale International Physician-Scientist Award (2023) and Fulbright (2021). Books: L’Adolescent fragile (2016), Phobie scolaire (2020), Infantisme (2023).

Lecture

Family interventions for ADHD.

Abstract

This talk will address the real-life implementation of various parent programmes for ADHD in a child and adolescent psychiatric department. Our team’s objectives were to enhance access to evidence-based family interventions and provide a diverse range of coordinated interventions to meet the individual needs of parents. For parents of younger children, we generally propose parent management training that emphasises not so much psychoeducation but rather general parenting skills, which is suitable when an ADHD diagnosis is not yet stabilised or confirmed. Next, I aim to present the development of intensive, bundled parent-management training that has evolved during the COVID pandemic into an online programme. Throughout the presentation, I will share assessment data and parent feedback, which have been crucial for adapting the format and content of these programmes. Lastly, I will present more specific interventions for children or adolescents with ADHD and disruptive behaviour disorders, or severe irritability, which place a high burden on parents and carers and put children and adolescents at risk of out-of-home placement. 

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Diane Purper-Ouakil is a Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University Hospital of Montpellier, France. She has led the Child and Adolescent Unit of Saint Eloi Hospital since 2011. This unit provides inpatient and outpatient care facilities for young patients with various mental health conditions and offers specialised services for ADHD, trauma-related issues, and eating disorders.

Diane Purper-Ouakil serves as the president of the newly established French Society of ADHD, an organisation for health professionals involved in clinical practice, optimisation of care pathways, and research. She has recently joined the steering committee of Eunethydis and is also the lead for the ECNP Child and Adolescent Network.

Diane Purper-Ouakil aims to enhance the evidence base for psychological, neurophysiological, and pharmacological treatments, particularly for children and adolescents exhibiting challenging and persistent behavioural and emotional symptoms. She develops and participates in treatment studies assessing various types of interventions. Her current research centres on parent programmes, innovations in healthcare pathways, digital interventions, and biological factors related to treatment tolerability and response. Her overarching objective is to develop comprehensive treatment plans for young individuals with complex needs.

Lecture

Philosophy and computational sciences : key drivers to revolutionize future classifications of CAP disorders.

Lecture

Running in the family – the role of brain imaging in the intergenerational transmission of mental illness

Abstract

Mental illness runs in the family. A family history of mental illness is the most important risk factor for the development of mental health problems. About 60-70% of children with a parent with severe mental illness (SMI), e.g. schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression, will develop a mental disorder in their lifecourse. This prevalence is much lower in the general population, approximating ~20% of adults; this suggests an intergenerational transmission of disease risk from affected parents to offspring. Despite ample evidence that mental illness can be passed from parent(s) to children, how and when this occurs is still poorly understood. Studies with a variety of family-based designs, including twin, within-family, and adoption studies have suggested that the aetiology of SMI is governed by a complex interplay of genetic factors (heritability estimates between 0.4 and 0.8) and environmental risk. Such gene-environment interplay involves many susceptibility genes with small effects, few rare genetic variants with larger effects, and a variety of environmental risk factors (e.g. trauma or family-environment, such as maladaptive parenting and suboptimal bonding). Developmental brain features (e.g. intracranial and brain growth, myelination, connectome development) and infant socioemotional development possibly mediate how genetic and environmental factors ultimately materialise into mental disorder. I will present work from the ENIGMA Relatives working group, where we pooled neuroimaging data from family cohorts across multiple sites and from our longitudinal child and adolescent offspring neuroimaging study (DBSOS) where we estimated brain developmental trajectories, and investigated the role of IQ and psychopathology.

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Neeltje van Haren is trained as a neuropsychologist and specialised in psychiatric neuroimaging research. She is a professor of brain development and psychopathology at the Department of child and adolescent psychiatry/psychology (CAPP) at the Erasmus Medical Centre (Rotterdam). Dr. van Haren focuses her research on investigating the neurobiological and (social) cognitive basis of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, using experimental cognitive paradigms, neuroimaging, and family designs. She investigated the confounders (e.g., outcome, antipsychotic medication intake, life events, cannabis) that influence the (excessive) structural brain abnormalities in these disorders. This work included family designs (e.g. offspring, siblings, twins and parents) on the heritability of brain structure. She is actively involved in several large international MRI consortia (e.g., ENIGMA). Currently, her main projects focus on 1) the Positive Valence system (funded by NIMH) where her group investigates the genetic basis of and the interaction between key Positive Valence domains in patients with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, their family members and controls, 2) (very early) brain development in offspring of parents with severe mental illness in the psychosis-mood spectrum, both in the perinatal period and adolescence, and 3) brain imaging in neonates with critical illness. Recently, the FAMILY consortium, which she leads, received funding from the Horizon Europe program to set up a comprehensive project to develop novel prediction models that promote a better understanding the mechanisms of intergenerational transmission of mental illness.

