Welcome to this AMPLIFY newsletter! đ
I hope that everyone had a lovely weekend, and is looking forward to the week ahead. I know that this is a busy time for lots of us - many of you have started back at college, sixth form, and some of you have just started University! Wishing you the best of luck for the next academic year.
In this issue, weâve included a summary of our upcoming research sessions for the rest of 2024. Our next session will be on Wednesday 25th September so do sign up if you are available!
Also included in this monthâs issue are details on how to register for our celebratory AMPLIFY event, and a round-up of current research opportunities. This monthâs journal club is also an interesting debate about the current narratives surrounding youth mental health - do have a read!
Have a great week, and I look forward to seeing you in our next session!
Warm wishes,
Abi đ
In this monthâs newsletterâŚ
Upcoming Sessions
đď¸ Wednesday 25th September (5:30 pm - 6:30 pm): Research Session - Abi Thomson
In this research session, we will be discussing Abiâs research on emotion regulation. Join us as we develop a brief workshop for students in secondary schools to teach them about emotion regulation and how it can affect their mental health. In this session, we will think about what young people might want to learn about it in a one-hour workshop, and how to best share this information in an engaging and and informative way.
đď¸ Wednesday 23rd October (5:30 pm - 6:30 pm): Research Session
The researcher for this session is still to be confirmed. We will keep you updated and let you know once you can sign up. For now, save the date!
đď¸ Wednesday 20th November (5:30 pm - 6:30 pm): Research Session
The researcher for this session is still to be confirmed. We will keep you updated and let you know once you can sign up. For now, save the date!
đď¸ AMPLIFY Christmas Celebration (5:30 pm - 7:30 pm)
In this session, we will come together for the last time in 2024! We will be discussing research, but there will be additional time to catch up and celebrate the year together at the end. For now, save the date!
âď¸ AMPLIFY Celebratory Event - sign up today! âď¸
As Iâm sure many of you already know, we are currently in the process of planning our upcoming AMPLIFY celebratory event.Â
This event is scheduled for the 4th of October (drop by any time from 4 pm â 7 pm) at Brady Arts & Community Centre (Hanbury Street London E1 5HU). 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 peopleâs voices in mental health research.
Weâd love to see you there! You can find out more about the activities, and sign up to join this event here:Â
Please do invite friends and family along too, if they are free and would like to join!
â Request for Speakers - please help! â
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 - Iâm open to hearing any suggestions! I can pay ÂŁ75 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!
âď¸ Monthly Round-up of Opportunities âď¸
See below for this monthâs monthly round-up of research opportunities. There is just one opportunity available this month, but things will pick up now that Universities are back after Summer!
The Care Responders Research project: evaluating a crisis mental health service for children and young people
Payment is ÂŁ25 per meeting! The deadline to apply is this Friday 20th September 2024 at 9am.
When a young person is experiencing a mental health crisis and a 999 emergency call is made, the police typically attend on their own. However, the police donât have specialised mental health training, knowledge or skills. Therefore, the Pennine Care Trust research team are trying to find out whether a joint response (a mental health practitioner and police visiting together) may help young people to feel supported and avoid hospital admission.
What is this opportunity?
The research team are looking for 2 more people to join our group to reach our target of 8 public advisors. If more people are interested, we can take on one additional person. However, because recruitment can be unpredictable and thereâs always a chance that someone might need to drop out, the team will have a waiting list. They will keep in touch with everyone on the waiting list regularly, so donât be discouraged if they tell you that you canât join right now! The team are also quite flexibleâif you need to drop out but think you can come back later, theyâll put you back on the waiting list and contact you with more opportunities, including the current one the team are discussing here.
What youâll do:
Reviewing Documents: Youâll look at study documents like information sheets, consent forms, and questionnaires. Your feedback will help the team understand how people interpret the research findings.
Co-Developing Research Outputs: Youâll work with the team to create meaningful research outputs that reflect the needs and interests of young people.
Meetings: Youâll attend meetings twice a year, either in person or online, to discuss the studyâs progress and share your thoughts and experiences.
Representing Young People: Youâll represent the views and concerns of young people, making sure the study addresses the issues that matter most to you.
Creating Public Materials: Youâll help develop and review materials to share the studyâs findings with the public in a way thatâs easy to understand and engaging.
How to get involved?
If you are interested in this opportunity, please email pcn-tr.care-responders@nhs.net with brief answers to the following questions:
What is your name?
What is your date of birth?
Would you like to join in person or online? (We are based in Manchester)
Are you interested in mental health services for young people?
AMPLIFY Journal Club
Welcome to this monthâs 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 donât have to read the whole thing if you donât want to!)
This month: âBad therapy or cruel world? How the youth mental health crisis has been sucked into the culture warsâ
This article from theconverstation.com explores the causes of the youth mental health crisis and examines the different narratives surrounding it.
Summary
This article explores two narratives surrounding the decline in youth mental health
The first is the "cruel world" narrative, where systemic adversity is the primary cause (i.e. climate emergency, unaffordable housing, precarious employment, rising inequality)
The second is the "cultural trend" narrative, where cultural shifts and therapeutic culture contribute to vulnerability and mental illness. This narrative suggests a culture preoccupied with harm creates vulnerability and leads people to view life problems through a psychiatric lens (e.g. people view normal stress as a psychiatric problem rather than a normal part of life).
From the âcruel worldâ perspective, the ultimate causes of the mental health crisis are the basic structures of our society, economy and ecology. Only systemic, macro-level changes can arrest them.
For proponents of the âcultural trendâ narrative, the focus of intervention is more micro. We should challenge the social practices and technologies that create vulnerability and undermine mental health.
The article explores different kinds of therapy and solutions to support young people with their mental health. It argues that the current therapeutic culture needs a huge change.
What do you think? Do you agree or disagree with this article? What narrative do you think is the most true? 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 youâd 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: