Understanding and Working with the Interplay of Trauma and Neurodivergence in Children and Young People

Update 11.02.25: This event is fully booked. 

Tickets cost £155. Registration must be made online. Registration closes on 20 March 2025 at midday.

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Discounted tickets are available for BPS members and committee members. For further details please message [email protected]

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09:00 – 09:20 Arrival & Coffee

09:20 – 09:30 Annette Greenwood (CDT Chair): Opening Address & Welcome

09:30 – 10:15 Session 1 – Professor Helen Minnis

10:15 – 10:30 Q&A

10:30 – 11:15 Session 2 – Dr Georgia Pavlopoulou & Alexis Quinn

Title: A trauma informed approach to mental health support for autistic children, young people and their families

Overview: Georgia and Alexis will present a neurodivergence informed approach to trauma (with emphasis on autistic people's experiences and their family members). Autistic children with and without a learning disability, are at heightened risk of experiencing interpersonal, cultural or medical trauma and exposure to bullying and violence. It is estimated that these children are approximately two to three times more likely to encounter traumatic events of an interpersonal nature relative to their nonautistic counterparts.

11:15 – 11:30 Q&A

11:30 – 12:00 Coffee break

12:00 – 12:45 Session 3 – Dr Naomi Fisher

Title of presentation: Not Fine in School: School Trauma and Neurodiversity

Many children are struggling with school and some show signs of trauma from their experiences. In this presentation Naomi will outline some of the reasons why school can be challenging for neurodivergent children, and how the response of adults can make things better or worse.

12:45 – 13:00 Q&A

13:00 – 13:45 Lunch

13:45 – 14:30 Session 4 – Laura Bartlett

14:30 – 14:45 Q&A

14:45 – 15:30 Session 5 – Emma Williams & Yvette Bates

Title: Exploring the intersection of Trauma, Neurodivergence, and Forensic Risks in Children and Young People

Overview: Using the Trauma Recovery Model (TRM) by Skuse & Matthew (2015) as a guiding framework, this session equips professionals with practical, trauma-informed, and neuroinclusive strategies for supporting vulnerable children and young people who present with forensic risks.

Through a case study of "Jaden," a neurodivergent teenager navigating complex trauma and behavioural challenges, attendees will learn to reframe behaviours as expressions of unmet needs. They will also explore how to apply staged interventions to promote safety, emotional regulation, and long-term growth through strengths-based approaches.

15:30 – 15:45 Q&A

15:45 - 16:15 Panel Discussion: Bringing It Altogether: Summarising and Reflecting on Themes from the Day

16:15 – 16:30 Closing Reflections and Feedback Forms

16:30 Conference Close

Yvette Bates

Principal Forensic Psychologist, (CPsychol, HCPC Registered)

Yvette is a highly experienced Principal Forensic Psychologist with over 20 years in the field, including 11 years post-qualification. She is Chartered with and an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society and a HCPC Registered Practitioner. Yvette's career has included a variety of roles working across the life span, including roles in prisons and secure services, supporting young people in residential care and educational settings and working with adults with a forensic history in community-based settings.

Yvette has completed a broad range of assessments of risk that have considered the impact of trauma and unmet need identified through formulation and exploration of an individual's journey and made recommendations around future intervention, risk management and supporting strategies. Yvette has an extensive background in raising awareness, consultation and assessment in relation to supporting autistic people and has taken this forward as a consistent specialist area in her work. This has been through consultation, training development and delivery and also research. Yvette has presented at national and international conferences and has a published book chapter relating to supporting autistic people in prison.

(Bates, Y. & Tully, R.J. (2021) Supporting Autistic People in Prison. In Tyler, N. & Sheeran A. (Eds.). Working with Autistic People in the Criminal Justice and Forensic Mental Health System: A Handbook for Practitioners. London, UK: Routledge).

Dr Naomi Fisher

DClinPsy, PhD, MA (Cantab)

Dr Naomi Fisher is a clinical psychologist and EMDR-Europe Trainer who specialises in trauma, autism and alternatives to school. She is the author of several books, including A Different Way to Learning: Neurodiversity and Self-directed Education and the recent When the Naughty Step Makes Things Worse, with Eliza Fricker. She works with families of children who are struggling with school or who are no longer attending. She runs training for professionals on EMDR and is currently writing a book on adapting EMDR for neurodivergent people.

Emma-Jayne Williams

Director of Clinical Services, Emerge Care and Therapeutic Solutions & Excel Group Ltd Consultant Forensic Psychologist, Williams Psychology (CPsychol, HCPC Registered)

Emma is a highly experienced Consultant Forensic Psychologist with over 18 years in the field, including 10 years post-qualification. She is Chartered and an Associate Fellow with the British Psychological Society and an HCPC Registered Practitioner. As Director of Clinical Services for Emerge Care and Therapeutic Solutions and Excel Group Ltd, Emma leads the design and delivery of therapeutic models across residential homes and independent schools. Through Williams Psychology, Emma completes assessments with individuals with complex needs, including trauma, personality disorders, and cognitive deficits.

Emma's career spans roles in prisons, social care, and private practice, where she has supported adults, young offenders, and children. She has extensive experience in forensic assessments for criminal and civil proceedings and provides clinical and managerial supervision to psychologists. Emma is passionate about advancing trauma-informed care and systemic approaches, ensuring best practices in therapeutic services and psychological support.

Dr Georgia Pavlopoulou

Associate Professor, University College London (UCL) , Programme Director, National Autism Trainer Programme, Anna Freud , Co-Lead, Special Interest Group in Coproduction, Centre for Equality Research , Founder, Group for Research in Relationships And Neurodiversity (GRRAND) , Psychotherapist

Georgia is a neurodivergent academic who has a PhD in Developmental Psychology and Mental Health and is the Founder of the University College London (UCL) Group in Research in Relationships and Neurodiversity, and is an AT-Autism Associate Consultant. She is using a combination of behavioural, phenomenological and participatory techniques together with a developmental approach to understand social determinants of autistic mental health through autistic people's personal accounts (stress, belonging, loneliness, low mood, family experiences). Georgia is committed to creative participatory health and educational research, co-producing work with community members. Georgia has 20 years' experience working with autistic people and their family members and has felt the benefits of involving them at the heart of clinical and educational decision making. She is currently a Medical Research Council (MRC) co-investigator in emotional regulation and depression prevention in autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and a trainee UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) psychotherapist.

Georgia has led national and international short courses for mental health practitioners working in educational and NHS systems with young people with atypical development. Georgia has been nominated for the David Cottrell 'Education of CAMH Professionals' Award 2020 and 2021 and won the UCL Impact Award 2021 and UCL Professional Award for her work with East Londoners to tackle stigma, inequalities and mental health with and for autistic adults. During the pandemic, she co-authored reports that have been cited by the Policy Innovation and Evaluation Research Unit (PIRU), which informed the government's new autism strategy 2021–2026.

She is passionate about working with marginalised groups, service users, scholar activists and mental health services to facilitate service transformation and advance mental health practice through better cross-agency collaboration, translational research and service user participation.

Alexis Quinn

Manager of the Restraint Reduction Network

Alexis Quinn is a psychotherapist and author of two books: her ground-breaking memoir, Unbroken, and Autistic & Expecting, a guide for autistic parents to be. Alexis speaks on neurodivergence, trauma, restraint, solitary confinement and mental well-being. She works as Manager of the Restraint Reduction Network.