Mad in America

Claims are made that mental health services are changing for the better. Although changes have been made in terms of location, structures and language, has anything inherently changed in the way mental health services respond to human distress? What could be construed as a ‘better’ mental health service? Is ‘better’ understood in terms of: more funding, access, choice of ‘therapies’, empowerment, influence, collaboration, less medication, no coercion, a lesser role for psychiatry, no psychiatry? This conference, now in its 9th year, aims to explore and debate critical perspectives on and beyond:

• What do we understand by ‘better’ mental health services?
• Do we need mental health services at all?
• If so, what should they look like? If not, what other ways are there?
• The politics of changing mental health services

Confirmed Key Note Speakers:

Oor Mad History/Mad People’s History and Identity: A group of people based in Edinburgh, Scotland, who are interested in the newly emerging field of “Mad Studies”.

Jim van Os: A Professor and Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and Psychology at Maastricht University, The Netherlands

Diana Rose: A mental health service user all her adult life and now Professor of User-Led Research at King’s College London.

Jolijn Santegoeds: A user/survivor of psychiatry, and founder of a protest group in the Netherlands called "Rage against Isolation!".

Slí Eile: A voluntary organisation in Cork that supports people to develop a strong foundation for mental health recovery by harnessing the power of intentional residential community, collective enterprise and discovery-based life-planning.

Jay Watts: A consultant clinical psychologist, psychotherapist and activist, who also identifies as a psychiatric survivor.

Call for Oral Presentations/Workshops (45 minutes’ duration):

Please submit an abstract (in Word - 250 words max) related to the conference theme and outlining its aims and intentions by 11 September 2017. Please also submit a brief bio (in Word - 150 words max). Email abstract and bio to [email protected]. If you have any further questions, please contact [email protected] or [email protected].