Welcome to this AMPLIFY newsletter! 😊
As things are a little quieter over the Summer, I thought it best to send out a newsletter covering the Summer period. Our usual monthly newsletters will continue in September.
In this issue, you can find details about how you can get involved in our upcoming AMPLIFY celebratory event! We’re looking for volunteers to join us as part of the organising comittee, so if this sounds of interest, please get in touch. We’re also urgently looking for speakers to join us, so read on to find about more about this, and to see if you can help. This month’s journal club is also a very interesting article on the mind-body connection (from a magazine) so do check that out!
Have a great week, and I look forward to seeing you after the Summer break!
Warm wishes,
Abi 😊
In this month’s newsletter…
Upcoming Sessions
We are in the process of planning our sessions following the Summer break in August, So far, we have a couple of sessions planned, but we are interested in hearing from you too - what research are you most interested in being a part of?
Are there any other topics not listed here that are of interest to you? If so, please feel free to email Abi and let her know.
🗓️ Save the Date! Wednesday 25th September (5:30 pm - 6:30 pm): Research Session (topic TBC)
Out first session back in September is scheduled for the 25th. Please save the date for now, and we will send more details about this session over email very soon, once we’ve seen the results of the poll.
Researcher Feedback: July
Last month, we were joined by Dr Georgina Hosang to explore her project on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). The aims of this research were to discuss the next steps in her work on how to measure ACEs (e.g. bullying, abuse, neglect).
Please see the feedback from Georgina below:
“I would like to express my sincere thanks to the AMPLIFY group for listening to the details of and providing feedback for our project to create a new questionnaire that asks about negative events that affect young people. It was really useful to learn about the groups perspective on travel times and how to encourage people to take part in the follow-up stages of the project. The comments will directly inform the locations we will select and the ways we will engage participants (offering training opportunities). The next step of the project is to submit the application to the Economic Social Research Council for funding. We will be sure to share the outcome of this application.”
If you have any questions about this research or have any further comments to share please get in touch with Abi over email.
⭐️ AMPLIFY Celebratory Event - we need you! ⭐️
We are so pleased to share an update on this event, and some more information about how you can get involved! Due to some delays with the funding, we are now hosting the event on Friday 4th October (3 pm - 7 pm). You can register for this event now online, by following the link below:
This will be a free event for young people, families, researchers and those working in the community. We want this event to be a celebration of our work and a chance to showcase the importance and impact of including young people’s voices in mental health research.
💡 Get Involved - join the comittee 💡
We want to put together a small committee to help us organise the event! Ideally, we’d like to recruit 4 members to join us. As part of the committee, we would ask you to:
Attend two 1-hr meetings in September (one in person, one online) to help us put together plans for the event
Help advertise the event, and recruit young people, and community organisations/youth workers to attend
Support with the running of the event on the day (set-up, handing out flyers and stickers, organising refreshments, running the mural wall)
(optional) Join Abi for a brief talk about AMPLIFY, and share your experiences of being involved and why it is important that young people can share their voices
There will of course be payment for those involved, that attend all meetings and support on the day. We expect this to be £50-£100 but Abi is confirming this at the moment.
❕ Request for Speakers - please help! ❕
We are urgently looking for young people and community organisations who can attend the event and speak about the importance of youth voice.
We invite you to talk about your experience or get creative - write a poem or play music - I’m open to hearing any suggestions! I can pay for all those who get involved as a speaker.
Please email Abi (amplify@qmul.ac.uk) if you would like to speak, or if you know of any community organisations or youth workers who might like to get involved. Thank you!
⭐️ Monthly Round-up of Opportunities ⭐️
Things are always quieter in research during the Summer, as most Universities are closed! See below for details of one research opportunity, and a youth club in Walthamstow which is running activities during the Summer.
The Influence of (social media) Influencers - Young People's Workshop
Payment is £80! Deadline to apply is this Friday 16th August 2024 at 9am.
Mental health is regularly a topic explored on social media channels, such as Instagram and Tik Tok, in the form of videos. This project, led by University of Birmingham and supported by The McPin Foundation, explores how the stories told by social media influencers can help or harm young people.
This research is important to help us understand social media influencers and their role in mental health for young people, and we hope that it will lead to guidance and recommendations for both parties.
