Programme
View the Congress 2026 programme overview
The RCPsych International Congress is an annual flagship event, where leading psychiatrists from across the world meet to share knowledge, debate, collaborate, educate and network.
To encourage open discussion, scientific discovery and enrich learning, we provide our delegates with the opportunity to hear from a diverse range of views and presentations. All the speakers, panellists and participants views and comments are their own and not the established views of the College. Speakers should expect probing questions and healthy debate.
The College expects all content of event programmes, and the behaviour of the speakers and the delegates, to be professional, respectful and to uphold the College values.
The College does not endorse any programme content or behaviour displaying any form of prejudice or discrimination.
Sunday 14 June
- 5.00pm Pre-registration
- 5.00pm – 6.30pm Welcome drinks reception
- 5.00pm – 7.00pm Fringe: Mindmasters
- 8.00am - 10.00am Registration
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10.00am – 11.15am
Green prescribing is good prescribing: innovations in evidence-based sustainable medicines management
Chair: Dr Daniel Harwood, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London
It’s OK to ask – a project supporting shared decision making and service user engagement to reduce non-adherence and waste in prescribing
Mr Prashant Sanghani, Hertfordshire Partnership Foundation Trust, St Albans
STOPPFrail - using NICE approved guidelines to improve medication rationalisation in older people across dementia wards in Hertfordshire
Dr Katherine Witter, Hertfordshire Partnership Foundation Trust, St Albans
Working together to improve asthma care for our service users and reducing carbon footprint – a collaborative project between the asthma team at Kings College Hospital and South London and Maudsley Foundation Trust
Dr Siobhan Gee, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London -
10.00am – 11.15am
Understanding and treating the Post-COVID Condition(PCC)
Chair: Dr Sridevi Sira Mahalingappa, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London
What are the cognitive problems, as well as markers of brain damage, inflammation, and underlying degenerative brain disease
Professor Alan Carson, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh
Personal experience of post-infectious fatigue and treatment evidence for post-COVID condition.
Emeritus Professor Paul Garner, University of Liverpool, Liverpool
Cognitive behaviour therapy for Post-COVID condition – patient-reported outcomes from a routine specialist clinic
Professor Trudie Chalder, King's College London, London
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10.00am - 11.15am
From weight management to cognitive enhancement – the use and potential of GLP-1 agonists in psychiatry
Chair: Professor Adrian Heald, Salford Royal Hospital, Salford
Hearing from someone with a serious mental illness who benefited from GLP-1 agonist treatment - conversation with Professor Heald
Professor Adrian Heald, Salford Royal Hospital, Salford
The actions of GLP-1 agonists in the central nervous system
Professor Gavin Reynolds, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield
An update on the history of GLP-1 agonist treatment of obesity and the role of GLP-1 agonists in improving the physical health of people with serious mental illness
Professor Barbara McGowan, King's College, London
GLP-1 agonist therapy, mood and dementia
Professor Joergen Rungby, Steno Diabetes Centre, Copenhagen, Denmark
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10.00am – 11.15am
Teaching trauma-informed care in displacement and humanitarian contexts
Chair: Professor Subodh Dave, Royal College of Psychiatrists, London
From curriculum to compassion: re-imagining psychiatric education for a global era
Professor Subodh Dave, Royal College of Psychiatrists, London
Human rights and psychiatry: responding ethically to conflict, displacement, and global challenges
Professor Piyal Sen, Royal College of Psychiatrists, London
Bridging neuroscience, culture, and compassion: the future of trauma-informed care
Dr Sofia Matta, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA
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10.00am – 11.15am
Celebrating the voices of young people to transform mental health research
Chair: Professor Paola Dazzan, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, London
Engaging young people in mental health research
Professor Paola Dazzan, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London
Agency, epistemic injustice and phenomenology as conceptual tools to support lived experience research
Professor Matthew Broome, University of Birmingham, Birmingham
Involvement of young people in the development of trials and experimental medicine studies
Professor Rachel Upthegrove, University of Oxford, Oxford
Involvement of young experts by experience in mental health research: learnings and suggestions for future practice
Mr Niyah Campbell, University of Birmingham, Birmingham
- 11.15am – 11.45am Morning break
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11.45am – 12.00pm
Welcome address
Dr Sridevi Sira Mahalingappa, Congress Co-Chair and Dr Abdul Raoof, Associate Dean for Advanced Learning
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12.00pm – 12.45 pm
KN1 President’s opening lecture
Chair: Dr Sridevi Sira Mahalingappa, Congress Co-Chair
Dr Lade Smith CBE, President, Royal College of Psychiatrists
- 12.45pm – 1.55pm Lunch
- 1.00pm – 1.55pm Fringe: Climate Cafe
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1.00pm – 1.55pm
Fringe: Neurodivergent inclusive mindfulness: an experiential session open to all
This interactive fringe session offers delegates a moment to settle and ground during the Congress, providing an inclusive wellbeing experience open to everyone.
The session simultaneously addresses the urgent need for equity and accessibility in psychological therapies by focusing on neurodivergent-inclusive mindfulness. Traditional approaches (e.g., MBCT, MBSR) often present unrecognised barriers for individuals with sensory, communication, and cognitive differences.
Drawing on emerging research and lived experience, this experiential taster introduces practical, evidence-informed adaptations. Through short, guided practices and discussion, participants will gain a deeper understanding of common barriers and discover concrete strategies for inclusive practice.
This session offers both an immediate personal moment to pause and professional insights applicable across mental health care settings.
In this session you will:
- Identify barriers traditional mindfulness poses for neurodivergent individuals
- Discover simple adaptations for sensory, communication, and cognitive differences
- Experience first-hand a neurodiversity-informed, affirming approach
- Gain strategies to enhance equity and accessibility in your work
About the facilitator
The session will be facilitated by a BAMBA-registered mindfulness teacher and supervisor with over 25 years of practice and a decade of teaching experience. The adaptations shared are trauma-sensitive and grounded in best practice guidelines and supported by the facilitator's current research into neurodivergent-inclusive approaches.
- 12.45pm – 1.55pm Student and resident doctors lounge
- 12.45pm – 1.55pm SAS doctors lounge
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1.00pm – 1.55pm
Manasa Chitra: a UK-India collaboration to unearth and re-exhibit decades of rehabilitation art from NIMHANS
This session explores "Manasa Chitra" (Pictures of the Mind) - a unique international, cross-disciplinary collaboration.
The project centres on a collection of 25 historical artworks created by patients at the former Bangalore Mental Hospital (the predecessor to National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences - NIMHANS) in the 1950s, currently held at the Bethlem Museum of the Mind (UK).
The collaboration, involving NIMHANS, Bethlem Museum, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, the British Indian Psychiatric Association (BIPA), and the British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (BAPIO), has been guided by the historical research of NIMHANS' Professor Sanjeev Jain and the conceptual naming by Professor S.K. Chaturvedi.
The session will detail the process of creating a major international exhibition (launching in 2026) that displays these historical pieces alongside art by contemporary NIMHANS rehabilitation patients. This effectively connects the history of Indian psychiatric care to its modern practice. The discussion will focus on the intellectual challenges of contextualising mental health archives and on the plan to transfer the exhibition to the NIMHANS Heritage Museum in Bangalore in 2027.
- 1.15pm – 1.45pm Rapid fire poster presentations
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2.00pm – 3.15pm
Sexting, gaming, self-harm and social media: the impact of young people’s digital lives on mental health
Chair: Professor Bernadka Dubicka, Hull York Medical School, University of York, York
Digital technologies, self-harm, and suicide in children and young people. What's new? A scoping review
Dr Jeremy Mccabe, Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Leatherhead
The perceived impact on the mental health of young women from their experiences of sexting
Dr Gloria Cheung, University of Oxford, Oxford
Video games and development of mental disorders in young people: an overview of the longitudinal data in the context of clinical experience from the National Centre for Gaming Disorders, UK
Dr Stephen Kaar, Greater Manchester Mental Health Foundation Trust, Manchester
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2.00pm – 3.15pm
Managing extreme risk without restrictions: relational care for patients with complex emotional needs
Chair: Dr Pamela Peters, Cambridge and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge and Peterborough
Holding complexity: Relational practice in a fragmented system
Dr Miriam Barrett, Cassel Hospital, Surrey
The Springbank Model and its impact on incidents, symptoms, and recovery.
Dr Jorge Zimbron, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge
Dr Emin Erkal, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge
Knitting together the fragmented patient
Dr John Azer, Austen Riggs Centre, USA
Life beyond the community: Carrying connections and continued growth – a lived experience account of consolidating the experience and translating it into the everyday world
Fi Kuhn-Thompson, Midlands Partner University NHS Foundation Trust, Stafford
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2.00pm – 3.15pm
Pharmacogenomics into clinical practice: development of UK guidelines
Chair: Professor Regi Alexander, Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, Little Plumstead
UK pharmacogenomic guideline for HLA genotyping with carbamazepine
Professor Sir Munir Pirmohamed, David Weatherall Chair of Medicine and NHS Chair of Pharmacogenetics, Liverpool
Pharmacogenetics in psychosis
Professor Elvira Bramon, University College London, London
Engaging people living with psychiatric diagnoses and their families in pharmacogenomic testing implementation
Dr David Crepaz-Keay, The Mental Health Foundation, London
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2.00pm – 3.15pm
Embedding lived-experience of mental health conditions in psychiatry education: from theory to international practice
Chair: Professor Subodh Dave, Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Derby
Embedding lived-experience of mental health conditions in psychiatry education: from theory to international practice
Professor Subodh Dave, Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Derby
Embedding lived experience in education in mental health: insights from a scoping review and narrative synthesis using normalisation process theory
Dr Leila Sharda, Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust, Lancaster
Embedding lived experience into the classroom though lived experience facilitators
Ms Zowie Forwood, Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Derby
Building collaboration with experts by experience in a low- and middle-income setting: the Tunisian experience
Dr Hend Jemli, Psychoeducation and Psychotherapy Unit, Psychiatry Department A, Razi Teaching Hospital, Tunisia
Claiming our narrative: lived experiences among medical students
Mr Hadid Diamee, University of Rijeka, Croatia
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2.00pm – 3.15pm
Better futures: a whole-system, life course approach to promoting healthy life and preventing premature deaths.
Chair: Dr Lade Smith, Royal College of Psychiatrists, London
What every psychiatrist needs to know about smoking cessation
Professor Sanjay Agrawal, NHS England, London
Wim’s protocol for safe monitoring of clozapine: why do we need it?
Dr Ed Beveridge, Presidential Lead for Physical Health, Royal College of Psychiatrists, London and Ms Nichola Crawford, Expert by Experience
Changing the narrative: life course approaches to weight management in severe mental illness
Dr Jo Howe, Aston University, Coventry
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2.00pm – 3.15pm
Doing doable jobs: a masterclass in coaching and mentoring to improve peer support and our professional development
As part of RCPsych initiatives in encouraging psychiatrists to look after ourselves and each other, experienced facilitators from the College coach-mentoring group explore the usefulness of coaching and mentoring, whether one-to-one or in groups, in peer support, training and professional development.
This is an interactive workshop to share reflections about individual experiences of coaching and mentoring across career grades, and includes a pairing exercise to practise mentoring skills.
The Masterclass objectives:
- Have a go with practical skills in coach-mentoring - keep it fun, flexible and friendly!
- Have better conversations - improve listening, questioning and reflective practice
- Understand your personal and professional drivers - develop a growth mindset
The session highlights skills-sets common to coaching and mentoring, essentially relational skills that are familiar to psychiatrists; in this regard we invite psychiatrists to realise their 'inner mentor'!
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3.25pm – 4.40pm
Electroconvulsive therapy - contemporary relevance and technical advances
Chair: Dr Prutha Desai, Hampshire and Isle of Wight NHS Foundation Trust, Andover
Recent advances in ECT techniques for depression - focus on electrical manipulation and a novel fronto-medial electrode position
Associate Professor Prashanth Mayur, University of Sydney, New South Wales Health and St John of God Hospital, Sydney Australia
ECT in schizophrenia: recent advances
Professor Jagadisha Thirthalli, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), India
ECT and cognition: recent advances
Professor Preeti Sinha, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), India
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3.25pm – 4.40pm
"I don't swear" - Tourette syndrome across the lifespan
Chair: Dr Dipesh Patel, University College London Hospitals NHS Trust, London
Tourette syndrome in adults
Dr Himanshu Tyagi, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London
Assessing Tourette syndrome across the lifespan
Professor Mark Paramlall, Great Ormond Street Hospital, London
Lived experience with Tourette syndrome
Miss Georgia King, Expert by Experience
Combining exposure and response prevention and habit reversal to treat Tourettic OCD
Dr Dipesh Patel, University College London Hospitals NHS Trust, London -
3.25pm – 4.40pm
Learning from preventable deaths - inquests and the coroner's court
Chair: Professor Derek Tracy, South London and Maudsley NHS Trust, London
A coroner's perspective
Dr Richard Brittain, MDDUS, London
Experiences of clinicians attending inquests
Dr Gabrielle Pendlebury, Independent Author, London
Learning from preventable deaths
Dr Georgia Richards, King's College London, London
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3.25pm – 4.40pm
Over-involved or under-involved? The relationship between mental health services and the police
Chair: Dr Alex Thomson, Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust, London
Right care right person: the reality behind the headlines
Dr Alex Thomson, Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust, London
What should we learn: a review of safety recommendations for police and mental health services
Mr Michael Brown, University of Worcester, Worcester
Police involvement in mental health care: a patient perspective
Dr Emma Mcallister, Expert by Experience, London
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3.25pm – 4.40pm
What are the differences between systematic, umbrella, scoping and rapid reviews? How to conduct reviews of research evidence and get them published
Brief introduction and overview – why is this topic important?
