In the news...
for August 2025
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from the Institute of Mental Health, Nottingham
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As we move through another busy month at the Institute, I’m continually inspired by the dedication, curiosity, and compassion that drive our work. This newsletter highlights some of the remarkable research, partnerships, and stories that are shaping the future of mental health care. Each piece reflects our shared commitment to improving lives through evidence, innovation, and collaboration. Thank you for your continued support in making this possible — together, we’re turning research into real-world impact.
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Professor Martin Orrell
Director, Institute of Mental Health
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Midlands Mental Health and Neuroscience Doctoral Training Programme – 2026 Call for Projects
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Submissions are now open for projects for the 2026 cohort of the Midlands Mental Health and Neuroscience Doctoral Training Programme for Healthcare Professionals. This PhD programme is led by the University of Nottingham, in collaboration with the University of Birmingham, University of Leicester, and University of Warwick, and our local NHS Trusts in the Midlands.
“I’m very thankful for my MMHN fellowship. It’s given me the opportunity to research the intersection between neuroimaging and young people’s mental health. I can now access resources across the university and its partners, with generous funding to support public involvement and engagement.” Nitish Jawahar (pictured), 2023 cohort.
To find out more, including how to apply, visit our website.
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Dr Charlotte Hall featured in NIHR annual report
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A digital tool that significantly reduces the time to diagnosis of ADHD amongst children and young people, features in the recently published National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Annual Report 2024 / 2025. Rapid national rollout of QbTest – developed by innovator Qbtech – has been based on a successful collaboration between the company, Health Innovation East Midlands (HIEM), the NIHR, Applied Research Collaborative East Midlands (ARC EM) and the NIHR MindTech HealthTech Research Centre. QbTest has been adopted throughout England, benefiting more than 163,000 young people*, saving the NHS an estimated £55.9 million*. The report features Dr Charlotte Hall (p12), who recently won an NIHR Impact Prize for her contribution to the project. In addition, Qb Test won a Health Service Journal (HSJ) award for improving mental health through digital.
Congratulations to Charlotte and the team behind Qb Test!
*Figures taken from the NIHR Annual Report 2024/2025
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Publication success and national recognition for trailblazing programme
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In recent weeks, five Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Specialty Trainees based in Notts Healthcare have successfully published systematic literature reviews in prestigious peer-reviewed journals, as lead authors. Their work has come out of the trailblazing and unique Literature Review workshops that have been established as part of the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry clinical training in the Trust.
These workshops were set up over a decade ago by Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists, Kapil Sayal (pictured) and Maria Moldavsky, and continue to run regularly on a quarterly basis.
Learn more about the systematic review programme.
Explore The Nottingham Guide to literature reviews.
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NEON study publishes full project report
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NEON (Narrative Experience Online) was a research study, whose main body of work was between 2017 to 2023. Funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research to examine whether online access to people’s real-life stories of recovery from mental health problems can be helpful for others affected by mental health problems.
Throughout the study, NEON worked with a lived experience advisory panel of ten public members, many of whom contributed to the research papers that were produced.
Now that the study has finished, the NEON team aim to make it as easy as possible for people to learn about the project. They've produced a summary, including accounts from researchers and panel members of their experience of working on the NEON study.
Download the full study report
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Success for the SATURN team!
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Congratulations to our Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust colleagues working on the SATURN trial, who recruited the highest number of ‘consent to contacts’ from March-June of this year. The SATURN trial will compare modified-release methylphenidate (usually prescribed for ADHD) with guanfacine extended-release (usually prescribed for tics) to identify the best treatment for children and young people with both ADHD and tics. Congratulations to CAMHS Advanced Nurse Practitioner, Joe Kilgariff, Dr Nadia Valiallah, Dr Kiron Griffin and unit secretary Sharon Green on this fantastic achievement.
For more information contact: saturn@nottingham.ac.uk
Explore the SATURN trial.
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Respectful language in ADHD research
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Dr Blandine French (pictured) and CANDAL colleagues have published a paper in the Lancet, aiming to start a constructive dialogue around language use related to ADHD, to encourage researchers, clinicians, and others to consider the potential impact of their words. The paper includes reflection points for researchers in the field, along with examples of language to avoid. View the article in the Lancet online.
Meanwhile, Blandine, along with CANDAL researchers, published their evaluation of an online ADHD psychoeducation package for primary healthcare professionals. Read the article in full.
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Study reveals gaps in care pathways
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The first publication from the Improving Tic Services in England (INTEND) study is now available in BMJ Mental Health. The study reveals critical gaps in care pathways for children and young people with tics and Tourette Syndrome across England.
View the BMJ article.
Read more about the INTEND study.
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New study to focus on staying well while waiting for ADHD assessment
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Institute colleagues Professor Maddie Groom (pictured) and Dr Charlotte Hall are leading a team of academic, clinical and technology experts to begin developing a digital tool to support adults referred for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) while they wait for their assessment.
