DOI: 10.13056/acamh.31451
https://doi.org/10.13056/acamh.31451

In this Papers Podcast, Dr. Nicholas Fabiano discusses his JCPP Advances Methodological Review ‘How to optimize the systematic review process using AI tools’ (https://doi.org/10.1002/jcv2.12234). Nicholas is a co-first author of the paper, along with Arnav Gupta and Nishaant Bhambra.

There is an overview of the paper, methodology, key findings, and implications for practice.

Discussion points include:

Background into what a systematic review refers to.
- What is Artificial Intelligence (AI)?
- How AI is being used in the systematic review process.
- How widely utilised AI is used in research and systematic reviews.
- The advantages of utilising AI, as well as the risks and limitations.
- What a balanced use of AI would look like.

In this series, we speak to authors of papers published in one of ACAMH’s three journals. These are The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry (JCPP); The Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMH) journal; and JCPP Advances.

#ListenLearnLike

How to Optimize the Systematic Review Process using AI Tools

‘Mental Health Needs in Care, but Missed Out’ takes listeners inside the realities and challenges faced by children in the UK care system. This episode brings real human stories and statistics together, highlighting that care experiences are diverse and often compounded by instability, repeated moves, and separation from familiar environments. 

The team’s guest, Dr. Eva Sprecher, unpacks not only the scale of the issue but also the pitfalls of current screening tools—revealing how many children’s trauma-related mental health needs go undetected. The episode ultimately advocates for holistic, individualised approaches, emphasizing that recovery and positive trajectories are possible when we truly see and support the whole child, rather than focusing solely on their status in the care system. 

Hosts Dr. Jane Gilmore and Professor Umar Toseeb not only discuss powerful research but also weave in personal anecdotes, legal definitions, and hard-hitting societal themes—from the nuances of terminology like “in care” versus “looked after children,” to the impact of pivotal legislation such as the 1989 Children’s Act. The conversation spotlights stark realities: young people enter care due to layered adversities—neglect, abuse, poverty, parental mental health difficulties, and more—which frequently lead to complex emotional and behavioural needs.

Listeners will leave with real takeaways, fresh understanding, and hope that with the right awareness and policy change, outcomes for these vulnerable young people can be transformed.

More information
Read the Open Access JCPP Advances paper 'Sufficiency of current practice: How well does the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire detect clinically elevated PTSD, anxiety, and depression symptoms in children in care?' Eva Sprecher, KH Shelton, Lisa Holmes, Bethan Carter, Charlotte Robinson, Maryam Javed, John Macleod, Jeongeun Park, Julie Selwyn, Rachel Hiller 



Mind the Kids - Mental Health Needs in Care but Missed Out

In this episode ‘Does minor aggression have a major impact?’ we confront a sensitive but crucial area: the effects of intimate partner violence and aggression on children.

Dr. Jane Gilmour and Professor Umar Toseeb are joined by Dr. Hedwig Eisenbarth from Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand, the lead author of the paper The Impact of Less Severe Intimate Partner Aggression on Child Conduct Problems, published in JCPP Advances. This paper focuses on lower levels of violence, so they use phrases like ‘minor’ or ‘less severe’. This phraseology, of course, does not imply that they are considered acceptable. 

They explore how attachment theory, social learning, and even genetic factors may intersect with a child’s experience of aggression in the home. The discussion covers the importance of the home environment, the need for intervention, and the complex challenge of studying these behaviours across different cultures.

More information

Read the Open Access paper from JCPP Advances ‘The impact of less severe intimate partner aggression on child conduct problems’

Hedwig Eisenbarth, Karina Clavijo Saldias, Paul E. Jose, Johannes A. Karl, Karen E. Waldie

https://doi.org/10.1002/jcv2.70024



Mind the Kids - Does minor aggression have a major impact?