Professor Allan Young, Chair of the Academic Faculty, RCPsych, London
What type of review is appropriate? A comparison of evidence synthesis methods
Professor Steve Kisely, Chair of the West Pacific Division, RCPsych, Australia
Enhancing the quality of systematic reviews and meta-analyses
Dr Rebecca Strawbridge, Department of Psychological Medicine, London
Living systematic reviews and the meta-analytical database of psychotherapy trials (Metapsy)
Associate Professor Ioana Alina Cristea, University of Padova, Italy
- 4.40pm – 5.10pm Afternoon break
- 5.10pm – 5.40pm KN2
- 5.40pm – 6.10pm KN3
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6.15pm – 7.30pm
Fringe: Stand up for mental health!
Stand up for mental health! is entering its third year! After two years of successful shows, the bar is set high.
The event will once again run in a Bright Club style, where volunteers will take to the stage for 5–7 minutes each to perform their own stand-up sets. All you need is something you want to say: alternative, anecdotal, observational, or satirical. It doesn’t even have to be about mental health; in fact, the wider the range of topics and voices, the better.
The event aims to provide a creative, safe, and uplifting space where humour brings people together, reminds us of our shared humanity, and showcases psychiatry’s vibrant and diverse community.
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6.15pm – 7.30pm
Fringe: Moving pictures: how filmmaking can entertain as well as educate with regards to human behaviour, the development of mental disorders and promote equality and diversity
Session presenters, Dr Samir Srivastava, a Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist and film maker specialising as a producer, executive producer, script consultant and screen writer and Dr Shahid Kamal, an Associate Specialist in Ear Nose and Throat surgery, a film director and screen writer, will showcase their last three short films, which have won 617 worldwide film awards and have been screened in 53 different countries. A Q&A will follow.
- Matty Boy - a drama comedy (2019) starring Emmy Award winning actor Vincent De Paul
- Cinnamon - a psychological thriller (2021) which shines a light on domestic violence and the effects on a young child, following his journey into adulthood
- Take the Chocolate - a children and families' film with the stars being three eighteen month year old children, highlights the importance of sharing and the special, connecting energy that children possess
Attendees will learn about the medium of film in
- Promoting equality, diversity and inclusion
- Showing the effects of trauma on children into adulthood
- Promoting the pro-social education of children from an early age
- Crafting human stories with socially conscious themes
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6.15pm – 7.30pm
Fringe: “Is that me, baby?”: the false self and the collapse of recognition in Bruce Springsteen’s Brilliant Disguise
This session, based on a BJPsych accepted article, offers a unique opportunity to explore the intersection of popular culture, psychoanalytic theory, and clinical practice. By delving into the lyrics of Bruce Springsteen's "Brilliant Disguise," delegates will gain a new perspective on how artistic expression can illuminate complex psychological states.
Attendees will learn about four core concepts:
- Jessica Benjamin's mutual recognition
- D.W. Winnicott's "false self", a defensive structure against emotional misattunement
- Jacques Lacan's concept of "méconnaissance" or misrecognition, which speaks to a fractured sense of identity
- Jacques Lacan's concept of "the sinthome", an artistic or creative structure that helps the psyche maintain coherence when symbolic meaning fails
This is intended as not simply a theoretical exercise. Delegates will be equipped with new interpretive tools to better understand the role of art as a stabilizing force in the face of psychological distress. The presentation will illustrate how a sinthome can serve as a form of "auto-fiction" that enables emotional survival, an idea that can resonate deeply in therapeutic contexts.
The discussion will be interactive, encouraging delegates to reflect on how these themes of identity, relational dynamics, and the healing power of art manifest in their own clinical work and lives.
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6.15pm – 7.15pm
Fringe: Nature walk
Unwind after the scientific overload of a day at Congress with an informal 2 - 3km evening walk to explore the rich urban habitat around the conference venue.
See for yourself that the idea of grey urban space being nature-depleted is a myth, as we meet with a rich variety of insects, wild flowers, grasses, ferns, mosses, lichen and birds.
Learn how, wherever your patients live, you can help them to make friends with the natural world on their doorstep and enrich their lives.
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8.00am – 8.45am
Registration
Founded in 2017, the Congress Run is a guided 5km jog for all abilities. Whatever your pace, this friendly event is an established highlight of the conference social programme.
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8.00am – 8.45am
Fringe: Congress 5k run
Founded in 2017, the Congress Run is a guided 5km jog for all abilities. Whatever your pace, this friendly event is an established highlight of the conference social programme.
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8.00am – 8.45am
Fringe: Mindfulness for psychiatrists: reclaiming the present moment
The aim of these three daily sessions is to provide you with a tool to touch base with calmness, self-compassion, keeping perspective, enhancing self-regulation and wellbeing whilst under clinical, social and personal pressure.Current pressures in healthcare place psychiatrists at all levels and in all subspecialties under increasing pressure, and facing unrelenting demands.Can we allow ourselves space just to pause and reclaim the present moment?Mindfulness-based intervention can have a positive influence on wellbeing of health professionals as reflected by NICE guidance (NG212 2022).As psychiatrists it is crucial that we maintain our own wellbeing. Mindfulness can help us to connect with and appreciate the good moments in our everyday lives, as well as providing a tool to help us stay present when under pressure.Florian Ruths and Joy Patterson have developed a taster programme of three 45-minute sessions to introduce psychiatrists to the ideas of mindfulness.The three sessions are different and can be enjoyed on their own or as a series. Included in each session: introduction to mindfulness concepts relevant to us as psychiatrists, experiential mindfulness practice, discussion, reflections and breathing space.
- 9.00am – 9.30am KN4
- 9.30am – 10.00am KN5
- 10.00am – 10.30am Morning break
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10.30am – 11.45am
Difficult to treat and complex psychosis part one
Chair: Professor Fiona Gaughran, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London
Co-Chair: Professor Helene Verdoux, University of Bordeaux, France
Biological underpinnings of the association between childhood trauma and psychosis
Dr Luis Alameda, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London
Study of trauma and recovery (STAR) RCT - the results!
Professor Emmanuelle Peters, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London
Randomised controlled trials in treatment resistant schizophrenia - need and challenges
Professor James MacCabe, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and the Institute of Psychiatry, London
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10.30am – 11.45am
Turning crisis into care: building responsive mental health services for people with intellectual disability
Chair: Dr Afia Ali, Queen Mary University of London, London
What are intensive support teams and how do they work for adults with intellectual disability?
Professor Angela Hassiotis, University College London, London
Care (Education) and Treatment Reviews (C(E)TRs) in practice: what difference do they make?
