Early intervention for youth onset mental health conditions: where do mood disorders fit?

A/Prof Ratheesh a psychiatrist and the James Packer Chair in Mood Disorders. He leads a program of clinical research involving prediction and intervention development in youth mood disorders. He has led clinical programs in early psychosis and mood disorders. At UNSW Sydney, his role also extends to the Mindgardens Neuroscience Network and its key partners, the Black Dog Institute and the South-East Sydney Local Health District. He co-leads the Early Intervention Taskforce within the International Society of Bipolar Disorders. He is also an Associate Editor for the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, and an executive committee member for the Australasian Society for Bipolar and Depressive Disorders, and RANZCP Committee for Research.

A/Prof Ratheesh will provide an overview of his research program to date focused on prediction and early intervention for youth mental health conditions, with an increasing focus on bipolar spectrum disorders. He has conducted several observational studies on predicting the onset of bipolar spectrum, as well as depressive and psychotic disorders in youth. In addition, he will focus on his program of intervention development aiming to improve access to care for youth and young adults with bipolar spectrum conditions.