Across psychiatry, the scale and impact of neurodevelopmental conditions are now impossible to ignore. More than 700,000 people in England are currently awaiting autism/ADHD assessment—this illustrates both rising recognition and profound unmet need. Despite unprecedented public/ clinical interest—ADHD was the second most searched term on the NHS website in 2024—psychiatric practice, research/service design remain fragmented. Knowledge at the interface between neurodevelopment, mental illness, and physical health is often inconsistent, leaving many patients without timely or effective care. Many psychiatrists appreciate this need, and appetite for further learning is huge but do not necessarily feel equipped to bring this into practice. This symposium brings leading research in this space which reviews and challenges conventional boundaries within psychiatry. Recent largescale population studies, longitudinal analyses, and neurobiological investigations illuniate how neurodevelopmental differences contribute to vulnerability across multiple psychiatric and physical disorders, including mood instability and psychosis. These findings demand a reconceptualisation of diagnostic systems, treatment planning, and training pathways. Attendees will gain insight into robust evidence demonstrating the effectiveness and safety of pharmacological and multimodal interventions for ADHD, the biological and psychosocial mechanisms linking brain and body in neurodevelopmental conditions, and the critical relevance of poorly understood conditions such as Tourette syndrome and other complex presentations for understanding emotional regulation and suicidality, applicable across psychiatry. The session addresses an urgent need for psychiatrists to integrate neurodevelopmental science into everyday clinical reasoning. In doing so, it offers a forwardlooking, evidencebased vision of psychiatry that bridges silos, informs policy, and aligns with public demand. The symposium will appeal broadly across all psychiatric specialities including child, adult, liaison, perinatal, foresenic, learning disability and addictions psychiatry. It aims to equip attendees with the conceptual tools necessary to meet the challenges of modern mental health care.
Learning objectives
In this webinar you will:
• gain understanding of the scientific and clinical rationale for integrating autism, ADHD, and related neurodevelopmental conditions into mainstream psychiatric thinking and practice using robust research evidence
• critically examine emerging research on shared neurobiological, cognitive, and systemic mechanisms that cut across traditional diagnostic boundaries in psychiatry with relevance to all psychiatrists
• identify practical strategies for improving transdiagnostic assessment and evidence-based management skills among psychiatrists in response to the growing unmet need and diagnostic backlog and delays
• consider how service design, research collaboration, and workforce education can reduce fragmentation and promote a unified, evidence-based approach to neurodevelopmental clinical care."
Speakers
Chair: Dr Adrian James, NHS England, London
Professor Anita Thapar, University of Cardiff, Cardiff
Professor Sam Cortese, University of Southampton, Southampton
Dr Jessica Eccles, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Brighton
Professor Hugo Critchley, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Brighton
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.
