Embrace researcher Sara Coombs addressing an audience at the SMHR conference.
The Kids Research Institute Australia’s Embrace researchers delivered presentations on the impact of medical trauma on mental health at a Sydney conference last week.
Approximately 600 people attended the Society for Mental Health Research conference in early November, which featured keynote speeches by guests from the University College London and the University of Limerick, Ireland.
Child and adolescent mental health were high on the agenda at the three-day conference in early November. Other common discussion points included the implementation of research, digital interventions (including the use and role of social media), and the emergence of co-design principles.
Research Assistant Sara Coombs provided an update on the experiences of medical trauma in young people living with type one diabetes and how this is shaped by their parent’s perspective. Dr Karen Lombardi also presented on the importance of the co-design process in this same project, which sits within The Wellbeing Project.
The team behind The Wellbeing Project also received an award for community engagement for their intervention for young people who have experienced a burn.
Associate Professor Yael Perry, head of the Youth Mental Health team at The Kids, also shared details of her team’s SPARX-T project. SPARX-T is an iPhone game adapted for trans youth aimed at preventing the onset of depression in this high-risk group.
The Youth Mental Health contingent was also represented by Julia Bak, who presented on the importance of improving accessibility of mental healthcare for LGBTQIA+ young people, and Zoe Waters, who detailed research on the experiences of stigma and self-stigma in young people at risk of psychosis.
Also presenting from The Kids was senior CliniKids researcher Dr Gail Alvares, who spoke about a parent-mediated intervention for young children diagnosed with autism.
Embrace is supported by principal partner Rio Tinto.
Dr Karen Lombardi, Sara Coombs and Nicole Wickens in front of an Embrace poster at the event.
A/Prof Yael Perry hosted a session at the conference.
Julia Bak presented on a clinician training to support LGBTQA+ young people at the conference.