Dr Nina Higson-Sweeney

🗣️ Recruiting UK undergraduate students - please repost!

My third year student, Stan, is looking for university students to take part in an anonymous online survey about attitudes towards individuals with mental health disorders. Sign up here: tinyurl.com/536j5j3t

#MindtheKids pod hosts @drjanegilmour.bsky.social & @umartoseeb.bsky.social are joined by @nhigsonsweeney.bsky.social to explore the blurred distinctions between fatigue, tiredness, & executive function challenges, considering how depression complicates these concepts. https://bit.ly/45lt8ZU

🧵 Does harsh parenting raise the risk of self-harm in young people?

New review in The Lancet Psychiatry looked across 38 cohort studies on parenting, family dynamics & youth suicide risk.

The findings aren’t what you might expect. 👇

#YouthMentalHealth #Parenting #SelfHarm #SuicidePrevention

I cannot convey how pleased I am to say that this paper has finally found a home! It’s so tricky publishing COVID-19 research - everyone is “over it”, and yet there is still so much learning that can be transferred to potential future situations.

After months of planning, yesterday was the launch of the BRIDGE Peer Mentoring Scheme! The half-day workshop was so well-attended, with wonderful engagement from everyone right up until the end. I can't wait to see these global peer mentoring relationships flourish 🤩 @eleanorchats.bsky.social

And such an excellent blog, too!

After an embarrassingly long time spent on my tiptoes trying to put this up…we’re ready! Come and chat with me at D2.043 about the two studies I am conducting with @lucyfoulkes.bsky.social on self-diagnosis. I am also on the conference app if you can’t find me and want to chat! #ESCAP2025

Thanks so much! The programme is incredible!

Delighted to have been able to make it to #ESCAP2025 this year! 😍 Amazing weather for it, too! You will find me at the poster stands tomorrow, presenting the postdoc work I’m doing with @lucyfoulkes.bsky.social @escaponline.bsky.social

Secondary schools! Can you help? We're looking for research participants

We're looking for UK secondary schools to help us with a project about self-diagnosis. For more info or to express interest, please DM me or email Nina at nina.higson-sweeney@psych.ox.ac.uk

I’m looking for a small number of secondary schools to help us with a research study exploring self-diagnosis of mental health problems in young people

For more info or to express interest, please email @nhigsonsweeney.bsky.social:

nina.higson-sweeney [at] psych.ox.ac.uk

Or DM us! Thank you 🙏🏼

Please repost the above and share with your networks! @marialoades.bsky.social @lucyfoulkes.bsky.social @sjblakemore.bsky.social @minafazeloxford.bsky.social @cathycreswell.bsky.social @pollywaite.bsky.social @tamsinford.bsky.social @orbenamy.bsky.social @thementalelf.bsky.social @acamh.bsky.social

You have 6 DAYS LEFF to apply to BRIDGE, a 6-month peer mentoring scheme for ECRs to facilitate global collaborations in mental health research!

It is free, remote, and focused in skills development, social support, and cross-cultural networking 👉🏽 mentalhealthresearch.org.uk/bridge/

I’ve had lots of messages about my Guardian article, in which I argued we should stop universal mental health lessons in schools. The messages have fallen into three categories, and I’m reflecting on this here because I think it exposes something interesting in the field (and research in general)
🧵

It was lovely to see you, Maria! So impressed by all these different research streams 🤩

So proud of the @lampresearchuk.bsky.social phd students who presented their work @psychologybath.bsky.social CMHD group today @nataliakika.bsky.social @sophiedallison.bsky.social @emmachubb.bsky.social

You still have 2 and a half weeks to submit your application to BRIDGE - but why not apply early? 👉 mentalhealthresearch.org.uk/bridge/

BRIDGE will begin with a half-day online workshop led by a trained coach foused on peer men toring skills and global collaboratin! How exciting is that? 🤩

The post below says it all! @eleanorchats.bsky.social and I have received some seed funding from the MHR Incubator to pilot a global peer mentoring programme for ECRs (including clinicians!) working in mental health research 🌎

If you are an ECR in the UK, Brazil or South Africa, apply below ⬇️

I thought it looked strange! Let me redo 🤣

Another brilliant blog by @emmacsullivan.bsky.social on a very hot topic! 👇

Accelerator Awards | Grant funding | Wellcome Eligibility and applications details for the Wellcome Accelerator Awards, which will support Black, Bangladeshi, and Pakistani researchers in the UK to make successful career transitions.

Our Accelerator Awards are open for applications.

We’re supporting researchers of Black, Bangladeshi and Pakistani heritage in the UK to undertake activities that put them in a stronger position to reach their next career stage within academia.

Learn more and apply by 15 July 2025 ⤵️

It was a great first session, thank you both for hosting it 🥰

Thank you Lucy! 🥰

Logo: Museum of Mental Health in the Media

⚡NEW PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT PROJECT COMING SOON⚡

How are mental health problems portrayed in TV shows, films and music, and what impact does this have? Does it help us understand better? Can it ever be unhelpful?

A new project from Dr Lucy Foulkes & Isaac Winterburn

Follow this account for updates!

Young people’s attitudes towards online self-help single-session interventions: findings from a co-produced qualitative study - BMC Psychology Background Many young people experience at least subthreshold depression symptoms which impact their functioning. Yet, access to evidence-based help is limited, with barriers such as service threshold...

Very pleased to see this paper published open access in BMC Psychology today, where we interviewed 24 young people to discover their thoughts towards online single-session interventions. It is the FIRST qualitative paper to focus on SSIs in UK-based young people 🤯

doi.org/10.1186/s403...

This paper has now been published 🤠

It's been a little while since I've written a Mental Elf blog, and I found this fascinating qual paper on young people's views of CAMHS on TikTok. Give it a read below 👇

@lucyfoulkes.bsky.social

Thank you Madina! Hopefully we can meet in person one day, too!

Signed up immediately!