Currently, adults who are referred for ADHD assessment can face waiting times of 2-5 years. This is a challenging time for those who have already been struggling for many years and are seeking help to manage the impacts of ADHD difficulties on their daily lives. Explore the Waiting Well study on our website.
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Systematic review examines effectiveness of standardised assessment tools in CAMHS
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A recently published systematic review examines the acceptability and effectiveness of standardised diagnostic assessment (SDA) tools in Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). The authors, led by Dr Salah Basheer, found that while such tools can help support referral decisions and align with expert diagnoses, they have limited impact on routine diagnostic practice. Clinician concerns about feasibility remain a barrier to wider use. The review highlights the need for further research to address these challenges and guide future implementation in CAMHS.
Read the review in Child and Adolescent Mental Health.
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Funding success for dementia network
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In 2023, Esther Loseto-Gerritzen (pictured), Mattea Finelli, and Aysegul Kafadar set up a Community of Practice on dementia within the Universitas 21 (U21) network. In May this year they were awarded a Collaborative Seed Fund of $5,000 (USD), which was a collaboration between the University of Nottingham, McMaster University in Canada and University of Connecticut in the US. The aim of the funding is to grow and strengthen their Community of Practice, and to support their attendance at the U21 Health Sciences Annual Meeting (theme: Aging Across the Lifespan) at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada (25-28 August 2025). The team plan to contribute to a plenary session on Innovative Pedagogies in Dementia Education, expand the network, discuss future funding and research collaborations, and support early-career researchers and PhD students.
View the announcement online.
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Publications from our Centre for Dementia
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Our Centre for Dementia colleagues continue their research into hearing loss and dementia, including a James Lind Alliance (JLA) Priority Setting Partnership (PSP) aimed to develop an agenda for research about dementia and hearing conditions. Read more in Age and Ageing. Meanwhile, Emma Broome and Alice Green highlight the need for health and social care staff to be trained in supporting hearing needs of people living with dementia. Read their paper in the Dementia journal.
PhD student Jesper Bøgmose Hansen, supervised by Professor Tom Dening, has published the second in a series of three papers looking at humanness in advanced dementia. They provide thought-provoking insights for caregivers in the field.
Read the latest article in the Scandinavian Journal of Caring. Sciences. The previous article can be found in Nursing Ethics.
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New paper could lead to change in clinical practice for treatment-resistant depression
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Recent findings, published in the Lancet Psychiatry, suggest pramipexole augmentation of antidepressant therapy may benefit those diagnosed with treatment-resistant depression. The trial, led by the University of Oxford, was conducted with national centres that now collaborate within the NIHR Mental Health Translational Research Collaboration (MH-TRC) Mission, including Dr Neil Nixon of our Centre for Mood Disorders.
View the Lancet Psychiatry paper in full.
Concerns raised over inappropriate prescribing
Meanwhile, authors including Institute colleagues Professor Richard Morriss and Professor Chris Hollis have published a new study finding clear evidence of inappropriate prescribing of antipsychotic treatments to children and young people and low levels of aftercare monitoring by GPs. It also raised concerns about the clarity of best practice guidelines across different care settings and the completeness of data available to researchers. Read more on this story.
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Patient and Public Involvement facilitators network sessions are now confirmed for the remainder of 2025 and into 2026. This network is a Community of Practice space for all those people around the IMH (and beyond) who work in delivering and aspiring to deliver good quality patient and public involvement within their research.
The sessions happen monthly as a drop in on Microsoft Teams, providing a space to talk about dilemmas and operational practicalities, successes, challenges and opportunities to work well together for our public contributors. Our quarterly sessions will be focused around a specific topic inspired by network members, landscape changes and our public contributors across the IMH. If you would like to join the network or find out more, email Kate Horton, Public Involvement Lead (pictured).
It's not too late to register for our CPD accredited Patient and Public Involvement training programme, starting on 10th September 2025. Find out more on our website.
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Research Symposium: OPM-MEG - potential applications for clinical research. EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST
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📅 Friday 19th September 2025, 09:30 - 15:45
📍 Institute of Mental Health, NG7 2TU
ℹ️ View the OPM-MEG event details online.
This one-day symposium, sponsored by the British Neuroscience Association, will bring together a variety of researchers, to provide an account of the emergence of OPM-MEG as an exciting new research tool with applications for clinical populations. The meeting will provide an opportunity for early career and established researchers with an interest in incorporating this technology into protocols for research projects in clinical populations.
Express your interest now.
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Take part in the EPOCH study
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Researchers at the Institute invite you to take part in the EPOCH study. The Evaluating Positive Changes in Psychosis (EPOCH) study aims to develop a new digital intervention to support post-traumatic growth in people with lived experience of psychosis. There are three participant groups, including:
Mental health clinicians – are you a mental health clinician with experience of working with people with psychosis? Could you attend a brief focus group and offer valuable feedback to researchers? View the EPOCH Clinician Focus Group participant information sheet.
