iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Mental Health in Development @mhid.org.uk · 24/09/2026

Exciting news from our Supporting Early Minds team as the Developing Child UK Priority Setting Partnership shares the research priorities for babies, toddlers & preschoolers. A huge milestone for infant mental health research! mhid.org.uk/top-10-resea...

mhid.org.uk

Top 10 Research Priorities for the Social & Emotional Wellbeing of Under 5s - Mental Health in Development

We have been sharing regular updates about the progress of the Developing Child UK Priority Setting Partnership, run by Jane Barlow and Michael Fanner from our Supporting Early Minds team

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Mental Health in Development @mhid.org.uk · 03/09/2026

We were delighted to welcome researchers, clinicians, students, and colleagues from across the UK to the launch of the AIM Digital Community in July 2026 - aiming to build better psychological treatments for children and young people. Missed the event? Catch up here: aim.mhid.org.uk/celebrating-...

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Mental Health in Development @mhid.org.uk · 03/09/2026

Lots of our team made the ACAMH Awards 2026 longlist! • PhD Student: Angel Chen, Layla Rashid, Lottie Shipp • Cathy Creswell & Brynjar Halldórsson: Digital Intervention • Postdoc Researcher: Chloe Chessell • Kathy Sylva ‘Rising Star’ Award: Jack Andrews • Lionel Hersov Memorial Award: AnDY Clinic

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Mental Health in Development @mhid.org.uk · 03/09/2026

Parents & carers your voice matters! Join our Parent Carer Research Network and help shape mental health research for children and young people. Sign up by 30 Sept for the next newsletter: tinyurl.com/2s7tyy95

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Parent Carer Research Network - Mental Health in Development

All about our network for parents and carers interested in getting involved in research around the mental health of children and young people.

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Mental Health in Development @mhid.org.uk · 03/09/2026

📣Calling researchers! 📢Are you looking for parents/carers to be involved in research as participants or as part of PPI? The Parent Carer Research Network would love to help! ✍️Check out 'How to Apply' www.parentcarerresearchnetwork.org.uk/researchers 📅Deadline for next newsletter: 5pm, 14 Sept 2026

parentcarerresearchnetwork.org.uk

Parent Carer Research Network - For Researchers

Find out more about partnering with parents and carers of children and young people for your mental health research via our Parent Carer Research Network.

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Mental Health in Development @mhid.org.uk · 03/09/2026

📣 We're looking for 3 brilliant people to join our team! 1️⃣ Networks and Engagement Assistant - deadline 9 Sept 2️⃣ Children’s Wellbeing Practitioner - deadline 16 Sept 3️⃣ Research Networks Coordinator - deadline 21 Sept Apply today! tinyurl.com/4wwu4dmy

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Vacancies – NIHR Biomedical Research Centre: Oxford Health

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Mental Health in Development @mhid.org.uk · 23/07/2026

🎉The deadline has been extended to 27 July! So a few more days to have your voice heard about the top 10 research questions around wellbeing for babies and under 5s! 🔗Find out more & take part here: mhid.org.uk/survey-the-d...

mhid.org.uk

Survey: The Developing Child UK Priority Setting Partnership - Mental Health in Development

Tell researchers what you want to know about babies’ and children’s social and emotional wellbeing

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Mental Health in Development @mhid.org.uk · 16/07/2026

Today's the day! Join us this afternoon as we launch the AIM Digital Community—a free resource bringing together measures, guidance & a growing community to support innovation in children and young people's mental health. 📅 Today | 1–2 pm 🔗 tinyurl.com/y26uzpku

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Launch of AIM: supporting better mental health care for young people

AIM is a new NIHR Oxford Health BRC digital community designed to support innovation in psychological treatments for young people.

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Mental Health in Development @mhid.org.uk · 15/07/2026

Call for input! 1 more week to go until this closes! If you want to share which research questions matter most to you for babies' & children's social & emotional wellbeing, please complete this Prioritisation survey! ⌯⌲Please share widely⌯⌲

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Mental Health in Development @mhid.org.uk · 15/07/2026

Just a few days until we launch the AIM Digital Community. If you're interested in: ✔️ psychological mechanisms ✔️ CYP mental health ✔️ validated measures ✔️ treatment innovation ✔️ research translation ...we'd love to see you there. 📅 Thursday 16 July, 1–2 pm 🔗 tinyurl.com/y26uzpku

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Launch of AIM: supporting better mental health care for young people

AIM is a new NIHR Oxford Health BRC digital community designed to support innovation in psychological treatments for young people.