Dr Rory Sheehan, King's College London, London
Making supported living feel like home: co-creating better supported living with people with intellectual disability
Dr Deborah Chinn, King's College London, London
Making supported living feel like home: co-creating better supported living with people with intellectual disability
Mr Shalim Ali, King's College London, London
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10.30am – 11.45am
Hearing voices: understanding hallucinations in deaf people with psychosis
Chair: Professor Donna Arya, St Andrews Healthcare, Northampton
Evidence on auditory hallucinations in deaf populations and implications for diagnosis
Dr Alexander Hamilton, St Andrews Healthcare, Northampton
Insights into language deprivation, cultural challenges, and their clinical implications
Ms Chantelle De La Croix, St Andrews Healthcare, Northampton
Stories that speak: clinical lessons from deaf mental health practice
Dr Margaret Du Feu, Author and retired psychiatrist
The differences in assessment and formulation
Professor Donna Arya, St Andrews Healthcare, Northampton and Dr Sadra Ghazanfaripour, St Andrews Healthcare, Northampton
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10.30am – 11.45am
Why equity is important for patient care: leveraging diverse leadership for excellence in clinical practice
Chair: Professor Subodh Dave, Royal College of Psychiatrists, London
System-wide equity: transforming the NHS workforce to deliver superior patient care
Dr Navina Evans, Former-Chief Workforce, Training and Education Officer, NHS England, London
A blueprint for change: how diaspora advocacy drives systemic equity and workforce well-being
Dr Ramesh Mehta, British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (BAPIO), Bedford
Changing the equation: when inclusion becomes a measurable advantage
Dr Chinwe Obinwa, Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Derby
The power of partnership: how BIPA's collaboration with diaspora organisations is advancing UK psychiatry
Dr Sridevi Sira Mahalingappa, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London
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10.30am – 11.45am
Why we need to take neurodevelopment conditions seriously in psychiatry – a new science perspective
Chair: Dr Adrian James, NHS England, London
Findings from the ADHD independent taskforce: why change is desperately needed
Professor Anita Thapar, University of Cardiff, Cardiff
Why ADHD medication is safe, effective and essential
Professor Sam Cortese, University of Southampton, Southampton
Why neurodevelopmental conditions are linked to serious mental and physical illness including bipolar disorder, psychosis, and self-harm: brain-body links
Dr Jessica Eccles, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Brighton
Why everyone should understand Tourette syndrome, and its link with emotional dysregulation and suicidality
Professor Hugo Critchley, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Brighton
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10.30am – 11.45am
Doing doable jobs: a masterclass in coaching and mentoring to improve peer support and our professional development
As part of RCPsych initiatives in encouraging psychiatrists to look after ourselves and each other, experienced facilitators from the College coach-mentoring group explore the usefulness of coaching and mentoring, whether one-to-one or in groups, in peer support, training and professional development.
This is an interactive workshop to share reflections about individual experiences of coaching and mentoring across career grades, and includes a pairing exercise to practise mentoring skills.
The Masterclass objectives:
- Have a go with practical skills in coach-mentoring - keep it fun, flexible and friendly!
- Have better conversations - improve listening, questioning and reflective practice
- Understand your personal and professional drivers - develop a growth mindset
The session highlights skills-sets common to coaching and mentoring, essentially relational skills that are familiar to psychiatrists; in this regard we invite psychiatrists to realise their 'inner mentor'!
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11.55am – 1.10pm
Difficult to treat and complex psychosis part two
Chair: Professor Fiona Gaughran, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London
Schizophrenia and sensorimotor disturbances
Professor Mark Edwards, King's College London, London
From prohibition to evidence-based monitoring: half a century of regulating the risk of clozapine-related agranulocytosis in Europe
Professor Helene Verdoux, University of Bordeaux, France
Now that we know how clozapine works...
Professor Sir Robin Murray, King's College London Psychology and Neuroscience, London and Dr Paul Morrison, Argyll and Bute HSCP, Argyll
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11.55am – 1.10pm
Sex hormones and mental health across the life course: insights for women and men
Chair: Dr Katie Marwick, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh
Mental health and the menstrual life course: diagnosis, management and hormonal treatment from menarche to menopause
Dr Kate Womersley, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh
Researching from within: using lived experience to explore PMDD
Miss Nasara Al-Hassan, National Institute of Health and Care Research, London
Psychiatric dimensions of hypogonadism: research and clinical insights for midlife and older men
Professor Channa Jayasena, Imperial College London, London
Menopause and psychosis: towards hormone-informed treatment
Dr Bodyl A. Brand, University of Oxford, Oxford
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11.55am – 1.10pm
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. Needs, identification, diagnostic conundrums and interventions. A changing understanding
Chair: Professor Raja Mukherjee, Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Redhill
What do individuals with FASD and families need from psychiatrists
Mrs Sandra Butcher, National FASD, Hertforshire
Epigenetic markers of alcohol exposure on early neuronal development. What do we know and where does the future lie
Professor Arijit Mukhopadhyay, University of Salford, Manchester
Delineating the impact of pre and postnatal adversity in people with FASD
Dr Alan Price, University of Salford, Manchester
SPECIFIC: findings from a randomised controlled trial of a bespoke parenting education program to support families living with children who have FASD
Professor Penny Cook, University of Salford, Manchester
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11.55am – 1.10pm
Update from Lancet Psychiatry Commission on physical health: preventative public mental health
Chair: Dr Peter Byrne, East London NHS Foundation Trust, London
What has a public mental health approach got to offer the wicked problem of preventable premature mortality in people with mental health conditions?
Dr Peter Byrne, East London NHS Foundation Trust, London
How mental health and health services can better protect and improve the physical health of people living with mental health conditions: the role of health checks, vaccination and physical health care navigation support
Professor Russell Roberts, Charles Sturt University, Brisbane, Australia
From cradle to grave: how stigma-discrimination harms physical and mental health across the lifespan
Mr Jason Grant, North London NHS Foundation Trust, London
Health inequities as the ‘causes of causes’ of premature mortality in SMI: from evidence to solutions
Professor Jayati Das-Munshi, King's College London, London
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11.55am – 1.10pm
Biological approaches in neuroscience to bridge the translational gap in psychiatry
Chair: Professor Jonathan Cavanagh, University of Glasgow, Glasgow
Chronic social defeat stress and meningeal neutrophilia
Dr Stacey Kigar, University of Cambridge, Cambridge
Translational validity of the thalamostriatal neural circuit in anhedonia: preclinical and clinical alignment
Dr Deepika Sharma, University of Glasgow, Glasgow
The neurobiology of depression in Alzheimer's disease using human post-mortem tissue
Dr Lindsey Sinclair, University of Southampton, Southampton
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11.55am – 1.10pm
Nature-based interventions – a walking workshop (spaces on this session are limited)
This workshop will demonstrate a sensory, reflective and educational nature-based intervention, developed by the facilitators, which has proven to be a popular intervention with service users at South London and Maudsley Foundation Trust.
The morning will be experiential, pragmatic and empowering, teaching clinicians how to facilitate respect for, enjoyment of, and knowledge about nature to support recovery in people with mental health problems
The expectation will be that participants will go back to their own services and deliver or set up nature-based therapies.
The workshop will be based round a walk of around 2km, and there will be a short indoor component.
No prior knowledge or skills are required - 11.55am - 1.10pm Confident communication – media and social media training for members
- 1.10pm – 2.10pm Lunch
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1.10pm – 2.10pm
Fringe: No bad writers: unlocking your creative voice at Congress
Being at Congress can feel inspiring, but in some ways also overwhelming. This guided reflective and creative writing workshop offers delegates a chance to pause, ground themselves, and reconnect with themselves and those around them in unexpected ways.
The session creates a cozy bubble within the busy blur of Congress. Through guided writing prompts, we will explore our inner landscapes and cultivate a collective mental playground. No writing experience is necessary - just a willingness to sit with our words and engage in some playful exploration.
