The British Neuropsychiatry Association (BNPA) Teaching Weekend returned to Oxford between 12-14th December 2025. The course brought delegates together in the inspiring surroundings of the Mathematical Institute for three days of teaching on The Essentials of Neuropsychiatry. Attendees from all over the world were hosted at the beautiful St Anne’s College resulting in an atmosphere both intellectually stimulating and collegiate. At a time when neurology and psychiatry training schemes remain separated by cultural and structural boundaries, the weekend provided a welcome space to explore the shared terrain of disorders affecting brain and mind.
Proceedings began with an immersive session on functional neuroanatomy delivered by Professor Oliver Turnbull. The initial trepidation, reminiscent of medical school tutorials, quickly gave way to an engaging learning experience. Delegates were guided through repeated attempts at sketching neuroanatomy from memory, providing foundational knowledge for the weekend to come.
The opening day continued with sessions spanning core neuropsychiatric themes. Dr Quinton Deeley provided a thoughtful overview of neurodevelopmental conditions, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism spectrum disorder, covering both historical aspects and contemporary advances. Emphasising current service pressures, he also highlighted the importance of improving screening and assessment skills across psychiatric practice, busting the myth that these are the sole reserve of specialists. Professor Chris Butler then followed with a wide-ranging exploration of amnestic syndromes, weaving philosophical reflections from Borges and Locke with classical and contemporary case studies. His focus on transient epileptic amnesia highlighted the profound and human impact of memory disturbance, reminding delegates of the sheer depth of neuropsychiatry.
After refreshments, Professor Eileen Joyce delivered an engaging overview of the neuropsychiatry of movement disorders, using Parkinson’s disease as a paradigmatic example. Her session covered neural underpinnings and provided clinical wisdom, with several pearls on the treatment of depression and psychosis. This was complemented by paired teaching sessions on psychiatric assessment for neurologists and neurological examination for psychiatrists led by Professors Joyce and Professor Adam Zeman respectively. Building on the ethos of the BNPA these sessions addressed common blind spots and equipped delegates with pragmatic frameworks to enhance communication and formulation.
Friday concluded with a dementia-focused session in which Professor Zeman introduced a network-based approach, encouraging clinicians to consider patterns of neurocognitive impairment and their associated neural systems before arriving at diagnostic labels. Dr Richard Perry followed this with an overview of recent advances in investigations and treatments, highlighting developments in neuroimaging and blood-based biomarkers. Importantly, he emphasised the continued importance of clinical assessment, reminding us that structural scans “do not show dementia”.
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A stimulating first day concluded with a drinks reception and formal dinner at St Anne’s College. This provided a wonderful setting for delegates to connect, unwind, and look forward to the rest of the weekend in beautiful surroundings.
Saturday began with a hearty breakfast at the college. The first teaching session focused on epilepsy, with Dr Fahmida Chowdhury delivering a clinically rich talk covering the role of electroencephalography (EEG) in diagnostic assessment. Using extensive case examples, delegates were guided through practical strategies for differentiating epileptic events from their mimics. Dr Chowdhury reinforced that the EEG in isolation is not enough – clinical context is key. Building on this, Professor Markus Reuber delivered a characteristically insightful talk on the neuropsychiatry of epilepsy and dissociative seizures. In the spirit of the BNPA he challenged siloed models of neurological and psychiatric disturbance, emphasising shared mechanisms and the importance of holistic, person-centred management. He highlighted the bidirectional effects of medications used to treat both epilepsy and neuropsychiatric disorders, emphasising the importance of shared decision making in clinical care.
Now firmly in neuropsychiatric heartlands, Professor Alan Carson gave a wonderful overview of functional neurological disorder (FND). Perhaps most memorable was his challenge to avoid reflexively asking “why” someone has presented with FND when starting a consultation. Instead, he advocated a reframed approach centred on providing a clear and confident diagnosis (“the what”) and an accessible explanation of symptom generation (“how”). Only then should predisposing or precipitating factors (“why”) be explored. This not only reduces diagnostic uncertainty but also emphasises the treatable nature of FND.