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Mental Health in Development @mhid.org.uk · 09/07/2026

"To target psychological mechanisms, we first need reliable, sensitive, and developmentally appropriate ways to measure them..." Better science starts with better measurement. Explore the AIM platform with validated measures & practical resources on 16 July. 🔗 tinyurl.com/y26uzpku

tinyurl.com

Launch of AIM: supporting better mental health care for young people

AIM is a new NIHR Oxford Health BRC digital community designed to support innovation in psychological treatments for young people.

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Mental Health in Development @mhid.org.uk · 08/07/2026

"Rather than focusing on diagnoses, mechanistic research asks what psychological processes keep distress going..." Understanding mechanisms helps bridge the gap between scientific discovery & real-world care. Find out how AIM supports that translation: 📅 16 July | 1–2 pm 🔗 tinyurl.com/y26uzpku

tinyurl.com

Launch of AIM: supporting better mental health care for young people

AIM is a new NIHR Oxford Health BRC digital community designed to support innovation in psychological treatments for young people.

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Mental Health in Development @mhid.org.uk · 08/07/2026

The prioritisation survey for the Developing Child UK Priority Setting Partnership is still open! 📅Deadline: 21 July 2026 Tell us which research questions matter most to you for babies' & children's social & emotional wellbeing: 🔗https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NFXGPFS #EarlyYears #CYPMH

surveymonkey.com

Tell us which research questions matter most to you for babies’ and children’s social and emotional wellbeing

Take this survey powered by surveymonkey.com. Create your own surveys for free.

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Mental Health in Development @mhid.org.uk · 08/07/2026

The AIM Digital Community was developed with these needs in mind. It hosts a searchable library of validated measures relevant to CYP, many of which support formulations, routine outcome monitoring & treatment evaluation across clinical, school & research settings (7/8)

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Mental Health in Development @mhid.org.uk · 08/07/2026

High quality measurement is central. Clinicians need brief, meaningful & psychometrically robust measures that are acceptable to children and young people, and sensitive to therapeutic change. (6/8)

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Mental Health in Development @mhid.org.uk · 08/07/2026

Mechanistic approaches support far greater personalisation of care. Psychological processes present differently depending on developmental stage, neurodiversity, comorbidity, family context & social environment. Understanding these can help clinicians adapt more effectively (5/8)

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Mental Health in Development @mhid.org.uk · 08/07/2026

These mechanisms are already familiar in many therapy models: 🧠 attentional biases 💭 maladaptive imagery 🔁 rumination 🚪 avoidance 🛡️ safety behaviours What has changed is the growing ability to study, measure & evaluate these mechanisms in an informed way. (4/8)

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Mental Health in Development @mhid.org.uk · 08/07/2026

Rather than relying solely on treatment packages, mechanism-focused approaches ask more precise questions: what processes are maintaining this young person’s difficulties and how can these processes be modified? (3/8)

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Mental Health in Development @mhid.org.uk · 08/07/2026

The AIM project was established to support the development of more effective, accessible & acceptable treatments for CYP through a focus on psychological mechanisms, the underlying processes that maintain distress and contribute to recovery. (2/8) mhid.org.uk/from-mechani...

mhid.org.uk

From mechanisms to meaningful change - introducing the AIM project for clinical psychologists - Mental Health in Development

Advancing children and young people’s mental health research through collaboration and translation - introducing the AIM project for clinical psychologists.

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Mental Health in Development @mhid.org.uk · 08/07/2026

Are you a clinician in the field of CYPMH? Despite major advances in evidence-based treatments, many young people do not experience the improvement we would hope for. Engagement is difficult, outcomes variable & 1 size fits all approaches do not capture young people's complexity. 🧵(1/8)

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Mental Health in Development @mhid.org.uk · 07/07/2026

"Around 3 quarters of mental health difficulties begin before age 24..." This is exactly why we created the AIM Digital Community. If we're going to improve outcomes, we need to understand how treatments work, not just whether they work. AIM launch webinar: 16 July 1-pm 🔗 tinyurl.com/y26uzpku

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Launch of AIM: supporting better mental health care for young people

AIM is a new NIHR Oxford Health BRC digital community designed to support innovation in psychological treatments for young people.

