Its main focus is on physical, mental, cognitive, psychosocial and familial aspects of various serious and/or chronic somatic conditions or symptomatology in children and young people under the age of 18.

About the group

T-ABU - Pediatric Mental Health is a research group at the Department of Child and Adolescent Mental Health in Hospital.

The research group seeks to develop this interdisciplinary field of research in close collaboration with both clinical and basic medical research environments at OUH, UiO, OsloMet, regionally, nationally and internationally.

T-ABU can offer standardized methods for assessing physical function, pain, mental health and quality of life.

Since 2017, the group has also included research on children and young people with gender incongruence.

Our research

We conduct interdisciplinary bio-psycho-social research.

To study complex interactions between biological, psychological and social factors a holistic, multifactorial approach is used in order to understand predisposing, triggering and maintaining mechanisms in all diseases.

Over the years, the research group's efforts have been essential for highlighting the mental and psychosocial aspects of illness and treatment of children and young people.

The research has contributed to new knowledge that has had an impact on the development and improvement of medical treatment protocols.

Taking care of both the young patients' mental health and the family aspect, have been shown to increase the patient`s quality of life, better outcome of treatment, increased compliance and shorter duration of illness; important gains for both the individual patients, the family and society.

Projects

  • Gender dysphoria and gender incongruence in children and adolescents. Post doc HSØ 2019-2024, Anne Wæhre
  • The HARM study; a Nordic multidisciplinary, multicenter study for mapping factors that can improve psychosocial health and somatic function in patients with Hirschsprung disease and AnoRectal Malformations, 2019-2024, Helene Gjone
  • Psychosocial functioning in children and young people with complex, stress-related symptom states before and after interdisciplinary, biopsychosocial assessment and treatment in the specialist health service - A pilot study, 2020-2023, Linn Breen Herner
  • «MustRa" - Music therapy for children and young people undergoing radiotherapy at Radiumhospitalet. A pilot study. 2021-2023, Julie Mangersnes
  • "Reliability and validity of Child Assessment Schedule (CAS) revised", 2012-dd, Helene Gjone
  • "Surgery in early childhood and later behavioural development; a twin study", 2012-dd., Helene Gjone
  • "Dissociation following traumatic medical treatment procedures in childhood", Longitudinell, 2006-dd., Trond H. Diseth

Collaboration

Our group members collaborate with several partners in Norway and abroad. Since 2017, the group has through close collaboration with the National Gender Team, Children and Adolescents, carried out quality improvements in the form of establishing a register for gender incongruence, as well as several ongoing research projects.

National partners

  • Different departments and research groups at OUS, UiO, OsloMET, NKVTS
  • National collaboration for CL-BUP/ Psychosomatic disorders
  • Norwegian Institute of public health             

International partners

  • Karolinska Institute, Stockholm
  • European Association of Consultation Liaison Psychiatry and Psychosomatics
  • European Society for Trauma and Dissociation

Selected publications

  1. Linda W David, Nina Stenberg, Trond H Diseth, Sissel Berge Helverschou, Cecilie Bjertness Nyquist, Roald A Øien, Anne Waehre. Autistic Characteristics in a Nationally Representative Clinical Sample of Adolescents Seeking Medical Gender-Affirming Treatment in Norway. J Autism Dev Disord 2023 Dec 6. doi: 10.1007/s10803-023-06181-6.
  2. Ghetti CM,... Mangersnes J et al. Effect of Music Therapy on Parent-Infant Bonding Among Infants Born Preterm: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2023 May 1;6(5):e2315750. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.
  3. Gulseth E, Urdal A, Andersen MH, Falk RS, Aksnes G, Emblem R, Wæhre A. Sexual well-being and penile appearance in adolescents operated for distal hypospadias in childhood. J Pediatr Urol. 2023 Jun;19(3):293.e1-293.e8. doi: 10.1016/j.jpurol.2023.03.001.
  4. Kozlowska, K.; Schollar-Root, O.; Savage, B.; Hawkes, C.; Chudleigh, C.; Raghunandan, J.; Scher, S.; Helgeland, H. Illness-Promoting Psychological Processes in Children and Adolescents with Functional Neurological Disorder. Children 2023,10, 1724. https://doi.org/10.3390/children10111724.