This workshop will combine grounding prompts, enjoyable and innovative exercises, and simple writing techniques such as imagery and layering. Delegates will explore their inner voice, share if they wish - in small groups or pairs, and end with a short meditation and take-home prompts.
This session bridges reflective practice with creative expression, helping psychiatrists reconnect with the curiosity and imagination that deeply underpin their work.
By stepping briefly out of the academic flow of Congress, participants can return lighter, more present, and intentional in how they listen, learn, and connect!
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1.10pm – 2.10pm
Fringe: Parkrun: a global mental and physical health success story: from setting one up to park running on the prison estate - come and ask us anything!
Parkrun has become one of the most inspiring public health success stories of recent years. What began as a small group of runners in a London park has grown into a global movement promoting physical activity, community connection and mental wellbeing.
This interactive and welcoming session will explore how taking part in parkrun, whether as a participant or volunteer, can support both mental and physical health. Delegates will gain an understanding of the evidence behind parkrun’s wellbeing impact, as well as hearing powerful personal stories from those who have experienced its benefits first-hand.
Speakers include a psychiatrist and regular parkrunner, a retired Learning Disabilities Residential Care Home Manager who set up a new parkrun event and a participant with lived experience of mental illness who found connection and recovery through parkrun.
Governor Amy Frost will share her experience of introducing parkrun to the UK prison estate, highlighting its role in rehabilitation and reintegration, and a representative from parkrun UK headquarters will discuss national initiatives and research links.
The session will be warm, friendly and reflective, with time for questions and conversation, and will end with an optional short wellness walk outside the conference venue.
- 1.10pm – 2.10pm SAS Doctors Lounge
- 1.10pm – 2.10pm Student and resident doctors lounge
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1.10pm – 2.10pm
Examiners lunch
We would like to invite all MRCPsych Examiners attending the International Congress on Tuesday 16 June to our Examiners lunch. This is an opportunity to get lunch away from the crowds, meet fellow examiners and discuss new developments.
Lunch will be served in the room.
- 1.35pm – 2.05pm Rapid fire poster presentations
- 2.10pm – 2.40pm KN6
- 2.40pm – 3.10pm KN7
- 3.10pm – 3.40pm Afternoon break
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3.40pm – 4.55pm
Clinical empathy and mental health care: what it is, its role in descriptive psychopathology, its social neuroscience, and its relevance in real world care
Chair: Dr Alvaro Barrera, University of Oxford, Oxford
Empathy, descriptive psychopathology, and clinical assessment
Professor Femi Oyebode, Institute of Mental Health, university of Birmingham, Birmingham
Empathy from a social neuroscience perspective
Dr Idalmis Santiesteban, Department of Primary Care and Mental Health, Liverpool
Empathy and the care of people at risk of suicide
Dr Karen Lascelles, Oxford School of Nursing and Midwifery, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford
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3.40pm – 4.55pm
Technology, young people and mental health: moral panic or need for caution?
Chair: Dr Guy Northover, Berkshire Healthcare NHS trust, Reading
Technology and mental health of children and young people: an update on the Royal College of Psychiatrists position statement
Professor Bernadka Dubicka, Hull York Medical School, University of York, York
Digital use assessment (DUA) tool: how do we assist clinicians to explore the digital lives of young people
Dr Saam Idelji-Tehrani, Sussex Partnership Foundation Trust, Brighton
Digital skills and the limits of regulation
Dr Richard Graham, University of York, York
Commercial determinants of health: the health harms of Big Tech
Dr Peter Byrne, Royal London Hospital, London -
3.40pm – 4.55pm
Functional, feigned, or medically unexplained? Advances in clinical assessment for psychiatrists
Chair: Dr Alex Thomson, Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust, London
Advances in clinical assessment and diagnosis of functional neurological disorders
Dr Tim Nicholson, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London
Specialist assessment of feigning: pitfalls and practice standards
Dr Derek Tracy, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London
Positive actions to protect patients
Dr Emma McAllister, Expert by Experience
When feigning is suspected: a clinical framework for psychiatrists
Dr Alex Thomson, Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust, London
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3.40pm – 4.55pm
Levelling up – fostering equality, diversity and inclusion in academic psychiatry
Chair: Professor Rohit Shankar, University of Plymouth Peninsula Medical School, Truro
Career trajectories of women clinical academics : barriers and facilitators to creating equitable outcomes
Professor Angela Hassiotis, University College London, London
From lived experience to leadership: British Indian Psychiatric Association (BIPA)'s data-driven initiatives for inclusion of women from ethnic minority background in academic psychiatry
Dr Sridevi Sira Mahalingappa, South London and Maudsley NHS Trust, London
The Academic balancing act: practical strategies for young ethnic minority female doctors with personal commitments
Dr Deepika Sharma, British Indian Psychiatry Association (BIPA), Gloucester
Bridging the divide: balancing academic ambition with clinical and family life
Dr Sweta Mittal, Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Nottingham
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3.40pm – 4.55pm
Implementing Advance Choice Documents (ACDs) to reduce coercion in care and improve patient experience
Chair: Dr Lade Smith, Royal College of Psychiatrists, London
Mental health inequalities and Mental Health Act reform - the need for choice and autonomy
Dr Lade Smith, Royal College of Psychiatrists, London
The evidence base for interventions that can reduce the risk of Mental Health Act Detentions
Professor Claire Henderson, King's College London, London
Practical steps to implement advance choice documents in a large mental health trust
Dr Rajesh Mohan, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London
Why Advance Choice Documents are necessary - and how they can address the impact of coercion in mental health
Mr Steve Gilbert, Steve Gilbert Consulting, Birmingham
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3.40pm – 4.55pm
Help! Help! I've been asked to peer review a journal paper
Chair: Professor Patricia Casey, Hermitage Medical Clinic, Dublin
Introduction to peer reviewing and the rational for training in this
Professor Asit Biswas, University of Leicester, Leicester
Basic principles of peer reviewing potential research project on peer reviewer training outcomes
Professor Patricia Casey, Hermitage Medical Clinic, Dublin
Conducting a peer review - part one
Professor Femi Oyebode, University of Birmingham, Birmingham
Conducting a peer review - part two
Dr Katherine Adlington, East London NHS Foundation Trust, London -
5.05pm – 6.20pm
Coercion, dignity, and restrictive practice: integrating lived experience and international law in modern psychiatry
Chair: Professor Piyal Sen, Elysium Healthcare, Milton Keynes
Dignity, recovery, and the human experience of restrictive practice
Dr Adam Flynn, Northern Ireland Medical and Dental Training Agency, Belfast and Ms Lois Edmunds, Expert by Experience
Beyond the zero-tolerance goal: navigating the 'Geneva Impasse' on involuntary interventions
Professor Neeraj Gill, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia
From aspiration to action: evaluating rights, risk, and reality in UK mental health law
Professor Gareth Owen, King's College London, London -
5.05pm – 6.20pm
Psychedelic psychiatry - a global update
Chair: Professor Allan Young, Imperial College London, London
Co-Chair: Dr Ananta Dave, Black Country ICB, Wolverhampton
Psychedelic Psychiatry - a global update
Dr Niraj Singh, Psychedelic Action, London
The brain science of psychedelics
Professor David Nutt, Imperial College, London
MDMA therapy for PTSD in the real world
Professor Ranil Gunewardene, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
Psychotherapy with psychedelics
Dr Jonny Martell, Imperial College, London -
5.05pm – 6.20pm
From disorder to spectrum - changing the AuDHD story: a new neurodiversity paradigm
Chair: Professor Subodh Dave, Royal College of Psychiatrists, London
Understanding AuDHD – The interface of Autism and ADHD
Dr Khurram Sadiq, Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust, London
Management of AuDHD – balancing two realities
Dr Asif Bachlani, Cygnet hospital, London
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5.05pm – 6.20pm
Workplace violence and aggression in psychiatry; we report on the Royal College Survey, the impact on the workforce and potential support structures for staff
Chair: Dr Rowena Carter, South London and the Maudsley NHS foundation trust, London
Results of the Royal College survey on workplace violence and aggression: statistical analysis
Dr Kyrillos Meshreky, South London and the Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London
Results of the Royal College survey on workplace violence and aggression: themes
Dr Ankit Saxena, Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool
Pathway for staff support following workplace violence and aggression
Dr Rowena Carter, South London and the Maudsley NHS foundation trust, London
Staff support following workplace violence and aggression: Resident Doctor's experience of peer support groups and how this model can be applied locally
Dr Thomas Hillen, Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust, London
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6.20pm – 7.45pm
Trials and tribulations: the clinical research board game
We invite you to experience the high-stakes world of clinical research by playing "Trials and Tribulations." In this 75-minute event, you and your team will design a fictional drug trial from start to finish.
You'll be challenged with real-world 'curveballs,' navigating ethical dilemmas, budget cuts, and recruitment failures in a fun, fast-paced, and collaborative environment. This is a unique opportunity to learn about a complex topic by doing.
You will gain a memorable, first-hand understanding of the drug development process. Come ready to think on your feet, work with your team, and have some serious fun!
- 6.45pm – 7.45pm AGM
- 8.00am – 9.00am Registration
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8.00am – 8.45am
Fringe: Mindfulness for psychiatrists: reclaiming the present moment
The aim of these three daily sessions is to provide you with a tool to touch base with calmness, self-compassion, keeping perspective, enhancing self-regulation and wellbeing whilst under clinical, social and personal pressure.Current pressures in healthcare place psychiatrists at all levels and in all subspecialties under increasing pressure, and facing unrelenting demands.Can we allow ourselves space just to pause and reclaim the present moment?Mindfulness-based intervention can have a positive influence on wellbeing of health professionals as reflected by NICE guidance (NG212 2022).As psychiatrists it is crucial that we maintain our own wellbeing. Mindfulness can help us to connect with and appreciate the good moments in our everyday lives, as well as providing a tool to help us stay present when under pressure.Florian Ruths and Joy Patterson have developed a taster programme of three 45-minute sessions to introduce psychiatrists to the ideas of mindfulness.The three sessions are different and can be enjoyed on their own or as a series. Included in each session: introduction to mindfulness concepts relevant to us as psychiatrists, experiential mindfulness practice, discussion, reflections and breathing space.
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8.00am – 8.45am
Fringe: Guided yoga: from stress to resilience, to pause and restore
In this session, you will gain firsthand experience of practising yoga across a range of fitness levels and abilities.
You will learn practical techniques including postures, breathing exercises, and therapeutic practices that are particularly effective for managing anxiety, depression, and stress-related symptoms.
By the end of the session, you will be able to personalise these techniques for your own daily practice and experience their long-term benefits. You will also be equipped to recommend appropriate yoga poses to patients dealing with depression, anxiety, or other neurotic conditions. Finally, you will develop a deeper appreciation of this ancient healing system and its continued relevance today.
- 9.00am – 9.30am KN8
- 9.30am – 10.00am KN9
- 10.00am – 10.30am KN10
- 10.30am – 11.00am Morning break
- 11.00am – 12.15pm Advances at the interface of neurology and psychiatry - part one
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11.00am – 12.15pm
Autoimmune encephalitis in psychiatry: the RCPsych neuropsychiatry faculty guidelines
Chair: Dr David Okai, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London
An overview of the working group and executive summary of guidance
Dr David Okai, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London
How can routine mental state examination help triage and focus clinical identification of autoimmune encephalitis
Dr Adam Al-Diwani, University of Oxford, Oxford
The neurology of autoimmune encephalitis
Dr Sophie Binks, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford
The patient experience of autoimmune encephalitis - longer-term support
Dr Ava Easton, Encephalitis International, London
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11.00am – 12.15pm
Gender diversity in the current age: understanding, measuring, and supporting adolescent experiences
Chair: Professor Tamsin Ford, University of Cambridge, Cambridge
Asking the right questions: toward more accurate and inclusive measurement of gender in youth mental health research
Dr Emma Soneson, University of Oxford, Oxford
The LOGIC study: insights from children and adolescents referred to NHS gender services
Dr Eilish Kennedy, University College, London
Understanding the experiences and support networks of gender diverse adolescents
Professor Mina Fazel, University of Oxford, Oxford
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11.00am – 12.15pm
Withdrawal symptoms and relapse
Chair: Professor Glyn Lewis, University College London, London
Neurobiology of antidepressant withdrawal
Professor Quentin Huys, University College London, London
Systematic review of withdrawal symptoms
Dr Sameer Jauhar, Imperial College, London
Withdrawal and relapse from the ANTLER study
Professor Gemma Lewis, University College London, London
Ethical and lived experience perspective
Professor Tania Gergel, Bipolar UK, London
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11.00am – 12.15pm
Addressing implementation failure for people with learning disability
Chair: Dr Ashok Roy, Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust, Coventry
Learning disability - the case and required actions to address the implementation gap
Dr Jonathan Campion, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London
Meeting unmet needs and upholding rights – what we know from lived experience
Ms Jacqui Shurlock, Challenging Behaviour Foundation, Loughborough
Death by indifference: nearly two decades on, have healthcare inequalities been reduced for people with a learning disability?
Mr Dan Scorer, Mencap, London
Filling the gap through policy
Dr Ken Courtenay, NHS England, London
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11.00am – 12.15pm
Doing doable jobs: a masterclass in coaching and mentoring to improve peer support and our professional development
As part of RCPsych initiatives in encouraging psychiatrists to look after ourselves and each other, experienced facilitators from the College coach-mentoring group explore the usefulness of coaching and mentoring, whether one-to-one or in groups, in peer support, training and professional development.
This is an interactive workshop to share reflections about individual experiences of coaching and mentoring across career grades, and includes a pairing exercise to practise mentoring skills.
The Masterclass objectives:
- Have a go with practical skills in coach-mentoring - keep it fun, flexible and friendly!
- Have better conversations - improve listening, questioning and reflective practice
- Understand your personal and professional drivers - develop a growth mindset
The session highlights skills-sets common to coaching and mentoring, essentially relational skills that are familiar to psychiatrists; in this regard we invite psychiatrists to realise their 'inner mentor'!
- 12.25pm – 1.40pm Advances at the interface of neurology and psychiatry - part two
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12.25pm – 1.40pm
Is psychopathology dead? Reclaiming the foundations of clinical practice
Chair: Dr Stefania Bonaccorso, North London NHS Foundation Trust, London
The demise of psychopathology as unintended consequence
Professor Gareth Owen, Professor of Psychological Medicine, Ethics and Law, King's College London, London
Psychopathology or phenomenology?
Professor Matthew Broome, University of Birmingham, Birmingham
Common pitfalls in clinical practice when we forget psychopathology
Professor Femi Oyebode, University of Birmingham, Birmingham
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12.25pm – 1.40pm
Child development in war zones: a global perspective
Chair: Dr Hind Khalifeh, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London
Mental health support for mothers and infants in war zones: the feasibility of mental health and breastfeeding support utilising Telehealth
Ms Yafa Ajweh, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham
Children cannot wait: meeting the mental health needs of children during a live war
Dr Bahzad Al-Akhras, The University of Manchester, Manchester
Understanding and addressing the special needs of children with neurodevelopmental disorders affected by armed conflict
Dr Ramzi Nasir, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London
A community-based intervention for war-affected children: evaluation of the teaching recovery techniques plus parenting, a cluster randomised controlled trial in Ukrainian schools
Professor Dennis Ougrin, Queen Mary University of London, London
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12.25pm – 1.40pm
Under 5’s mental health – scaling up provision to transform population mental health
Chair: Dr Lade Smith, Royal College of Psychiatrists, London
Co-chair: Dr Trudi Seneviratne, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London
The case for under-5s mental health and addressing the implementation challenge
Dr Jonathan Campion, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London
From evidence to action: addressing the implementation gap in early childhood mental health
Dr Zeinab Hijazi, UNICEF, New York, USA
Shifting the dial: early in life and not just early in illness
Professor Valsamma Eapen, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
Strengthening systems for children’s mental health: evidence and country experiences
Dr Chiara Servili, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland
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12.25pm – 1.40pm
Nature-based interventions – a walking workshop (spaces on this session are limited)
This workshop will demonstrate a sensory, reflective and educational nature-based intervention, developed by the facilitators, which has proven to be a popular intervention with service users at South London and Maudsley Foundation Trust.
The morning will be experiential, pragmatic and empowering, teaching clinicians how to facilitate respect for, enjoyment of, and knowledge about nature to support recovery in people with mental health problems
The expectation will be that participants will go back to their own services and deliver or set up nature-based therapies.
The workshop will be based round a walk of around 2km, and there will be a short indoor component.
No prior knowledge or skills are required - 12.25pm - 1.40pm Confident communication – media and social media training for members
- 1.40pm – 2.40pm Lunch
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1.40pm – 2.40pm
Fringe: Knightfulness: the chess challenge
Psychiatrists and mental health professionals from all over the world will have the chance to sit down across a chessboard and share a game together. Whether you’re a seasoned player or just curious to try, the focus is on friendly matches, meeting colleagues at a similar level, and enjoying the mix of strategy and conversation that chess naturally inspires.
The atmosphere is relaxed and welcoming - no prizes or knockout rounds, just an opportunity to connect over the board, swap ideas, and maybe pick up a new opening (or a new friend). Boards and clocks will be provided, and we’ll have volunteers around to help match people up.
It’s a simple but powerful way to combine the thoughtful spirit of Congress with the timeless joy of the game.
- 1.40pm – 2.40pm Fringe: Cabinet of curiosities – show and tell
- 1.40pm – 2.40pm Student and resident doctors lounge
- 1.40pm – 2.40pm SAS doctors lounge
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1.40pm – 2.40pm
Creative art of the circle - Mandala art as a path to inner harmony
Mandala art, derived from the Sanskrit word meaning “circle", has been a symbol of wholeness, balance, and connection between the inner and outer worlds.
Across spiritual and psychological traditions, especially amongst Buddhist Monks, mandalas have been used as meditative tools to centre the mind and evoke healing. Within psychology, Carl Jung introduced mandala creation as a means of exploring the self and facilitating emotional balance.
Contemporary evidence increasingly supports the use of structured art-making, including mandalas, to enhance mindfulness, reduce stress, and promote overall psychological wellbeing.
This creative practice is used in treatment of anxiety, depression, anger management, dementia, bereavement and hyperactivity symptoms.
This session will allow you to engage experientially, through guided drawing and colouring exercises, reflective mindfulness practice, and facilitated discussion. There is no artistic skills required, only an open mind with a willingness to play with colours and patterns to see its effect on your minds.
In this session you will:
- Experience how creative engagement within circular forms promote relaxation, self -awareness, focus, and emotional expression, bridging art and psychiatry
- Learn how mandala-making can be a tool for mindfulness
- Reflect on practical ways to integrate creative practices into mental health and self-care routines
- 2.05pm – 2.35pm Rapid fire poster presentations
- 2.40pm – 3.10pm KN11
- 3.10pm – 3.40pm KN12
- 3.40pm – 4.10pm Afternoon break
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4.10pm – 5.25pm
Advancing suicide prevention through action on domestic abuse
Chair: Dr Marilia Calcia, King's College London, London
Rates of suicide in people men and women using mental health services with clinically identified domestic abuse victimisation and perpetration: a cohort study
Dr Vishal Girish Kumar Bhavsar, King's College London, London
66 ways to reduce domestic abuse related suicides
Mr Tim Woodhouse, University of Kent, Canterbury
Nothing to lose – the interchangeable risk between risk to self and risk to others
Ms Holly Thomas, Central North West London NHS Foundation Trust, London
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4.10pm – 5.25pm
Neurodivergence and addictive behaviours: a contemporary synthesis
Chair: Professor Owen Bowden-Jones, Royal College of Psychiatrists, London
"To game, or not to game": video gaming and neurodivergence
Dr Hussien Elkholy, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Brighton
Sensitivities and rules: neurodivergence and disordered eating
Dr Jessica Eccles, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Brighton
Generative AI use in neurodivergence, friend or foe?
Dr Hamilton Morrin, King’s College London, London
Sensory seeking, risk taking: a neurodiversity-affirming look at chemsex behaviours
Dr Stephen Naulls, Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Brighton
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4.10pm – 5.25pm
Understanding the "ups and downs of dopamine" to prevent risk and inform treatment of psychotic disorders
Chair: Professor Marta Di Forti, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London
Treatment with psychostimulants and atomoxetine in people with psychotic disorders: reassessing the risk of clinical deterioration in a real-world setting
Dr Olivier Corbeil, Laval University, Quebec, Canada
Riding the dopamine high: psychosis from stimulant and party drugs use
Professor Giovanni Martinotti, Department of Neuroscience, University G.d’Annunzio of Chieti-Pescara, Pescara, Italy
How to guide pharmacological treatment of cannabis associated psychosis following the dopamine lead
Professor Marta Di Forti, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London
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4.10pm – 5.25pm
Embedding research in routine mental health care: a coordinated national approach across psychosis and mood disorders
The mental health translational research collaboration: a coordinated national approach to embedding translational research
Professor Rachel Upthegrove, University of Oxford, Oxford
Turbocharging psychosis research in the UK
Professor Graham Murray, University of Cambridge, Cambridge
Dr Jacqueline Robbins, Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust, Canterbury
Dr Marie Bowers, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge
Research for everyone: Mood disorder research clinics embedded in routine care
Dr Mourad Wahba, Newcastle University, Newcastle
Panel: Dr Lesley Booth, Betina Nair, Ms Sara Philips
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4.10pm – 5.25pm
Research Attachment Programme (RAP): integrating research and clinical training for the next generation of Psychiatrists
In this session, you will have the opportunity to learn about the Research Attachment Programme (RAP) in psychiatry training and to discuss how to reproduce it with the necessary adjustments in our own trusts/universities.
