iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

YOOTh Lab @yoothlab.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

Dr. Madison Aitken presented at CPA in Montreal on sleep problems in youth with mental health conditions. About 2/3 of these youth have problems with multiple aspects of their sleep, and two different patterns emerged that might benefit from tailored treatment approaches. @madisonaitken.bsky.social

Dr. Madison Aitken at a podium in a conference room, with a screen in the background titled "Sleep Problems are Clinically Relevant"

010

YOOTh Lab @yoothlab.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

Marina Fonseca presented at CPA showing that only 13% of youth with a history of depression meet physical activity guidelines. Current depressive episode = especially low moderate-vigorous activity, but light activity was not affected by depressive episode and might be promising for interventions.

Marina standing in front of an academic poster titled "An actigraphy-based exploration of the physical activity patterns of youth with past and current depression"

010

YOOTh Lab @yoothlab.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

Nour Rarrbo presented her thesis results at the Development 2026 conference on emotions youth experience when interacting with their parents. She found that experiencing more positive emotions, but not less negative emotions, was related to better relationship quality.

Nour standing in front of an academic poster titled "Longitudinal Associations Between Adolescents' Emotions During Parent-Adolescent Interactions and Their Well-Being"

010

YOOTh Lab @yoothlab.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

Staci Berman presented her thesis research at CPA showing that youth perceptions of safety in family therapy, a component of therapeutic alliance, predicts better self-harm treatment outcomes. In contrast, she found that stronger parent alliance ratings predicted worse treatment outcomes.

Staci standing in front of an academic poster titled "Youth and Parent Therapeutic Alliance and Self-Harm Outcomes in Family Therapy"

020

YOOTh Lab @yoothlab.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

Our lab just returned from the Canadian Psychological Association Conference. So many great discussions and lots of new ideas about AI, longitudinal methods, and professional issues in psychology! @canadianpsychology.bsky.social

021

YOOTh Lab @yoothlab.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

Congrats to Mohammad Usmani on an excellent Honours thesis poster! He found that physical activity -> more positive affect 1 month later in undergrads at risk for low mood. Doing more of that physical activity with others also -> less depressive symptoms, highlighting possible protective effects.

Mohammad Usmani standing beside a research poster

011

YOOTh Lab @yoothlab.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

Congrats to Nysa Syed on an excellent Honours thesis poster! Nysa found that in undergrads, higher negative emotionality & conscientiousness were related to poorer sleep hygiene. Since conscientiousness = better sleep hygiene in adults, study habits (e.g., working until bedtime) may play a role.

Nysa Syed standing in front of a research poster

011

Reposted by YOOTh Lab

Madison Aitken @madisonaitken.bsky.social · 23/04/2025

I had the chance to present our @yoothlab.bsky.social research to the @lamarshcentre.bsky.social and it sparked some great discussion! Lots of interesting potential to use ambulatory measures to inform interventions across the continuum from primary to tertiary prevention.

A professor standing in front of a presentation titled "Embracing Complexity to Improve Psychological Intervention"

062

YOOTh Lab @yoothlab.bsky.social · 09/04/2025

Congrats to Daniel O'Grady on a successful Honours Thesis poster day! Daniel did a systematic review of adolescent participation in behavioral sleep treatment studies. Recruitment rates vary but are low in many studies, suggesting challenges engaging young people in these interventions.

A young man standing in front of a research poster

011

YOOTh Lab @yoothlab.bsky.social · 09/04/2025

Congrats to Liana Coutinho on a successful Honours Thesis poster day! Liana found that, among a variety of sleep features, feeling anxious at bedtime was the only feature that predicted greater readiness to change sleep behaviours in young people.

A young woman standing in front of a research poster titled "Youth Sleep Behaviours and Perceptions of Sleep Treatment"

011

YOOTh Lab @yoothlab.bsky.social · 25/03/2025

When parent criticism increased across treatment, youth suicidal thoughts tended to persist following treatment. Results support assessing parent criticism before and during treatment and the need for further research on how best to improve parent criticism. 2/2

000

YOOTh Lab @yoothlab.bsky.social · 25/03/2025

Our new article on parent criticism and treatment of youth self-harm is out! Key takeaways: Current treatments may not improve criticism for many parents. Parent criticism trajectories were similar whether families were in family therapy or usual care. tinyurl.com/3ma6rn5z 1/2

acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

<em>Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry</em> | ACAMH Pediatric Journal | Wiley Online Library

Background Criticism from parents is a risk factor for poor youth mental health, including self-harm and limited response to psychosocial interventions. We identified trajectories of change in paren...

111

YOOTh Lab @yoothlab.bsky.social · 25/03/2025

Hi! We're a research lab at York University in Toronto focused on improving psychotherapy outcomes for children and adolescents by: 1. Examining how therapies work 2. Developing & testing new treatments 3. Improving the measures we use Check out our website to learn about our work: yoothlab.ca

yoothlab.ca

Youth Outcomes of Therapy Lab | York University | Youth Outcomes of Therapy (YOOTh) Lab

Explore our research lab at York University's Psychology Department, dedicated to increasing the effectiveness of child and adolescent mental health treatment. Read about our team, ongoing projects, a...

011