Dr Dennis Ougrin will present on ‘Adolescent self-harm: Long-term follow up of a Trial of Therapeutic Assessment in London (TOTAL)’ at the Emanuel Miller Memorial Lecture and Conference, Friday 16 March.
Suicide is a leading cause of death in young people and self-harm is the strongest predictor of death by suicide. Engagement with treatment is a particular challenge for young people who present in crisis after an episode of self-harm. An earlier randomised controlled trial demonstrated improved treatment engagement in adolescents who received Therapeutic Assessment (TA) versus Assessment As Usual (AAU), following an emergency presentation with self-harm.
The study’s objective was to determine 2-year outcomes for the same adolescents focusing on frequency of Accident and Emergency (A&E) self-harm presentations and treatment engagement. The electronic records of the patients in the TA and AAU groups were analysed, with treatment engagement higher in the TA group than the AAU group.
Gabriella Comet, Events and CPD Manager for ACAMH said; “Therapeutic Assessment versus Assessment As Usual is a fascinating study. We honoured that Dr Ougrin is using the opportunity at the Emanuel Miller Conference to lecture, and lead a discussion on adolescent self-harm, and focus on his work around the long-term follow up of a Trial of Therapeutic Assessment in London (TOTAL).”
This year the theme of the Conference is ‘Focusing on Adolescent Mental Health’ and includes lectures and discussions on; drug use and its link to psychosis, neuroscientific approaches to the emergence of major depressions, gender identity, school interventions in relation to bullying, and self-harm. More information about the Emanuel Miller, held at the Royal College of Physicians on Friday 16 March can be found here.
Dr Ougrin is a consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist leading Supported Discharge Service at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, as well as a clinical senior lecturer at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience.