The Mental Elf

16/06/2026

How many of the people you passed today have lived through violence at home or in childhood?

The honest answer is: far more than we like to think. A major new global study estimates that 608 million women have experienced intimate partner violence, and over a billion people were sexually abused as children.

🌍 It also shows the damage to their health runs much deeper than we had ever measured.

https://buff.ly/1la6tsd

15/06/2026

💔 Can a difficult time in your mind really take a toll on your heart?

A major new review pooling data from 22 million people suggests our mental and physical health are more closely tied than we often realise. People living with PTSD, depression, anxiety and sleep problems were more likely to experience serious heart problems.

🫀 The evidence isn't conclusive yet, but it's a powerful reminder to care for the whole person.

https://buff.ly/PSH5U8n

12/06/2026

Could a simple letter help save a life?

✉️ In the 1970s, psychiatrist Jerome Motto posted short, caring notes to people leaving hospital after a su***de attempt: "We hope things are going well for you." Remarkably, fewer of those who received them died by su***de.

🕊️ Fifty years later, a new review of 36 trials suggests the brief interventions his letters inspired really do reduce su***de re-attempts.

💚 Sometimes the most powerful message is simply: we haven't forgotten you.



https://buff.ly/fIrR4ny

11/06/2026

💬 What if the most important part of this smoking cessation trial isn't the headline result?

Approach Bias Modification didn't significantly beat standard care, but our blog today by Gemma Taylor argues that the trial was likely underpowered, NICE is already exploring digital cessation tools, and Approach Bias Modification is computerised, scalable, and low-cost.

The bigger barrier may not be the evidence. It's whether the NHS can adopt digital tools if and when that evidence arrives.

https://buff.ly/ujEo36Y

11/06/2026

🎙️ Meet the panel for our free student mental health webinar on 15 June.

Presenting: Professor Ed Watkins (Nurture-U PI), Dr Lucy Robinson (Newcastle), Jemima Dooley (Compassionate Campus).

Panel: Gareth Hughes (Student Minds), Professor Juliet Foster (KCL), Sally Ingram MBE (Newcastle) and student rep Jay Bate.

Free. Monday 15 June, 11am BST. Online. Just 4 days to go.

Meet the full lineup and grab your ticket: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/what-universities-can-do-about-student-mental-health-nurture-u-webinar-tickets-1990175904705

A free lunchtime webinar exploring the latest student wellbeing evidence from Nurture-U, and what it means for universities.

10/06/2026

🎙️ Episode 4 of the Nurture-U Podcast is out now. The final episode of our series on student mental health.

Five years of research. Three things universities can do right now.

1. Lead from the top: make student mental health a board-level priority, not just a departmental one 🏛️
2. Prevention, prevention, prevention: build mental health literacy into induction and the curriculum 📚
3. Work with students: if it doesn't hit their needs, you are wasting your time 🌱

🎬 YouTube: https://youtu.be/tMy7244UgZI
🎵 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1K7vkqw8tImgc1wq18wJwE
🎙️ Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-mental-elf/id1108561399

Evidence doesn't automatically become practice. Knowing what works ...

10/06/2026

💙 What if the most powerful thing a digital mental health platform could offer wasn't a self-help module or a clinician's advice, but simply a space to feel less alone?

A new study of the MOST platform found that young people who engaged most were significantly more likely to feel validated by reading peers' stories and to find genuine social support online.

That sense of connection turned out to matter most.

https://buff.ly/OP6lD1C

09/06/2026

🛏️ Could one small habit change protect your teen's sleep?

New research published today in JAMA Pediatrics followed nearly 2,000 US teens through their first year of smartphone ownership. The kids who kept their phones outside the bedroom at night had roughly one-third lower odds of being short on sleep at age 14.

This isn't a phone ban, and it doesn't have to be a battle with your teen. A basket on the kitchen counter at bedtime is enough to make a measurable difference.

This well conducted smartphone study also has important findings on depression and obesity in young people.

Read the full blog on The Mental Elf:
https://buff.ly/XyJkviF

09/06/2026

💡 Evidence on student mental health is only useful if it leads to change.

The Nurture-U webinar on 15 June is designed to give you practical actions. Not just findings. Concrete recommendations: what to prioritise in your institution, what the evidence says works, and what needs to change structurally.

Free. Monday 15 June, 11am BST. Online.

Don't miss this! Register now and take something back to your institution: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/what-universities-can-do-about-student-mental-health-nurture-u-webinar-tickets-1990175904705

08/06/2026

🎬 Have you seen I Swear? The film is sparking fresh conversations about what it means to live with Tourette syndrome.

But the INTEND study shows that awareness and NHS access are two very different things.

🏥 Just 12 out of the 62 NHS services that responded to Freedom of Information requests offered a complete care pathway for children with tics. Five of those 12 are in London.

Proven, NICE-recommended treatments exist. Most families can't reach them. That needs to change.

https://buff.ly/CnFp9us