In this episode of Mind the Kids, host Dr. Clara Faria sits down with Dr. Alice Wickersham, Zoe Frith, and Professor Johnny Downs from the CAMHS Digital Lab at King's College London to explore how digital innovation is transforming child and adolescent mental health services. The conversation delves into their groundbreaking work bridging the gap between research and real-world practice, addressing the critical challenge of implementing digital mental health technologies in clinical settings.​

The team discusses their multi-faceted approach to digital mental health innovation, including developing user-centered digital therapies and assessment tools, creating apps like My Journey and My Health that engage young people at the point of referral, and pioneering electronic health record linkage between CAMHS and education systems. They share insights on using natural language processing to extract meaningful clinical information from patient notes, reducing administrative burden through ambient voice technology for clinical assessments, and engaging schools and young people through creative partnerships like their collaboration with Elstree Screen Arts Academy.​

This episode offers a comprehensive look at how digital technologies can address waiting lists, improve research participation, and provide better outcomes for young people facing mental health challenges. Whether you're a clinician, researcher, policymaker, or anyone interested in the future of child mental health services, you'll gain valuable insights into the practical challenges and exciting possibilities of digital mental health innovation.​

For details on CAMHS Digital Lab visit https://www.camhsdlab.co.uk/

Inside the CAMHS Digital Lab: Apps, AI, and Young People's Mental Health

What actually is a ‘meltdown’, and when do big feelings in kids become a problem that families and schools can’t ignore? In this episode of Mind the Kids, hosts Dr. Jane Gilmour and Professor Umar Toseeb sit down with Associate Professor Erin Gonzalez from the University of Washington School of Medicine, to unpack meltdowns in real-life, everyday language rather than just research jargon.

Drawing on her clinical work with families in crisis, Erin explores what happens in a child’s brain and body during a meltdown, why these episodes are so common in neurodivergent children, and how screens, sleep, and anxiety can create a ‘perfect storm’ for explosive behaviour. She offers practical, evidence-informed strategies for parents and teachers, including how to respond in the moment, why “doing less” can sometimes de-escalate faster, and how to use meltdowns as opportunities to build emotional literacy instead of shame.

The conversation also previews Erin’s upcoming ACAMH webinar, ‘Mastering Meltdowns: Managing Big Feelings in Kids’, and highlights why emotional competence should be treated as just as fundamental as learning to read. This episode is essential listening for parents, carers, educators, and clinicians supporting children whose emotions sometimes feel bigger than they are.

Don’t miss Associate Professor Erin Gonzalez deliver the ‘Mastering Meltdowns: Managing Big Feelings in Kids’ from just £5, details at https://www.acamh.org/event/no-more-meltdowns/ 

Mind the Kids - The Lowdown on Meltdowns

‘Mental Health Needs in Care, but Missed Out’ takes listeners inside the realities and challenges faced by children in the UK care system. This episode brings real human stories and statistics together, highlighting that care experiences are diverse and often compounded by instability, repeated moves, and separation from familiar environments. 

The team’s guest, Dr. Eva Sprecher, unpacks not only the scale of the issue but also the pitfalls of current screening tools—revealing how many children’s trauma-related mental health needs go undetected. The episode ultimately advocates for holistic, individualised approaches, emphasizing that recovery and positive trajectories are possible when we truly see and support the whole child, rather than focusing solely on their status in the care system. 

Hosts Dr. Jane Gilmore and Professor Umar Toseeb not only discuss powerful research but also weave in personal anecdotes, legal definitions, and hard-hitting societal themes—from the nuances of terminology like “in care” versus “looked after children,” to the impact of pivotal legislation such as the 1989 Children’s Act. The conversation spotlights stark realities: young people enter care due to layered adversities—neglect, abuse, poverty, parental mental health difficulties, and more—which frequently lead to complex emotional and behavioural needs.

Listeners will leave with real takeaways, fresh understanding, and hope that with the right awareness and policy change, outcomes for these vulnerable young people can be transformed.

More information
Read the Open Access JCPP Advances paper 'Sufficiency of current practice: How well does the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire detect clinically elevated PTSD, anxiety, and depression symptoms in children in care?'
Eva Sprecher, KH Shelton, Lisa Holmes, Bethan Carter, Charlotte Robinson, Maryam Javed, John Macleod, Jeongeun Park, Julie Selwyn, Rachel Hiller


Energized, driven, “on a high” – or at the edge of something more serious? This Mind the Kids episode, “Energized or at risk? Distinguishing subclinical hypomania in adolescents”, explores how to tell the difference between healthy teenage intensity and something more problematic. 

