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‘First, Do Good’: Critical and Creative Responses to Iatrogenic Harm In Mental Health Practices – 16th Annual Critical Perspectives in Mental Health Conference
‘First do no harm’ is considered a key ethical principle in health and social care practices. Yet, over the years, we have heard many accounts of harm caused by coercion, neglect, overmedication, adverse drug reactions, loss of dignity and agency from people who have used/are using mental health services.
Over the years, we have also become aware of professionals who are concerned about potentially harmful caregiving practices but are afraid to speak out. The term ‘iatrogenic harm’ articulates these concerns, referring to the damage caused inadvertently by treatment and care, including diagnosis, intervention, error, or negligence.
This conference aims to provide a space to explore issues of iatrogenic harm caused by mental health practices, seeking and sharing creative ways to move towards ‘First, do good’ practices.
Course Content
Presenter
Harry Gijbels is a retired mental health nurse and academic with over 40 years of experience in challenging mental health practices and education. He continues to be actively engaged, for example through his work with the Hearing Voices Network Ireland. Harry’s work in activism is informed and influenced by issues of power, human rights and social justice in mental health.
Jacqui Dillon is an activist, author, and speaker, and has lectured and published worldwide on trauma, abuse, hearing voices, psychosis, dissociation, and healing. She is a key figure in the international Hearing Voices Movement, has co-edited three books, published numerous articles and papers and is on the editorial board of the journal Psychosis: Psychological, Social and Integrative Approaches. Jacqui is Honorary Lecturer in Clinical Psychology at the University of East London, Visiting Research Fellow at The Centre for Community Mental Health, Birmingham City University and a member of the Advisory Board, The Collaborating Centre for Values-Based Practice in Health and Social Care, St Catherine’s College, Oxford University. Jacqui’s survival of childhood abuse and subsequent experiences of using psychiatric services inform her work, and she is an outspoken advocate and campaigner for trauma informed approaches to madness and distress. Jacqui is part of a collective voice demanding a radical shift in the way we understand and respond to experiences currently defined as psychiatric illnesses. In 2017, Jacqui was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Psychology by the University of East London.
Lydia Sapouna is a Lecturer in the School of Applied Social Studies, University College Cork, Ireland. Her teaching, research and community contributions are primarily in the area of critical mental health, education and practice. She is very interested in the politics of mental health and the role of social activism in changing power imbalances in mental health systems.
