Beyond the surface: Understanding mental health

In this talk, Margherita Zenoni, a PhD candidate at Cambridge University’s Psychology Department, discusses her journey, from battling Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) to research on the very same topic. Margherita will delve into how her real-life challenges fuel her scientific passion and how she transformed a psychiatric condition into an opportunity for personal and professional growth. This talk will highlight the human side of science and how personal battles can shape scientific progress.

Youth mental health problems have many consequences, including continued poor mental health, impaired social functioning, lower academic attainment, and increased substance use. Understanding how community mental health services alleviate these outcomes is crucial for resource allocation. Despite the UK’s best evidence-informed guidelines, the effectiveness of services in real-world settings remains uncertain. This talk will outline Dr Neufeld’s work which uses “real world” observational studies to understand mental health services, asking the questions: what works, for whom, and why?