Lecture

Beyond the genetics of autism spectrum disorder : an update for 2025.

Abstract

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by socio-communication deficits, repetitive behaviors, rigid routines and abnormal sensory processing. This neurodevelopmental disorder was for many years believed to stem exclusively from genetic mutations and chromosomal abnormalities, but genetic mechanisms fully explain only a minority of cases, albeit sizable. Increasing evidence now supports complex roles for epigenetic contributions and abnormal alternative splicing, which may partly explain the increasing prevalence of ASD and the severe expression of inherited genetic variants with incomplete penetrance. Furthermore, epigenetic, transcriptional and proteomic abnormalities have been detected at birth in the cord blood of neonates diagnosed with ASD years later. Epigenetic abnormalities have even been detected in the gametes of parents of autistic children. These results move back the clock of ASD pathogenesis, pointing toward gene x environment interactions occurring during early prenatal neurodevelopment or possibly affecting parental gametes, adding further complexity but also opening new avenues of intervention.

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Antonio M. Persico, M.D. is a psychiatrist and Full Professor of Child and Adolescent NeuroPsychiatry at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia. He studied the genetics and neurobiology of drug addition, schizophrenia, panic disorder, finally focusing for the past 25 years on autism spectrum disorder (ASD). He has published 206 articles listed on Scopus, with 14,114 citations and an H-index of 62. His research aims at identifying biomarkers and subgrouping ASD, studying gene x environment interactions, and developing novel evidence-based pharmacological interventions in autism spectrum disorder. He won the Cozzarelli prize by the National Academy of Sciences of the U.S.A. (2007), and he was appointed Fellow by the International Society for Autism Research (2024). He is Specialty Chief Editor of the “Autism” section of Frontiers in Psychiatry and member of the Editorial Board of Molecular Autism and Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders.

Lecture

Nature and nurture in OCD: what are we learning that could inform prevention?

Abstract

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a relatively prevalent, childhood-onset condition associated with substantial disability, school failure, alcohol and substance misuse, suicide risk, and high societal costs. In this lecture, I will summarise the latest research on OCD and related disorders, with a focus on risk factors (e.g. genetics, childhood infections, bullying and traumatic experiences) and discuss whether and how this research may eventually result in actionable prevention efforts.

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Professor Mataix-Cols specialises in the study and treatment of OCD and related disorders across the lifespan. He completed his PhD in 1999 and held positions at Imperial College London and King’s College London, becoming a full professor in 2012. In 2013, he joined Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm where he leads a research group and helped set up a specialist OCD and related disorders clinic. The research focuses on understanding both the causes and the consequences of these disorders, and on the development of novel interventions. Much of his team’s current research involves the development of digital tools for the dissemination of psychological therapies for young people. He is a highly cited researcher, with over 400 publications in peer-reviewed journals.

Lecture

Epigenetics applied to child and adolescent mental health: Progress, challenges and opportunities

Abstract

Epigenetics is transforming our understanding of how genetic and environmental factors converge to shape children’s development, health, and psychiatric risk. In this talk, I will discuss the promises, challenges, and opportunities this field offers, drawing on insights from large, prospective, population-based studies. I will reflect on why progress in child and adolescent epigenetics still lags behind adult research and propose strategies to address existing barriers, spotlighting innovative methodological approaches and new collaborative initiatives to advance the field. I will conclude with an outlook on research priorities and explore how epigenetics could contribute to developing new tools for more accurate prediction, management, and treatment of psychiatric problems in childhood and adolescence. Overall, I aim to demonstrate how a developmentally informed approach can help bridge the classic nature–nurture divide and bring us closer to more targeted solutions for improving mental health from early life.