People with lived experience of psychosis – are you 18+ and living in England? Would you like to join a two-hour focus group and share your thoughts on a new digital intervention? You’ll be reimbursed for your time. View the EPOCH Lived Experience Focus Group participant information sheet.
NHS peer support workers – do you have experience of working alongside people living with psychosis? Could you attend a one-day workshop to help develop training resources? You’ll be reimbursed for your time. View the EPOCH Peer Support Worker Workshop participant information sheet.
If you know someone who may be interested, please share these links with your network, colleagues, and friends. If you have any questions, email Dr Fiona Ng.
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AI study aims to detect mood change in pregnancy
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Volunteers are being sought for a new clinical study which will assess the potential use of an Artificial Intelligence (AI) processing app to detect early-stage mood change within the perinatal period, including early detection of post-natal depression.
The study is inviting volunteers from 12 weeks pregnant to 12 weeks postpartum, to use TrueBlue on their mobile devices; aiming to assess whether it is safe, usable, acceptable and how far predictions from the technology agree with standard clinical measures of depression and anxiety.
The technology behind this trial has been developed by the study's partner BlueSkeye AI, as profiled by BBC Panorama in August 2023. It is being assessed in close collaboration with academics in the School of Medicine, experts in Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) and senior clinicians in specialist mood disorders and perinatal psychiatry at Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. Explore this study
For anyone interested in the trial, please email the True Blue team or call 0115 748 6749.
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Digital Youth x MindTech: Digital risk, resilience and interventions, co creating change in youth mental health
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📅 13th November 2025, 09:30 - 16:30
📍 County Hall, London
🎟️ Early bird fee of £50 until 15th September.
Full price £75.
Students and charities £20.
ℹ️ More information on the IMH website
Be part of shaping a better digital future for young people’s mental health. Join Digital Youth and MindTech for an inspiring event packed with insight, innovation, and collaboration.
- Discover key findings from the Digital Youth programme.
- Hear from leading experts in child and adolescent mental health. .
- Shape the future of digital mental health initiatives.
- Take part in interactive workshops.
- Explore the Digital Youth Network and how it can support your work.
- Connect with key stakeholders in digital mental health.
- Collaborate with young voices, including the Young Person’s Advisory Group, Sprouting Minds.
Don’t miss this opportunity to connect, learn, and lead change.
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📅 4th and 5th September 2025
📍 Crowne Plaza, Nottingham NG1 5RH
🎟️ £300 full price, £150 concessions, £60 online only
ℹ️ View event details and how to register
It's not long now until the 7th Refocus on Recovery Conference, 4th and 5th September 2025 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Nottingham.
The conference will be organised around three themes, developed with the event partners:
1️⃣ – The role of lived experience in embedding and supporting recovery
2️⃣ – New perspectives around mental health and recovery
3️⃣ – Extending recovery beyond mental health
Registration is still open, with a reduced rate for online delegates. Don't miss this opportunity to hear from leading voices in the field of recovery.
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📅 24th September 2025, 09:00 - 17.00
📍 Institute of Mental Health, NG7 2TU
📥 More information on the IMH website
Join us for a day of talks, discussion, and insight into how dementia research is changing – with a growing focus on working in partnership with all the communities affected by dementia.
Open to researchers, health and care professionals, charity and community organisations, patient and public invovlement (PPI) contributers and anyone with an interest in dementia, the event will explore how inclusive and collaborative research is helping to tackle inequalities and improve support and care.
Expect inspiring sessions, practical takeaways, and opportunities to connect with others shaping the future of dementia research theme: "Rethinking Dementia: Collaboration, Co-design, and Change"
*Abstract submission now open - closing date for submissions 26th August 2025*
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📅 21st November 2025
📍 Institute of Mental Health, NG7 2TU
📥 More information on the IMH website
We're delighted to once again host our annual Trent Study Day, sharing the latest research and developments in forensic mental health. Take a look at last year's programme to learn more about the event.
Call for posters is now open! We're now accepting poster abstracts for the event. The deadline for poster abstract submissions is 31st October 2025 at 17:00. View the event page for more information.
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📅 9th December, 12:30 - 13:30
📍 Online via Microsoft Teams🎟️ Free
📥 More information on the IMH website
Join the University of Nottingham EXPAND team for a dynamic one-hour webinar exploring how we can better support ethnic minority young people to access healthcare support for neurodevelopmental disorders. Explore the EXPAND study.
This free lunchtime session will include:
-Key learnings from EXPAND
-Voices from our community partners
-An interactive panel discussion and Q&A
-Your chance to shape what happens next
Who should attend?
Health and education professionals, third sector organisations, and interested members of the public – all are welcome!
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We would love to hear from you.
Please visit our website or follow us on our social media pages to
keep up to date with our news and updates. |
The Institute of Mental Health brings together healthcare staff and academics to lead mental health research designed to improve diagnosis, treatment, and care. We are a partnership between two highly respected organisations, Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Nottingham. |
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@institutemh institutemh.org.uk
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