Practicing what we preach

Today is World Mental Health Day, with this year’s theme being mental health in the workplace. I believe the most valuable asset any organisation has are its staff, and their wellbeing should be paramount to every CEO.

A colleague recently recounted to me their previous experience and I was genuinely shocked, and disappointed, that working 12-hour days and weekends was considered the norm. It seems some organisations regard starting early and finishing late as a sign of commitment – we would rather that our staff are committed to their families and loved ones.

We are lucky to have a good mix of different backgrounds among the ACAMH staff, who have brought with them a variety of experiences from their previous workplaces. We look to learn from these good, bad, and ugly experiences to ensure we reduce workplace stress.

It would be no exaggeration to say that the last year has been transformative for ACAMH and the culmination of a process of change I set in motion on taking up the role of CEO. It is a position I feel incredibly privileged to be in – working for a body at the very forefront of advancements in child and adolescent mental health.

Building on a successful year

Following the enormous success of the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry (JCPP) special issue on Development Language Disorder we will be launching an October special issue on the theme of Global Mental Health from our other journal: Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMH).

December will also see the relaunch of our popular membership magazine – The Bridge. The new format features a variety of research from both our journals and news and views from the wider ACAMH community.

In the coming months we have events in the UK, Malta and Ireland – many of which are already sold out. We have also announced a thought-provoking programme of events for 2018, many of which are booking up fast. I am particularly excited at the new opportunities for people to join the conversation around our events through Twitter discussions, live streaming and exclusive interviews with influential speakers.

We’ll also be raising awareness of who we are and what do, by getting out and meeting people who can benefit from ACAMH. You’ll be able to find us at conferences run by the ADHD Foundation, British Psychological Society and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, to name a few.

As we come into the last few months of the year I look forward to a calm and productive end to what has been a fantastic year for the Association. We’ll continue to support each other so we can do our best for our members and for the thousands of children who depend on their care and expertise.