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Charlotte AM Cecil, PhD, is an Associate Professor in Biological Psychopathology at the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and PI of the inDEPTH Lab based at the Erasmus Medical Centre, the Netherlands. Her work aims to better understand how mental health problems develop in childhood and adolescence, in order to improve strategies for early risk detection and the prevention of chronic mental illnesses later in life. A key interest in her group is to identify how – at a biological level – genetic and environmental factors beginning in pregnancy come together to shape children’s development, behavior, and mental health, with a particular focus on epigenetic mechanisms. She has authored over 130 scientific articles and expert reviews on this topic, and (co)leads multiple international efforts dedicated to better understanding and enhancing mental health during development, including the European collaborative projects TEMPO, MIND, FAMILY, EarlyCause, and HappyMums.

Lecture

The risks and promises of technology for youth mental health

Abstract

Depression and anxiety are on the rise, and youth mental health is under increasing pressure. A key question is whether the rise of technology is contributing to these issues—or whether it might also offer part of the solution. I will present key insights from three domains of interdisciplinary research. First, I will discuss recent findings on the role of social media in youth mental health. Contrary to the prevailing view that such effects are minimal, our research shows that social media can be harmful for some young people while beneficial for others. Notably, we found in a 100 day diary study that adolescents with depressive symptoms may be especially vulnerable to its negative effects. Second, technology offers new opportunities for researchers to better understand the everyday dynamics of mental health. Although it is widely accepted that every individual is unique, much of our scientific knowledge is still based on large-scale, population-level studies, which tend to produce insights about the “average adolescent.” Technological advances now allow us to track well-being in real time, for example, through smartphone-based Experience Sampling Methods and long diary studies. I will discuss examples how the adoption of such novel research designs can help us explore when, why, and for whom emotional problems emerge. Third, we develop and test innovative solutions for youth mental health through transdisciplinary collaborations involving stakeholders, designers, data scientists, psychiatrists, and psychologists. One example is Grow It!, a multiplayer serious game delivered through an eHealth app. This app has already helped more than 4,000 young people build emotional resilience, and some of the first results will be shared.

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Prof. dr. Loes Keijsers
Research ID: F-4326-2010 | Open Science Profile: osf.io/phye8
Overview of publications: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=bqR9u8EAAAAJ&hl=nl&oi=ao

MISSION. Depression and anxiety are rising, and youth mental health is under pressure. It is my mission to understand and promote youth well-being, an ambition which has existed ever since my PhD in child and family studies. As a “boundary spanner”, I create infrastructures, networks, and collaborative modes of transformative cooperation. Within academia, I lead consortia across domains of knowledge, connecting social sciences and psychiatry, with technical skills of designers, business, and data-science. Together with national stakeholders, we develop, test and implement promising solutions for youth mental health (e.g., eHealth, and nation-wide communication trainings, parenting interventions).

POSITIONS

2020–now        Full Professor of Clinical Child and Family Studies, Erasmus University, Rotterdam

2015–2020       Assistant and Associate Professor Developmental Psychology. Tilburg University

2015–2024       Guest researcher, Methods and statistics, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany

2010–2015       Post-doctoral researcher, Assistant Professor in family studies. Utrecht University.

2013                 Visiting scholar University of Pittsburgh, youth psychiatry, USA

EDUCATION

2023-2024       High-performance and transformative leadership trainings (IMD), Lausanne Switzerland

2010                 PhD child and family studies (cum laude). Utrecht University, the Netherlands.

2005                 MSc Biology (science communication / ethology). Utrecht University, the Netherlands

SCIENTIFIC ACHIEVEMENTS. My research program has been continuously funded by personal and large consortia grants from the Dutch Scientific council (e.g., NWO VIDI, VICI, NWA-ORC, Gravitation), European Research Council (ERC consolidator) and strategic university funding (Convergence program TUDelft, Erasmus). This has resulted in achievements in three key domains: 1) Theoretical insights into the social causes of adolescent well-being, 2) innovative methods to study youth in their daily lives, and 3) pioneering solutions to have positive societal impact on the mental health of future generations.

1. Theoretical innovation: The social causes of well-being. Despite the common wisdom that each person is unique, most scientific knowledge on youth development is still based on population-wide studies, resulting in theories about the “average adolescent”. Challenging such universal theories, my work has demonstrated that relationships with peers and parents promote adolescent well-being in person-unique way. In my VIDI and ERCconsolidator projects, I discovered how parents can best promote youth well-being and how interventions can be tailored to each unique person. 
2. Development of methods to assess daily lives: Crucial to discovering the uniqueness of each person, was the development of methods to trace real-time well-being, such as smart-phone based Experience Sampling Methods and 100-day diary methods. Together with statisticians, I have worked on novel analytical models. Broad dissemination through open access materials, the establishment of two collaborative infrastructures, and graduate school course resulted in two Open Science awards.
3. Innovative solutions for youth mental health: Together with stakeholders (e.g., Kindertelefoon), designers, data-scientists, psychiatrists, psychologists my team and I have developed and tested eHealth apps, online trainings, and public awareness campaigns. One tangible result is our Grow It! app: a multiplayer serious game that has already fueled emotional resilience of more than 4,000 youths.

