October 13, 2026
We are currently facing a global crisis in youth mental health, with the prevalence of common mental health problems such as anxiety, depression and traumatic stress rising steeply. Psychological interventions are the first choice for most young people to ameliorate these conditions. However, current evidence-based psychological interventions are only effective for around half of recipients and are typically hard-to-access due to their face-to-face delivery and reliance on experienced therapists.
Most of these interventions, such as Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, have their origins in clinical practice. The large and growing body of discovery science focused on the underlying bio-psycho-social mechanisms that drive common mental health problems remains largely untapped with regards to the development and enhancement of psychology interventions.
There is thus tremendous potential to improve our portfolio of psychological preventions and treatments through the translation of insights from discovery science. This can not only improve the overall efficacy of our clinical tools but also motivate a shift towards lower-intensity and digital protocols that mitigate the current problems of accessibility.
As part of the AIM (Adaptive Innovative Methods) webinar programme, Professor Tim Dalgleish will explore three approaches to translating science into psychological treatment development.
This talk will illustrate three approaches to clinical translation with his own research on depression and post-traumatic stress in children and young people, describing the translational trajectory from theory through experimental medicine and longitudinal studies, to intervention refinement and development, subsequent evaluation using randomised controlled trials, and finally implementation.
📅 Thursday 19 November 2026 1-2pm
Professor Tim Dalgleish is a clinical psychologist. He works both as a research scientist for the Medical Research Council and as a practitioner in the NHS. His research focuses on understanding and developing psychological preventions and treatments for common mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress. He adopts a translational approach, seeking to utilise insights from basic cognitive neuroscience to enhance clinical interventions for these conditions. His work employs a range of scientific methods from brain imaging through to the use of large-scale clinical trials.
This event is being hosted by the AIM team from Mental Health in Development at the Oxford Centre for Emerging Minds Research.