MEETINGS
...the "teaser"
Copenhagen, Denmark
11th European Conference on Tourette Syndrome & Tic Disorders
Thank you Danes and...farewell Copenhagen!
After many months of tireless preparations, we finally made it to beautiful Copenhagen and we were thrilled to meet you all again.
Cheers to our wonderful society, RDV in Hannover!
A warm welcome...
Here, invited guitarist Michael Seubert trying to keep-up with Kirsten's superior technique at the opening ceremony!

The unstoppable Mary Robertson greets ESSTS from mid-Atlantic!
It's official, ESSTS' first Virtual Meeting was successfully launched on 22 April 2021.
We called it a "teaser" Meeting, for it was only the beginning and we were thrilled to welcome attendees from all around Europe and North America!
We opted for a hybrid format that combined recently recorded interviews & presentations with live content. The new ESSTS Board had the opportunity to introduce themselves after the September 2020 elections, invited speakers Per Andrén from Sweden and Davide Martino from Canada (despite the cruel time difference and while relying on snowstorm-compromised signal!) joined us as well for a live Q & A session, moderated by Cara Verdellen and our Vice Chair Nanette Mol Debes.
A heartfelt thank you to James Leckman who attended our meeting and accepted our invitation to appear live ...impromptu and take questions.
Feel free to get in touch if you need fore information.
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!
WATCH THE RECORDING
Did you miss it? Do you miss it? Off we go! 😎
More updated content coming soon!
This year, both posters and oral presentations will be made available to the audience in digital format only.
The authors may submit their abstracts by 1 September 2021. They will be notified by 5 September 2021 regarding the format of their presentation, e-poster (+ optional audio file) or oral presentation-, and will have to send their material by 15 September 2021.
ePosters
You will find below a digital version of the posters presented during the 2 poster rounds, –Friday 10 & Saturday 11 June–, as well as posters that were submitted by authors assigned an oral presentation (titles sorted in alphabetical order).
For more information on "Best of" voting, please click here, or scan the designated QR code on your badge.
*Kindly note that by the time the poster rounds begin, we might not have received ePosters from all presenting authors.
From poster rounds:
From oral presentations:
Programme
"Tic treatment – Learn how to become a tic therapist or enhance your skills."
Workshop in English for beginner participants.
(view programme)
"Exciting advances in Group treatment for Tics and Tourette syndrome."
Workshop in English for advanced participants.
(view programme)

"Functional, Tourette-like behaviours; an evolving landscape"




Confirm attendance
Jana and Natalia, you are coming to Lausanne next year!
Recordings
If you were unable to attend, or would simply like to ... 📺 binge-watch these great presentations again..
The majority of the session recordings are now available and will remain online for at least 3 months after the completion of the Conference.
Welcome message by the ESSTS Board
Welcome to the 13th European Conference on Tourette Syndrome & Tic Disorders!
Plenary session on behavioural interventions for tics
Programme
Presentation of results of a randomized observer blind clinical trial to demonstrate the efficacy and safety of internet-delivered behavioural treatment for adults with tic disorders (ONLINE-TICS)
Therapist-Supported Online Remote Behavioural Intervention for Tics (ORBIT) in Children and Adolescents: A Single-Blind Randomised Controlled Trial
Development of a Self-help Digital Intervention for Young People with Tourette Syndrome
Applying an established Exposure Response Prevention protocol for Young People with Tourette’s syndrome in an intensive, group format: a UK feasibility study.
Plenary session on functional, “Tourette-like” behaviours exacerbated by COVID-19 pandemic, Part I
Programme
Compilation of FTB patients' clips diffused over social networks
Prepared by Natalia Szejko
ESSTS survey results "Evaluating frequency and clinical variability of functional tics and Tourette-like behaviours in Europe and all around the globe"
Presented by Natalia Szejko
Plenary session on functional, “Tourette-like” behaviours exacerbated by COVID-19 pandemic, Part II
Programme
Case reports and discussion about underlying pathophysiology
Tamara Pringsheim & Davide Martino (CANADA)
- Rapid onset of functional tic like behaviours in adults during the COVID-19 pandemic
Seonaid Anderson (BELGIUM) (article)
- Tics on TV - Tourette syndrome and the media: lived experiences
- Functional Presentations in a Tic Disorder Clinic
Morvwen Duncan (UK)
- Mixed methods follow-up of children and young people following a diagnosis of functional tics: a prospective study
Tammy Hedderly (UK)
- Atypical tic-like presentations during the COVID19 pandemic
Nanette Mol Debes (DENMARK)
- Functional tics – experiences from Denmark
Peter Nagy (HUNGARY)
- Atypical Tic Cases
Theresa Paulus (GERMANY)
- Pandemic tic-like behaviours following social media consumption
Kirsten R. Müller-Vahl (GERMANY)
- Stop that! It’s not Tourette’s but a new type of masssociogenic illness
Cannabis-based treatment in Tourette-Syndrome
Results of the randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial to demonstrate the efficacy and safety of nabiximols (Sativex®) in the treatment of adults with chronic tic disorders (CANNA-TICS)
EMTICS: Results from the large European Multicentre Tics in Children Study
Best papers on tics and TS 2020
Oral presentations of selected abstracts, Session I
Programme
Essing Jana (🏆 Best oral presentation)
- Premonitory urges reconsidered: urge location corresponds to tic location in patients with primary tic disorders
- The relationship between premonitory urges and tics, comorbidities, quality of life, and treatment
- Inter-individual differences in urge-tic associations in Tourette syndrome
- Detecting the functional anatomy of the urge-to-blink
- Somatosensory perception-action binding in Tourette syndrome
-Brain mechanisms of cognitive control in youth with Tourette syndrome and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: an EEG study
-Objective quantification of tic expression in Tourette syndrome patients
Oral presentations of selected abstracts, Session II
Programme
Szejko Natalia (🏆 Best ePoster)
- There is nothing Tourettic about the New York City subways” - representation of tics and Tourette syndrome in literature, cinema, and theatre
- Sex Differences in Tourette Syndrome
- Pain and Pain Management in Tics and Tourette Syndrome
- Tics and sleep: Qualitative insights from parents of children with Tourette syndrome
- An innovative person-centred research approach for Tourette’s
-Self-injurious behaviour in patients with chronic tic disorders – new insights and preliminary validation of the self-injurious behaviour scale (SIBS)
Behavioural Therapy workshop for beginner participants
An introduction to behavioural therapy for therapists interested in treating patients with tic disorders. The workshop includes a brief introduction to tic disorders and a step-by-stepin struction to the currently recommended evidence-based behavioural treatments: habit reversal training (HRT) and exposure and response prevention (ERP). Presenters are Dr. Ewgeni Jakubovski from Hannover Medical School, Germany, and PhD candidate Per Andrén from Karolinska Institutet, Sweden.
Programme
- Opening message by the board
- Summary of the 2021 ESSTS guidelines for psychological interventions (Ewgeni Jakubovski & Per Andrén)
- Psychoeducation Ewgeni Jakubovski
- Habit reversal training (HRT) / Comprehensive behavioural intervention for tics (CBIT) Ewgeni Jakubovski
- Exposure and response prevention (ERP) Per Andrén
Behavioural Therapy workshop for advanced participants
Due to the sensitive nature of the clinical material presented in this workshop, the recording of the session will not be made available online.
Do not hesitate to get directly in touch with the trainers to request more information.
(Alphabetical order)
Tara Murphy (UK), Charlotte Sanderson (UK), Zsanett Tárnok (Hungary), Jolande van de Griendt and Cara Verdellen (The Netherlands)
Programme
- Opening by the board & in memoriam of Kieron O’Connor
- Comorbidities/ complex cases:
• Introduction – Charlotte Sanderson
• ADHD – Zsanett Tárnok
• OCD – Jolande van de Griendt
• ASD – Charlotte Sanderson & Tara Murphy
- Functional Tics:
• Diagnostics – Cara Verdellen
• Group Work - Tara Murphy
• Treatment by hypnosis - Cara Verdellen
• Treatment by catalepsy - Jolande van de Griendt
Tics and Tourette Across the Globe (TTAG)
Patient associations session
Tics and Tourette Across the Globe (TTAG) is an umbrella association representing Tic and Tourette Syndrome advocacy groups across the globe, thus creating a united voice for those affected by this neurodevelopmental disorder.
Advocates, clinicians and scientists across the world collaborate to benefit those affected by Tourette Syndrome or tic disorders.
Get in touch with TTAG:
Email, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, GoFundMe
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 each block to access the files along with the supporting material (videos & articles) that some of the authors have provided.
to "T" or not to "T"?
Awards
Awards
This year, for the first time, the audience voted directly for the awards.