Signs of Recognition. This work has been nationally and internationally recognized across disciplines and continents. In 2023, I received the 2-yearly Hendrik Mullers mid-career price of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) “because of her creative approach, the connections she is able to make between disciplines and her impressive contribution to science and society”. I have also received awards from the International Society for the Study of Behavioral Development (2014) and the European Association of Research on Adolescence (2012), from the International Communication Association (2022; 2023 method innovation award) and from the Society for Research on Adolescence (2022; interdisciplinary contribution award). I am an elected member of the Royal Dutch Society of Science (KHMW) and the Comenius Network for teaching excellence (KNAW). I have chaired NWO’s advisory table on Education and Development and currently chair the Dutch-Belgian Network of Experience Sampling Centers. To connect social sciences to the creative industry, I was invited as member of Program Board of ClickNL (top consortium of the top sector Creative Industries)

Lecture

Gender identity and gender dysphoria in young people : past, present and future

Abstract

In 2019 the NHS in England commissioned Dr Hilary Cass to conduct and independent review of gender identity services for children and young people. This presentation will cover the engagement process and evidence base which informed the Cass Review, the key findings and the subsequent progress on implementation of clinical and research recommendations.

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Baroness Hilary Cass
Chair of the Independent Review into Gender Identity Services for Children and Young People

 Dr Hilary Cass was appointed by NHS England and NHS Improvement to chair the Independent Review of Gender Identity Services for children and young people in late 2020, and her final report was published in April 2024.

A former President of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health from 2012-2015, Dr Cass has recently stepped down from her role as Chair of Together for Short Lives, and remains as a Trustee for Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice.

Since retiring from clinical practice, she has established a group leading work on how to address the challenges for both families and professionals in supporting the rising numbers of children with complex medical conditions and disability.

She remains an honorary Consultant Paediatrician at Evelina London Children’s Hospital, Guy’s & St Thomas’s NHS Foundation Trust. Other recent roles include acting as the Senior Clinical Advisor for Child Health for Health Education England and Chair of the British Academy of Childhood Disability.

Dr Cass held a range of senior education and management roles and was previously Head of School of Paediatrics in London. Her consultant clinical practice was as a tertiary neurodisability consultant. Dr Cass was closely involved in the development of paediatric palliative care services at Evelina London Children’s Hospital.

She was awarded the OBE for services to child health in 2015, and a peerage in the Dissolution Honours in July 2024

Lecture

Is there a child and adolescent psychiatric colonialism?

Abstract

Child and adolescent psychiatric (CAP) research is rooted mainly in Western paradigms, methods, and diagnostic categories (e.g., DSM), which tend not to consider diverse cultural contexts. This presentation will ask if existing CAP research reflects a type of “psychiatric colonialism”, critically exploring biases introduced by Western-centric perspectives. Drawing inspiration from Frantz Fanon’s seminal critiques of psychiatric practices in colonial contexts, we will see how predominantly Western epidemiological, treatment-oriented, or genetic cohorts of patients restrict generalizability. Outcomes of such research rarely apply to populations that develop from different cultural, religious, and family forms. We will raise the question of a “decolonialized CAP” that could incorporate culturally attuned approaches and methods, enabling more comprehensive, representative, and globally applicable psychiatric knowledge.

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After some initial training in mathematics and fundamental physics (Ecole Polytechnique, Paris), Bruno Falissard engaged in medical studies and specialized in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in 1991. He was assistant professor in child and adolescent psychiatry in 1996-1997, associate professor in Public Health in 1997-2002 and full professor in Public health from 2002. He is at the head of the “Center of Epidemiology and Population Health” in Villejuif (650 members). He has a clinical activity in child and adolescent psychiatry. His personal areas of research are about methodology and epistemology of mental health research. In 2015 he became president of IACAPAP (International Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions, the term ended in 2018) and member of the French Academy of Medicine. He is presently the president of SFPEADA (French Society of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions)