The WHO and UNICEF estimate that one in six children globally live in a conflict zone. Recent prolonged conflicts pose particular challenges. They fracture families and communities and degrade healthcare systems. They create multiple contexts in which interventions need to be delivered, as families are displaced internally and externally. Children are exposed to cumulative traumatic events not only during war, but also in peri-migration and post-migration settings. This can occur over a prolonged period that crosses developmentally sensitive time windows.
A developmental perspective is essential for understanding how such wars rupture emotional, relational and cognitive processes from infancy to early adulthood, and what systemic responses are needed to mitigate this. In addition, during a live, prolonged conflict, gold-standard interventions are difficult to implement. International collaboration and expertise are needed to develop age-appropriate interventions that at least do no harm.
This session will provide colleagues with valuable clinical insights from practitioners and academics with expertise in addressing the impact of war trauma on children using a developmental framework. These practitioners have adapted evidence-based interventions to meet the urgent mental health needs of mothers and their infants, children and adolescents, and children with neurodevelopmental disabilities – a particularly vulnerable and under-studied group. They bring expertise from diverse settings including Palestine, Ukraine, Syria and Lebanon. The session will provide valuable clinical insights for psychiatrists and humanitarians to help meet the mental health needs of children in war zones and postmigration settings, including the UK.
Learning objectives
In this webinar you will:
• learn of the mental health impact of war through a developmental perspective, including mother-infant mental health
• learn how children with neurodevelopmental disorders experience war and what specialist interventions are needed
• hear reflections on intergenerational trauma, through dialogue among mental health practitioners who are descendants of victims of war or persecution
• learn of evidence-based and novel interventions for war-affected children and families, with a focus on clinical relevance for UK and international practitioners
• hear reflections on intergenerational trauma, through dialogue among mental health practitioners who are descendants of victims of war or persecution.
Speakers
Chair: Dr Nadia Dabbagh
Ms Yafa Ajweh, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham
Dr Bahzad Al-Akhras, The University of Manchester, Manchester
Dr Ramzi Nasir, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London
Professor Dennis Ougrin, Queen Mary University of London, London
Funding
RCPsych International Congress is financially supported by the purchase of exhibition stand packages. A full list of confirmed exhibitors can be found here: Exhibiting Organisations at International Congress 2026
Availability
This webinar is part of the Congress webinar 2026 package. If you attended all four days of Congress, you will have access to these as part of your Congress package. Otherwise the Congress webinar 2026 package can be purchased below.
