Morning plenary with Dr Sami Timimi: What lies behind the mental health crisis in our young
About this plenary
Psychiatric diagnoses rely on subjective foundations. Without empirical anchors we are left with descriptors that cannot help us identify cases that share something unique in common. Mistaking a descriptive category for a diagnosis has resulted in a failure to improve scientific knowledge or clinical outcomes. Instead, categories for distress and difference have expanded into consumable brands and internalised identities, most notably in the emergence of the neurodiversity paradigm. Dr Timimi will explain the potential problems this approach causes at the individual, community, and population level and why this results in harm, particularly to young people.
The content for this plenary represents the expertise and views of the speakers and does not represent formal College position or policy and is intended to provide an opportunity for informed discussion and shared learning on topics that continue to generate interest and debate.
Abstract presentations
Three of this year’s top scoring abstracts will also take to the stage in the exciting Pecha Kucha presentation style:
- How much does it cost to assess a child for ADHD in the NHS?
- The role of the paediatrician in assessing internet use in young people and its effect on mental health and suicide: Red flags and risk factors
- Preventable deaths in adolescents reported by coroners' reports in England and Wales: a national observational study, 2013-2025