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Mental Health in Development @mhid.org.uk · 02/07/2026

Improving outcomes for young people requires collaboration. By connecting theory, evidence, measurement, and clinical practice, AIM aims to help transform mechanistic science into meaningful change for children and young people’s mental health. (8/9) Join the AIM launch event: tinyurl.com/y26uzpku

tinyurl.com

Launch of AIM: supporting better mental health care for young people

AIM is a new NIHR Oxford Health BRC digital community designed to support innovation in psychological treatments for young people.

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Mental Health in Development @mhid.org.uk · 02/07/2026

AIM is more than a collection of tools. It is a growing, collaborative space where researchers, clinicians, students, and everyone interested in child and adolescent mental health can share knowledge and help shape the future of the platform. (7/9)

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Mental Health in Development @mhid.org.uk · 02/07/2026

The AIM Digital Community brings together resources to support this work. It provides a searchable library of validated measures, methodological guidance & examples of best practice helping researchers reduce duplication & accelerate high-quality CYP MH research. 🔗 mhid.org.uk/from-mechani...

mhid.org.uk

From mechanisms to meaningful change - introducing the AIM project for research academics - Mental Health in Development

Advancing children and young people’s mental health research through collaboration and translation - introducing the AIM project for research academics.

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Mental Health in Development @mhid.org.uk · 02/07/2026

A crucial foundation is measurement. To target psychological mechanisms, we first need reliable, sensitive, and developmentally appropriate ways to measure them in young people — across ages, genders, and neurodiverse populations. (5/9)

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Mental Health in Development @mhid.org.uk · 02/07/2026

But translating mechanisms into impact requires more than discoveries alone. Research on mechanisms is often fragmented — with qualitative studies, longitudinal research, and experimental work happening separately. Progress depends on connecting these strands. (4/9)

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Mental Health in Development @mhid.org.uk · 02/07/2026

Mechanistic research might focus on psychological processes such as: 🧠 attentional biases 💭 maladaptive imagery 🔁 rumination 🚪 avoidance 🛡️ safety behaviours Understanding these processes can help researchers design more precise and developmentally appropriate treatments. (3/9)

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Mental Health in Development @mhid.org.uk · 02/07/2026

The AIM project focuses on a 🔑 challenge: translating what we know about the mechanisms behind mental health difficulties into more effective interventions. Rather than focusing on diagnoses, mechanistic research asks what psychological processes keep distress going & how can we change them? (2/9)

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Mental Health in Development @mhid.org.uk · 02/07/2026

Are you a researcher in the field of CYP mental health? Around 3 quarters of mental health difficulties begin before age 24. Yet treatments for CYP often show poorer outcomes than those for adults. So how do we turn advances in psychological science into meaningful change for young people? 🧵(1/9)

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Mental Health in Development @mhid.org.uk · 02/07/2026

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Mental Health in Development @mhid.org.uk · 02/07/2026

The AIM Digital Community brings together resources to support this work. It provides a searchable library of validated measures, methodological guidance, & examples of best practice — helping researchers reduce duplication & accelerate high-quality CYP MH research. (6/9) 🔗 tinyurl.com/y26uzpku

tinyurl.com

Launch of AIM: supporting better mental health care for young people

AIM is a new NIHR Oxford Health BRC digital community designed to support innovation in psychological treatments for young people.

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Mental Health in Development @mhid.org.uk · 02/07/2026

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Mental Health in Development @mhid.org.uk · 02/07/2026

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Mental Health in Development @mhid.org.uk · 02/07/2026

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Mental Health in Development @mhid.org.uk · 02/07/2026

The AIM project focuses on translating what we know about the mechanisms behind mental health difficulties into better, more effective interventions. Rather than focusing on diagnoses, mechanistic research asks: what psychological processes keep distress going, and how can we change them? (2/9)

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Mental Health in Development @mhid.org.uk · 02/07/2026

Update from our recent day out at the Healthcare Research Showcase - we had a fantastic time connecting with the public and helping to change ideas on what it means to be involved with research. mhid.org.uk/westgate-hea...

mhid.org.uk

Westgate Healthcare Research Showcase 2026 - Mental Health in Development

An update from our day out at the Westgate promoting our parent and carer and school research networks.

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