13th Annual Critical Voices Conference 2021

“CREATING SAFE SPACES IN MENTAL HEALTH SYSTEMS: CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES”

SCHOOL OF APPLIED SOCIAL STUDIES AND SCHOOL OF NURSING AND MIDWIFERY

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE CORK, IRELAND

IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE CRITICAL VOICES NETWORK IRELAND

The experience of the Covid-19 pandemic is relevant to this year’s conference theme with issues of safety featuring in all our lives in different ways. Within this context, it is important to remain critical and not to lose sight of concerns that continue to be expressed about mental health systems not providing safe spaces for people in intense distress. Indeed, it is often the opposite, with people referring to experiences of de-humanisation, coercion and re-traumatisation. Acknowledging such concerns, this conference, now in its 13th year, focuses on the importance of developing and providing safe spaces for people experiencing distress. The conference offers opportunities to examine:

• what we understand by safe spaces in mental health systems
• what makes it so difficult to offer safe spaces
• the increasing use of coercion and forced treatment to try and maintain people’s ‘safety’
• what safe spaces may look like and how these may be experienced by people in distress
• ways to support people in intense distress in spaces where they feel safe and respected

Conference format: We will hopefully have an in-person conference in Cork again this year. We will however also offer an online element to the conference where all delegates will have access to the keynote presentations and to a number of online concurrent sessions. More details to follow on www.cvni.ie

Call for abstracts: Full details for abstract submission can be found here

Conference Format: 

4 keynote presentations and 2 sessions of concurrent presentations

Keynote speakers confirmed: 

Jacqui Dillon, author, campaigner and activist, who will be talking about creating safe spaces; Jennifer Hough, ex- journalist with the Irish Examiner, who will be talking about her and her sister’s experiences of the Irish mental health services; Eoin Gorman, an Occupational Therapy lecturer with self-experience, who will be talking about creating safe spaces with students; Ole Andreas Underland and Siv Rydheim, who will be talking about introducing a drug/medication-free mental health unit in Norway.

Conference Fees: 

As is well established custom and practice with this annual conference, this is a free event, although there is a minimum donation of £1.

Conference Registration:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/creating-safe-spaces-in-mental-health-systems-critical-perspectives-tickets-188036491207

Conference Organisers: Lydia Sapouna (School of Applied Social Studies) and Harry Gijbels (School of Nursing and Midwifery-retired).