To do this, we are analysing the videos from influencers on social media accounts to understand the type of content that they post. More about the project here
What is this opportunity?
We are looking for 8 young people to attend an in person workshop on Saturday 14th September in London.
We will watch videos from social media influencers from TikTok who talk about mental health and discuss how helpful (or unhelpful) you think they are.
The workshop will take place in person at The McPin Foundation office in London on Saturday 14 September, 12.30-4pm, McPin Foundation Offices, 244-254 Cambridge Heath Rd, Cambridge Heath, London E2 9DA
Some of activities will include…
Preparation before the workshop of watching 10-15 TikTok videos shared in advance via a Padlet (approximately 1 hour)
In a group, working together to rank the videos in terms of their accuracy and ability to help young people
Putting together a list of ideas about how influencers should share information about mental health that maximises benefits and minimises risks to young people
Payment
Payment is £80 for attending and contributing in the full workshop
Your travel will be booked by the McPin Foundation, or all reasonable travel expenses will be reimbursed
A lunch of up to £15 (receipts will be required) and refreshments provided at the venue
Get Involved
If you are interested in this opportunity, please email George on Georgeclarke@mcpin.org with brief answers to the following questions:
What is your name?
What is your gender?
What is your date of birth?
Which station would you be travelling from?
Why are you interested in this specific opportunity?
Please give details of any relevant experience (i.e mental health issues and accessing social media platforms)
Sometimes after talking about topics like mental health, people feel they need a little extra support or someone to chat to. What support do you currently have in place (e.g. supportive friends, family, health professionals or mental health charities)? Is there anything that [insert name of organisation here] could do to support you or make your involvement experience better?
How did you hear about this opportunity?
You are welcome to send your responses in audio or video format if preferred! If you need any help completing your expression of interest, you can get in touch with contact@mcpin.org.
Space4all Youth Club
No deadline
A group from YMCA Walthamstow, delivered on Wednesdays between 6-8pm, for ages 11 - 19 years old. They deliver various activities such as creative arts, games, jewellery making, workshops, advice and guidance.
All sessions are free! To find out more or get involved email youthteam@ymcaspg.org
AMPLIFY Journal Club
Welcome to this month’s AMPLIFY Journal Club! Each month, we will share a different article showcasing the latest research into youth mental health.
Some articles have been published in scientific journals, and some are shared on online websites like theconversation.com, but all come from other mental health researchers working in the field.
As well as sharing the article, we will also include a short summary of the key points that are addressed (so you don’t have to read the whole thing if you don’t want to!)
This month: “The brain’s reading of the body’s state is key to mental health”
This is not an academic paper this time, but a magazine article from a researcher at Cambridge University. Let me know if you prefer this format for journal club!
Summary
Your brain's main job is to help you understand how your body feels so you can survive and take care of yourself.
The brain's interpretation of bodily signals, known as interoception, is crucial for mental health. Interoception helps us sense our physical state and is essential for survival.
Research shows that people with mental health conditions have differences in brain activity during interoception.
The insula, a region in the brain involved in sensing the body's state, pain, and emotion processing, is affected in mental health disorders.
Targeting the insula through interventions like mindfulness and interoception training may help alleviate mental health symptoms.
Key Findings
It’s increasingly apparent that interoception is essential for more than just survival. It’s the very filter through which we feel mentally and physically well, or unwell.
The brain basis of interoception can help explain the interconnectedness of physical and mental health – why, when you feel worse mentally, your physical pain might worsen; and why inflammation in your body can make you depressed.
Furthermore, differences between people in their neural interoceptive processes could help to explain why we all experience our bodily states differently, which in some cases could drive worse mental health.
These insights are shining a new light on existing treatments, and helping to inspire cutting-edge ways to improve interoception, raising the hope that we might be able to improve the treatment of mental health for some of the people who need it most.
What do you think? Do you agree or disagree with these findings? Do you think interoception is important? Follow the link below to read the article in full:
Get in touch with Abi (a.c.thomson@qmul.ac.uk) if you have any topics you are interested in that you would like to explore in Journal Club.
Suggestion box
Please feel free to make suggestions about what you’d like to see included in these Newsletters! Please do give feedback about whether or not this newsletter is helpful to receive by completing the poll below.
If you have any other thoughts or suggestions for AMPLIFY, you can submit an anonymous comment to our suggestion box: