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Athens, Greece
17th International Conference on Tourette Syndrome & Tic Disorders
21-23 May 2025
Our host organisers:
Thank you for joining us in Aθens! Efcharistoume!
Thank you for such an inspiring few days under the Attic sun! We were delighted to welcome a record number of attendees, as well as "first-time" attendees this year; almost half of all registrations were new faces, alongside colleagues from 4 continents, because... #EforEveryoneIsInvited! 🌍
This conference was a great opportunity to introduce to the public the newly founded patient association, Tourette Greece; a milestone moment for raising awareness of TS in Greece and a special acknowledgment of this initaitve goes to Mrs Christina Batagia, the association's founder.
A few highlights:
- "Tics & Tourette Syndrome at School"; a free hybrid seminar for teachers, educators and school counsellors, held at the Eugenides Foundation on Monday, 19 May.
- TS-school 2025, 4th edition; a training course for TS beginners, held on Tuesday, 20 May at the Eugenides Foundation.
- The opening ceremony, where the 2025 Mary Robertson Travel Grant winners, Lilian Ebner (USA), Simon Morand-Beaulieu (Canada), Katarzyna Rylska (Poland) and Katharina Schindlbeck (Germany), were welcomed on stage. Now in its second year since its introduction in Varese (2024), the programme's number of grants was increased to four thanks to the continued support of Professor Mary Robertson.
- The Professor Mary Robertson Award for Research Contribution 2025, presented by Dr Jeremy Stern with the long-standing support of Tourettes Action UK, awarded to Natalia Szejko for her work "More than meets the eye: differs body focused repetitive behavior from self-injurious behavior in patients with tic disorders?"
- The very first Ambassador Award, presented on stage by Vice Chair Dr Tammy Hedderly to Paul Stevenson, Ambassador for Genius Within, honouring his tireless advocacy for the TS community.
Special thank you...
To Professor Mary Robertson, for her continued and invaluable support of junior researchers in our field.
To Tics and Tourette Across the Globe (TTAG), for hosting their third annual session, "Empowering Minds: Creating Supportive Educational Environments for People Touched by Tourette", and for their continued dedication to supporting advocacy groups and patient associations worldwide.
To our Greek colleagues from Sismanoglio General Hospital (Christos Androutsos and Anastasia Dougali) and fromt the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (Marinos Kyriakopoulos and Athanasia Makri) and for accepting our invitation and for offering their time and expertise to lead the teachers seminar.
To our Sponsors, whose vital support made yet another conference happen.
We have compiled all the information related to this meeting in the following file:
View online
Lecturers that joined us from the University of Calgary:
ESSTS 2020-2023 board members
ESSTS 2023-2026 board members
ESSTS 2023-2026 board members
Upon completion of the final oral presentation & poster rounds on the last day of the conference, attendees e-voted live for "Best of" on both categories.
The Professor Mary Robertson Award 2025 was presented by Dr Jeremy Stern with the long-standing support of Tourettes Action UK.
Congratulations, keep calm and research on!
Professor Mary Robertson Award for Research Contribution 2025
Natalia Szejko
More than meets the eye: differs body focused repetitive behavior from self-injurious behavior in patients with tic disorders?
Best oral presentation
1st prize
Stella Haffner
What do behavioural problems tell us? A critical examination of patient history variables
2nd prize
Kaja Monique Wiberg Andersen
Preliminary results: Increased number of traumatic events decreases tic severity in children with Tourette Syndrome
3rd prize
Joanna Loayza
Brain-wide activation patterns during tic-like movements caused by Tourette-related striatal disinhibition in freely behaving rats
Best poster presentation
1st prize
Mathilde Fremming Wessel Christensen
”Tic Training Light”: a resource-efficient alternative to Cognitive Behavioural Therapy? Results from a naturalistic pilot study
2nd prize
Ione Georgakis
Development and Evaluation of the Tourette’s Action Adult Lived Experience Advisory Panel: Insights into Its Formation, Impact, and Functioning
Kayleigh Tuttle-Cull
Interoceptive Processes and Quality of Life in Young People with Tourette Syndrome, Chronic Tic Disorders, and Functional Tic-Like Behaviours
3rd prize
Maria Hadji-Michael
Knowledge is Power; Focus group exploring young people’s experience of the Premonitory Urge before and after a tic treatment group
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AWARDS
Per ANDREN
Mary Robertson Award
Clinical and cost-effectiveness of Internet-delivered behaviour therapy for children and adolescents with Tourette syndrome: Protocol for a single-blind randomised controlled trial in Sweden
Fotis tsetsos
Best oral presentation
1st prize
Genome-wide association study of Tourette investigates the genetic determinants of Tourette and implicates neuronal and synaptic processes
Maria HADJI-MICHAEl
Best oral presentation
2nd prize
Alexithymia and interoception in children with Tourette syndrome: A clinical audit
Martina HAAS
Best oral presentation
3rd prize
YGTSS: A critical look at the psychometric quality of the gold standard based on EMTICS data
Ewgeni JAKUBOVSKI
Best e-poster presentation
1st prize
ABX-1431, A First-in-Class Endocannabinoid Modulator, Improves Tics in Adult Patients with Tourette Syndrome
Laura BELJAARS
Best e-poster presentation
2nd prize
ESSTS Patient Groups: The whole is greater than the sum of its parts
Mayaan HALEVI
Best e-poster presentation
3rd prize
“Tic Attacks” in Tourette Syndrome
Yarisa Nicola PIRIS
Best e-poster presentation
3rd prize
Sexuality and Tourette Syndrome: The impact of sexual self-esteem on sexual practices. Pilot study.
Chloe TAYLOR
Best e-poster presentation
3rd prize
A case study of a child with complex TS treated with intensive CBIT and close school liaison
ePosters
A loud 📢 thank you to all the authors who shared with us their hard work and exceeded our conservative expectations of abstract submissions this virtual year!
You will find below a comprehensive list of the Conference ePosters (titles in alphabetical order).
Click on "more info" to view the supporting material (videos & articles) that some of the authors have provided.
You will find below a digital version of the posters presented during the poster rounds (titles sorted in alphabetical order)
In many cases oral presentation-assigned authors have also shared their ePoster.
Click on "more info" to view the ePoster and any additional elements, –such as audio, videos, articles and links–, that each author has shared with us.
The headphones 🎧 icon indicates that a podcast presentation is available.
scroll inside this tab ↓
A brief screening tool to identify children with tics in a diverse pediatric population: Mini-MOVeIT
Oral presentation
Jennifer Vermilion
A pilot investigation into the use of a peer mentor to support an online group tic therapy intervention
Oral presentation
Tamsin Owen
Bipolar Spectrum Disorder in Youth with Chronic Tic Disorder/ Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Spectrum Conditions
Oral presentation
Lilian Ebner
Body-focused repetitive behaviors in patients with tic disorders – results of a scoping review
Oral presentation
Katarzyna Rylska
Clarifying the "life-saving" online community building in Tourette Syndrome
Oral presentation
Daniel Jones
Cognitive and Psychological Predictors of Functional Tic Like Behaviours (FTLB)
Oral presentation
Sara Sopena
Comparison of Stereotypes regarding Tourette syndrome and Schizophrenia
Oral presentation
Valerie Brandt
Contemporary Behavioural Intervention Insights in Tic Disorder: Two Years’ on at a Tertiary Care Hospital
Oral presentation
Dipesh Patel
Co-occurrences of Tic Disorders and Epilepsy in children- a literature review
Oral presentation
Laavanya Damodaran
Design and Pilot Study of an Occupational Therapy-Led Employment Advocacy Intervention (OT-EAI) for Adults with Tourette syndrome
Oral presentation
Ione Georgakis
Development and Evaluation of the Tourettes Action Adult Lived Experience Advisory Panel: Insights into Its Formation, Impact, and Functioning
Oral presentation
Ione Georgakis
EMDR for tics, desensitization of the urge? - a first pilot study
Oral presentation
Jolande van de Griendt
Exposure and Response Prevention versus Risperidone in the treatment of tic disorders: a randomized controlled trial
Oral presentation
Jolande van de Griendt
ImproviNg Tic services in EnglaND – the INTEND study: understanding the current organisation of services for children and young people and identifying features of an effective care pathway
Oral presentation
Nikita Rattu
Interoceptive Processes and Quality of Life in Young People with Chronic Tic Disorders and Functional Tic-Like Behaviours
Oral presentation
Kayleigh Tuttle-Cull
Involving PPI in Tic Disorder Research: Lessons Learned and Recommendations for Future Research
Oral presentation
Olivia Hastings
Knowledge is Power; Focus group exploring young people’s experience of the Premonitory Urge (PU) before and after a tic treatment group.
Oral presentation
Maria Hadji-Michael
Neural correlates of frustration in Tourette syndrome: Insights from EEG theta oscillations
Oral presentation
Simon Morand-Beaulieu
Opinions of health care professionals and laypeople in Greece about informed consent for research on medical practices regarding Tourette syndrome
Oral presentation
Vaitsa Giannouli
Portraits of Gilles de la Tourette syndrome in the literature
Oral presentation
Natalia Szejko
Predisposing and precipitating factors for explosive outbursts among youth with Tourette syndrome
Oral presentation
Simon Morand-Beaulieu
Premonitory Tic Urges in Tourette Syndrome Patients with Comorbid Autism Spectrum Disorder: An Exploratory Clinical Study
Oral presentation
Osman Malik
Remote Assessment for Tic Conditions in Young People: Carer and Clinician Perspectives
Oral presentation
Abbie Smith
Sensory Dysregulation is Associated with Worse Symptom Severity In Youth with Tic Disorder
Oral presentation
Erin Hendry
Sensory sensitivities in individuals with Tics and Tourette Syndrome
Oral presentation
Rachael Burke
The Hidden Costs of Inadequate Care: Evaluating the Economic Impact of Limited Services for Young People with Tics and the Impact of Providing Online Behavioural Therapy
Oral presentation
Charlotte Hall
The Prevalence of Tic Disorders in Poland: Regional, Sex and Age-Related Differences
Oral presentation
Natalia Szejko
The Role of Socioeconomic Status and Family Structure in Disease Severity Among Danish Children with Tics
Oral presentation
Ida Marie Pind Hansen
The Screamers. Childhood Klazomania - A Case Series and Novel Formulation
Oral presentation
Sharline Suhumaran
Tics Training Light - A resource-efficient alternative to cognitive behavioural therapy?
Oral presentation
Mathilde Fremming Wessel Christensen
Uncovering the neural similarities between Tourette syndrome and related disorders: A network mapping approach
Oral presentation
Jade-Jocelyne Zouki
Speakers' slides
Courtesy of our speakers and researchers assigned an oral presentation to active ESSTS members (and in some cases* also to conference attendees –upon request and for 8 weeks– following the completion of the meeting); please find below the PDFs of their presentations.
A special thank you to all those who shared their valuable work with the community!
*In cases where consent is granted to share the slides with conference attendees as well, a request form will be embedded in this section.
For members:
Active (for the current calendar year) ESSTS members can access the files directly below if they are already logged in to their member account.
ADHD session
Comorbid ADHD in CBT for tics: studies & clinical experience
Jolande van de Griendt & Tara Murphy
Oral presentations
Predisposing and precipitating factors for explosive outbursts among youth with tourette syndrome
Simon Morand-Beaulieu
Oral presentations
What do behavioral problems tell us? A critical examination of patient history variables
Stella Haffner
Oral presentations
ERP vs Risperidone in the treatment of tic disorders: a randomized controlled trial
Jolande van de Griendt
TS-pathology session
From TS-Pathophysiology to Treatment – and Back: What Neuromodulation Tells Us About Tic Disorders
Juan Carlos Baldermann
TS-pathology session
From D1 Receptors to Tic Reduction: Results From the Phase III Study of Ecopipam for Tourette Syndrome
Donald L. Gilbert
Recordings
The recording of the course is available. Please make sure you are logged in to your user account, and the video will become accessible below.
Membership status:
Expired/Event-specific
Access status:
Guest
If you are already logged in, but have not renewed your membership yet, please select below the type that applies to you to regain access to member-reserved content.
Don't have an account yet?
For more details visit the Members page.
*Reserved for: MD/PhD/MSc students, postdocs, interns, residents, nurses, patient advocacy groups.
Book of abstracts
A record-breaking –57!– number of abstracts, were presented in Brussels, 30% of which were submitted from researchers outside Europe.
From Calgary to Melbourne...
Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, UK, USA.
Thank you all for your contribution and for keeping the collaborative spirit in top shape! 🚀
Although our previous –virtual– meeting only took place 9 months prior to the Lausanne conference, one thing is certain; researchers around the world have been working tirelessly, submitting large numbers of excellent abstracts. We accepted 38 abstracts back in October 2021 and 48 in June 2022.
Thank you all for your contribution and for keeping the collaborative spirit in top shape! 🚀
From Calgary to Melbourne...
Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Israel, Italy, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, UK, USA
Whether you have already retrieved your copy of the book of abstracts at the conference venue, or you would like to explore the programme and submitted abstracts, you may download the original file below.
click!
📸 A photo journey immortalising the Athens 2025 "on stage and backstage" experience! More photos are being added...!
(Feel free to get in touch, if you'd like to...contribute to the collection!)
New feature, the "T-playlist!"
A new feature was introduced in Brussels; audio presentations of the conference posters recorded by the authors themselves and made available in a podcast format.
click!
📸 A photo journey immortalising the Brussels "on stage and backstage" experience!
(We did our best to collect as many photos as possible. Feel free to get in touch, if you'd like to...contribute to the collection!)
Controversy & poll
Are functional tics easy to diagnose?
As promised when we first introduced controversy discussions followed by live polling during the Hannover meeting in 2019, it was indeed only the beginning!
This year, 2 esteemed colleagues from the University of Calgary, Tamara Pringsheim and Davide Martino took the stage and debated on a genuinely controversial topic; are functional tics easy to diagnose?
As you can see from the results...no landslide victory for either debater, yet Tamara's smile says it all! 💪
Both speakers have made their presentations available online; scroll to view them on the following section.
click for pop up
YES!
Programme
view PDF version
scroll inside this tab ↓
Thursday, 9 June 2022
Workshops
10.00-13.00 (parallel session)
Trainers:
Workshops
10.00-13.00 (parallel session)
II. Behavioural therapy for tic disorders:
"Tic treatment – Learn how to become a tic therapist or enhance your skills."
Workshop in English for beginner participants.
(view programme)
"Tic treatment – Learn how to become a tic therapist or enhance your skills."
Workshop in English for beginner participants.
(view programme)
Trainers:
Workshops
14.00-17.00 (parallel session)
III. Behavioural therapy for tic disorders:
"Exciting advances in Group treatment for Tics and Tourette syndrome."
Workshop in English for advanced participants.
(view programme)
"Exciting advances in Group treatment for Tics and Tourette syndrome."
Workshop in English for advanced participants.
(view programme)
Trainers:
Guest speakers (in order of appearance):
Judith Nissen, Eve Mc Allister, Nimmi Parikh, Annet Heijerman-Holtgrefe, Sharon Zimmerman Brenner, Noa Benaroya-Milshtein, Dana Feldman Sadeh
Dedicated to the memory of Kieron O'Connor
13.00-17.00 (parallel session)
18.00-19.00
I. Opening ceremony and lecture:
"Functional, Tourette-like behaviours; an evolving landscape"
"Functional, Tourette-like behaviours; an evolving landscape"
Speaker:
II. Apéritif time, getting together again!
III. Projection of film-documentary "Tics", by Thomas Oswald with the collaboration of Prof. Dr. Münchau and the neurologist & psychiatrist Dr. Daniel Alvarez-Fischer.
Friday, 10 June 2022
Pack your running shoes!
07.00
Morning run tradition continues, route TBA*
More info by our Chief Track & Field Officer:
*Weather & participation permitting, we shall repeat the run on Saturday 11 June.
Brain stimulation sessions
10.30-11.15
Podium discussion including discussion with the audience
moderated by Kirsten R. Müller-Vahl
Participants:
Juan Carlos Baldermann
11.15-11.45
Coffee break
11.45-12.15
Ecopipam in Children and Adolescents with Tourette Syndrome: Results from a Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Phase 2b Study
Speaker:
13.00-14.00
Lunch break
13.00-14.00 (parallel session)
ENIGMA-TS Working Group meeting
Confirm attendance
Confirm attendance
(at “Pavillon Ouest”, adjacent to main building)
Coordinator:
Society and TS session
14.00-14.45
Ticking the wrong box –a global look at why we don't know what works in tic education and how we can find out.
Speaker:
moderated by Andrea Cavanna
History of TS session
14.45-15.30
Georges Gilles de la Tourette, the man behind the name.
Speaker:
moderated by Andreas Hartmann
15.30-16.15
Neural mechanisms of cognitive behavioral treatment in the framework of perception-action integration
Speaker:
moderated by Andreas Hartmann
16.15-16.45
Coffee break
16.45-18.30
moderated by Natalia Szejko & Andreas Hartmann
18.30-19.00
General assembly meeting
Saturday, 11 June 2022
Comorbidities
09.00-09.45
Update of guidelines for the treatment of OCD and OCD with GTS including PANDAS
Speaker:
Comorbidities
09.45-10.30
Podium discussion including discussion with the audience
moderated by Kerstin von Plessen
Participants:
11.15-11.45
Coffee break
11.45-12.30
Are functional tics easy to diagnose?"
Controversy discussion, followed by a poll.
moderated by Andrea Cavanna
Arguing yes:
Arguing no:
12.30-13.30
Lunch break
14.30-16.15
moderated by Natalia Szejko & Andreas Hartmann
16.15-16.30
Coffee break
17.30
Closing ceremony, best poster & best oral presentation prizes, Professor Mary Robertson award.
click!
scroll ↓ & click on photos for gallery view
scroll ↓ & click on photos for gallery view
Congratulations!
Jana and Natalia, you are coming to Lausanne next year!
Jana and Natalia, you are coming to Lausanne next year!
Programme
- Welcome online! Introduction by ESSTS Chair, Kirsten Müller-Vahl and presentation of the new Board
- Interview with James Leckman (30 min)
- Update on immunology in Tourette Syndrome/tics, by Davide Martino (20 min)
- Update on Behavioural Therapy in Tourette Syndrome by Per Andrén (20 min)
- Best papers of 2019 by Kevin Black (40 min)
- Live Q&A session with the Davide Martino (moderator: Nanette Mol Debes) & Per Andrén (moderator: Cara Verdellen)
Invited speakers
Behavioural therapy goodie
BT updates, a summary of treatment guidelines and new studies on BT for Tourette Syndrome & chronic tic disorders
Clinical psychologist and PhD student at Karolinska Institutet Per Andrén, has kindly made available to our attendees and now to all interested parties the slides of his presentation. Feel free to download!
Controversy & poll
...to "T" or not to "T"? Is it time to rename Tourette syndrome?
This year, we introduced live polling for the ePoster and oral presentation awards, but also for our first (though certainly not last!) controversy, titled:
“Is it time to rename Tourette syndrome?”
See the final results on the following chart.
In Jeremy Stern’s immortal and spontaneous comment, "it was Brexit all over again”…😉
Of note, the discussion with the audience was lively and could easily have gone on for much longer. To be continued in Lausanne on this and other topics!
click for pop up
Awards
Professor Mary Robertson Award for Research Contribution 2022
Paula Viefhaus
Efficacy of a Resource Activation Treatment in Children with Chronic Tic Disorders – A Within-Subject Analysis
ESSTS Lifetime achievement award
Anne Gersdorff Korsgaard
Efficacy of a Resource Activation Treatment in Children with Chronic Tic Disorders – A Within-Subject Analysis
Best oral presentation
Leanne Hockey
Attention and inhibition in Tourette’s Syndrome
Best poster presentation
Juan Carlos Baldermann
Stimulation-dependent functional connectivity of effective deep brain stimulation for Tourette Syndrome
AWARDS
Paula Viefhaus
Mary Robertson Award
Efficacy of a Resource Activation Treatment in Children with Chronic Tic Disorders – A Within-Subject Analysis
Leanne Hockey
Best oral presentation
Attention and inhibition in Tourette’s Syndrome
Juan Carlos Baldermann
Best poster presentation
Stimulation-dependent functional connectivity of effective deep brain stimulation for Tourette Syndrome
Anne Gersdorff Korsgaard
ESSTS Lifetime achievement award
Book of abstracts
Lookbook
Click!
view lookbook!
scroll ↓ & click on photos for gallery view
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Recordings
(public content)
The Ambassador Award 2025
We introduced "The Ambassador Award" at our conference in Athens in May 2025, to honour the great and committed TS advocates around the world.
ESSTS Vice Chair, Dr Tammy Hedderly, invites on stage Mr Paul Stevenson, the remarkable, tireless and gracious gentleman who inspired the establishment of this award, the winner for 2025.
Recordings
(private access-reserved content)
Thursday, 12 June 2025
The Athens 2025 session recordings (those for which speakers' consent was obtained), will remain on our website until Sunday 24 August, 10 full weeks from the day they were uploaded, 12 June 2025.
As announced online and via newsletters, access is reserved for active ESSTS members for the current calendar year, and for conference attendees –virtual and in-person–*.
You may access the videos by logging in to your account.
*Conference attendees who are not active members at the moment, will receive an invitation by Tuesday 17 June to create their user account. It will offer them instantly access to the available recordings.
Venue
A loud 📢 thank you to all the authors who shared with us their hard work and exceeded our conservative expectations of abstract submissions this virtual year!
You will find below a comprehensive list of the Conference ePosters (titles in alphabetical order).
Click on "more info" to view the supporting material (videos & articles) that some of the authors have provided.
