From June 18–20, 2025, the YouthDMH COST Action welcomed PhD students, postdocs, and early-career researchers from across Europe to University College Dublin, Ireland, for its first-ever Training School on digital mental health research. Over three days of presentations and doctoral consortium sessions, participants deepened their understanding of youth mental health research and had the opportunity to present their own work.
The Training School began with a focus on youth and patient engagement, highlighting best practices in Patient and Public Involvement (PPI), inclusion, and co-design. The second day explored the role of technology in supporting youth mental health, including sessions on the positive and negative impacts of social media, online help-seeking behaviors, and innovative digital interventions such as digital phenotyping and Just-In-Time Adaptive Interventions (JITAIs). On the final day, discussions centered on engagement with digital mental health interventions, culminating in a keynote presentation on Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and digital mental health by Dr. Gavin Doherty, Professor at Trinity College Dublin.
The first YouthDMH Training School successfully brought together a vibrant, interdisciplinary community committed to improving digital mental health for young people. It provided a unique space for networking, skill-building, and inspiration, equipping the next generation of researchers to drive meaningful change in the field.
For more information about the program and application process, check the website.