Emphasising the sheer breadth of clinical neuropsychiatry, Saturday’s programme pivoted to neurogenetic disorders and schizophrenia. Professor David Craufurd covered Huntington’s disease and its diverse neuropsychiatric manifestations, closing with a hopeful message regarding novel therapies. Professor Belinda Lennox then explored the neuropsychiatry of schizophrenia, a disorder often considered central to psychiatric practice yet increasingly recognised as encompassing a broad range of neuropsychiatric features. Moving beyond the traditional emphasis on positive symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions, she revisited schizophrenia’s Kraepelinian roots while highlighting the clinical importance of negative and cognitive symptoms alongside psychomotor abnormalities, including catatonia. The session concluded with discussion of emerging neuroimmunological mechanisms and a compelling call for services to bridge the longstanding divide between the care of the brain and the mind.
Joining remotely, Professor Alasdair MacLullich delivered a clinically focused update on delirium, outlining evolving perspectives on pathophysiology alongside emerging biomarkers and therapies. He placed a welcome emphasis on deprescribing, the perils of reflexive psychotropics, and the prioritisation of therapeutic communication. Similar messages followed in Dr Lucia Li’s talk on traumatic brain injury (TBI). Dr Li highlighted the high prevalence and improving survivability of TBI, alongside the substantial burden of neuropsychiatric morbidity and its impact on functional recovery. While offering fresh insights into network-based mechanisms underlying TBI-related sequelae, Dr Li also reinforced the importance of bidirectional psychosocial factors in shaping clinical trajectories.
Saturday concluded with Professor Michael Sharpe’s thoughtful exploration of chronic fatigue syndrome, an area that continues to challenge conventional diagnostic boundaries. His discussion emphasised the complexity of illness models and the importance of avoiding false dichotomies between “physical” and “psychological” explanations. Interwoven were personal reflections from his career and the importance of maintaining clinical curiosity in areas of ongoing debate. The session underscored the need for collaborative, patient-centred care that acknowledges both biological and experiential dimensions of illness, leaving delegates with much to reflect upon as the day gave way to a winter’s evening in Oxford.
Sunday morning featured two engaging sessions on sleep disorders. Dr Paul Reading highlighted evolving perceptions of sleep itself, framed once as an impediment to productivity and now a pillar of good health. He addressed the under-recognition of excessive daytime sleepiness, reviewed the current evidence base for insomnia management and encouraged engagement with the rapidly developing specialty of sleep medicine. These messages were complemented by Dr Zenobia Zaiwalla’s talk on parasomnias, which emphasised the diversity of sleep-related behaviours and the importance of holistic clinical assessment. Through clinical cases delegates were guided through distinguishing parasomnias from epileptic events.
The teaching programme was concluded by Professor Vaughan Bell, Chair of the BNPA. Framed as a practical guide, Professor Bell sought to equip psychiatrists and neurologists with a clearer understanding of the role of neuropsychologists within multidisciplinary care. Through myth-busting discussion and illustrative clinical examples, Professor Bell highlighted common areas of misunderstanding while emphasising formulation as a central organising principle in neuropsychological practice. Importantly, the session underscored that neuropsychologists contribute not only to assessment but also to intervention, reinforcing the value of multidisciplinary approaches in addressing complex neuropsychiatric presentations.
The weekend offered far more than a series of didactic sessions, instead providing a powerful reminder of neuropsychiatry’s identity, mixing clinicians from diverse fields and backgrounds. Unfortunately, opportunities to engage with such a breadth of conditions remain rare, with knowledge frequently compartmentalised into the “care of the brain” and the “care of the mind”. This meeting challenged that division, illustrating how clinical reality demands an approach that synthesises rather than separates complementary perspectives. The residential format encouraged connection between clinicians, reinforcing the collaborative spirit that defines neuropsychiatry. We look forward to fostering this connection at future BNPA events.
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