Host Mark Tebbs talks to Dr. Georgina Hosang about the topic of hypomania, as she draws on her expertise and research. The conversation unpacks what hypomania can look like at home and at school, how it overlaps with typical mood swings and ADHD, and other conditions, and which red flags suggest it’s time to seek specialist help.​

Listeners will hear practical guidance on what parents, carers, teachers, and young people themselves can watch for, how to talk about concerns without stigma, and why early recognition matters for safety, learning, and long‑term wellbeing. 

This episode is for anyone supporting adolescents who seem unusually “switched on”, wired, or risk‑taking – and who wants clear, compassionate advice on when to simply ride the wave, and when to seek assistance.

For more details read the JCPP paper ‘Subclinical hypomania, psychiatric and neurodevelopmental diagnoses: phenotypic and aetiological overlap’ by Georgina M. Hosang et al. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.70045

Get a free CPD/CME certificate for listening to this podcast by registering for a FREE ACAMH Learn account at www.acamhlearn.org

Mind the Kids - Energized or at risk? Distinguishing subclinical hypomania in adolescents

 This Mind the Kids episode, ‘Therapy and Autism: Actions for Adaptations’, asks what does truly neurodiversity affirming therapy look like for autistic young people with co occurring mental health difficulties? 

Dr Jane Gilmore and Professor Umar Toseeb are joined by clinician researcher Professor Francisco Musich to step inside the therapy room and examine how it actually feels for autistic children and adolescents with co occurring conditions to navigate CAMHS support.

Across the conversation, they move beyond theory and guidelines to the lived details that make or break engagement: the speed and style of language, the sensory impact of the clinic environment, and how far therapists are willing to adapt around special interests, alternative media and different processing speeds. 

Along the way, they weigh personal clinical instincts against a still emerging evidence base, asking which accommodations genuinely improve outcomes and which might be comforting but ineffective, and what this means for designing neurodiversity affirming, research informed care. 

Professor Francisco Musich will be delving into this topic more in February 2026 at the ACAMH webinar - Autism and Co-occurring Conditions: Adapting Psychological Therapies https://www.acamh.org/event/autism-cooccurring-conditions/ 

Get a free CPD/CME certificate for listening to this podcast by registering for a FREE ACAMH Learn account at www.acamhlearn.org 

Mind the Kids - Therapy and Autism, Actions for Adaptions

We look back on the guidance we've produced in 2025.

We're joined by director of medicines evaluation Helen Knight, the deputy director of the centre for guidelines Eric Power, and Anastasia Chalkidou, the programme director of guidance delivery in HealthTech.

Reviewing 2025: Producing faster rigorous guidance to make an impact on patient's lives

In this episode of NICE Talks, we learn the impact of the joint asthma guideline published in November 2024. Developed collaboratively by the British Thoracic Society, NICE and the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network, the guideline has transformed how asthma is diagnosed and treated across the UK.

We hear from frontline clinicians putting the guidance into practice and from those who helped develop it – including a patient who has lived with asthma for 65 years.

Guests
Maria Eurton – Respiratory Nurse Specialist, working across a primary care network of eight GP surgeries in Southampton

Nazir Hussain – Specialist Respiratory Pharmacist, Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust

Phil Taverner – Lay Member, Guideline Development Committee (living with asthma for 65 years)

Dr Sunil Gupta – GP and Clinical Advisor for NICE

The Guideline
Joint BTS/NICE/SIGN Asthma Guideline: http://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng245

The asthma guideline – one year on

In this episode, we discuss two innovative migraine treatments recommended by NICE.  We explore the rapid uptake across the NHS with our three guests.

We're joined by Joanne McShane, an NHS health visitor who suffered from migraine for a decade; Dr Kay Kennis, GP with an extended role in Headache at Bradford Community Neurology Service; and Rob Music, chief executive at The Migraine Trust.


How NICE guidance is accelerating access to innovative migraine treatments

These podcasts are an invaluable resource for anyone interested in child and adolescent mental health. They bridge the gap between rigorous research and practical application, featuring expert discussions on mental health. 

Each episode highlights cutting-edge studies offering insights into findings, and implications for practice. The series caters to clinicians, researchers, and those interested in mental health. 

Available on major platforms like Spotify and Apple Podcasts, it’s an accessible way to stay informed about advancements in the field.
Visit our website (www.acamh.org) for a host of free evidence-based mental health resources.

How to Optimize the Systematic Review Process using AI Tools

Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health

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