This initiative was born in 2024-2025 as part of the Maudsley training programme to integrate research training within postgraduate clinical education. It aims to develop research literacy beyond the IAT pathway, while remaining non-mandatory. Resident Doctors have the opportunity to join a research group for 6-12 months as part of their core or higher training. The programme offers flexible participation (from one day per fortnight to one–two days per week) and individualised supervision according to prior experience and career goals. Participants range from those with no prior research experience to post-doctoral researchers.
This session will present outcomes from RAP’s first year, including Resident Doctor feedback, research outputs, and implementation lessons. The discussion will also explore how this model can be adapted and embedded across other trusts and universities to strengthen research capacity and bridge the gap between scientific evidence and clinical practice in psychiatry.
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5.30pm – 6.45pm
Fringe: “If not now, when?” Raising awareness of young-onset dementia through film and lived experience
This session will showcase the award-winning short film “If Not Now, When?” to explore the lived experience of young-onset dementia and its implications for clinical practice, service delivery and community support. The film, starring BAFTA-winning Kate Dickie, follows a woman diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, capturing the emotional, social and practical challenges she faces, as well as the impact on her family.
YPWD charity collaborated with the filmmakers to ensure an authentic depiction informed by consultations with individuals living with young-onset dementia, carers and healthcare professionals. The film is an innovative tool to engage healthcare practitioners, policymakers and community organisations in understanding and addressing gaps in support identified.
The film screening is 30 minutes and will be followed by an interactive Q&A session. The film highlights diverse challenges, including living alone, in rural areas, or without family support, illustrating barriers to diagnosis, care and social inclusion.
You will gain insights into how storytelling and lived experience can be leveraged to improve diagnosis, care pathways and community engagement for younger people living with dementia.
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5.30pm – 6.45pm
Fringe: Finding your voice; how opera can bring playfulness, emotional connection and strengthen morale in mental health teams: an interactive workshop
Health:Pitch is an innovative and inspiring charity; their opera-based sessions bring beauty, playfulness and deeply moving experiences into healthcare settings, with clear benefits for team building and relieving burnout.
Foregrounded by the extraordinary vocal power, expressivity, and resonance of the operatic voice, these specially-designed sessions speak to profound experiences in life and heartfelt emotions in a shared and safe environment.
Performing widely across health and social care, conferences and in the corporate sector, Health:Pitch improves relationships within teams, helps staff to recover agency and strengthen their ability to express themselves at work, all key ingredients in addressing moral distress, isolation and disillusionment.
Led by international professional opera singers and facilitated by Dr Jo O'Reilly, Chair of RCPsych Medical Psychotherapy Faculty, and Camilla Vickers, former physiotherapist and founder of Health:Pitch, we offer a hugely enjoyable, educational and motivating session involving well-known operatic arias in an accessible manner.
You will have the opportunity to find your voice and the pleasure and relief of being connected with and in tune with each other. This session will enable us to reach and share feelings beyond words, demonstrating how this can lead to deepening satisfaction, stronger relationships and recovery of meaning in the work we do.
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5.30pm – 6.45pm
Fringe: 'Prayers not pills'; an audio play
‘Prayers not pills’ is a serious yet humorous audio drama co-written by Robert Farquhar and Sue Ruben.
The story explores an ethical dilemma. Should doctors pray with their patients? Alison, an inexperienced young resident psychiatrist finds herself in this situation, then, is drawn into the arguments between two warring Consultants. Rodger, a committed Marxist and atheist, versus Catherine, a committed Christian. Has prayer transformed Darren, a longstanding patient in a way medication never achieved?
The community mental health clinic is hugely overspent. Tony, the hapless manager, sees an opportunity to save money. Thus, a group Prayers not Pills comes into the mix, with Darren and Catherine leading it. Rodger is determined to stop them. Catherine sees huge benefits in this new venture. Alison is unsure if psychiatry is the career for her.
What can possibly go wrong? All the characters have lessons to learn, as the story unfolds, ending in a small Greek Church.
The play does not take a position, but is intended to be thought provoking.
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5.30pm – 6.45pm
Fringe: After the launch: the story beyond the book
Chair: Dr Rebecca Lawrence, NHS Lothian, Edinburgh
An improbable author
Dr Rebecca Lawrence, NHS Lothian, Edinburgh
Yes, psychiatrists have mental illness too
Professor Linda Gask, University of Manchester, Manchester
Dr Benji Waterhouse, NHS London, London
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5.30pm – 6.45pm
Congress bingo : the mind edition -"test your mind, one square at a time"
Come join us for Congress Bingo: Mind Edition, a lively and interactive game designed to bring delegates together and spark some friendly competition. Team up and see how quickly you can identify key concepts, therapies, notable psychologists and psychiatrists, and positive mental health strategies as you work to complete your board.
Take a break from the usual sessions, share a laugh, and connect with colleagues in a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere.
Congress Bingo: Mind Edition is all about having fun, thinking fast, and sharing a playful moment with fellow delegates. Every square you tick is a chance to interact, celebrate small wins, and make the most of this energetic and memorable session . Form your team in advance or during the session and get ready for a fun-filled game of friendly competition and lively interaction.
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5.30pm – 6.30pm
Fringe: Nature walk
Unwind after the scientific overload of a day at Congress with an informal 2 - 3km evening walk to explore the rich urban habitat around the conference venue.
See for yourself that the idea of grey urban space being nature-depleted is a myth, as we meet with a rich variety of insects, wild flowers, grasses, ferns, mosses, lichen and birds.
Learn how, wherever your patients live, you can help them to make friends with the natural world on their doorstep and enrich their lives.
- 8.00am – 9.00am Registration
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8.00am – 8.45am
Fringe: Mindfulness for psychiatrists: reclaiming the present moment
The aim of these three daily sessions is to provide you with a tool to touch base with calmness, self-compassion, keeping perspective, enhancing self-regulation and wellbeing whilst under clinical, social and personal pressure.Current pressures in healthcare place psychiatrists at all levels and in all subspecialties under increasing pressure, and facing unrelenting demands.Can we allow ourselves space just to pause and reclaim the present moment?Mindfulness-based intervention can have a positive influence on wellbeing of health professionals as reflected by NICE guidance (NG212 2022).As psychiatrists it is crucial that we maintain our own wellbeing. Mindfulness can help us to connect with and appreciate the good moments in our everyday lives, as well as providing a tool to help us stay present when under pressure.Florian Ruths and Joy Patterson have developed a taster programme of three 45-minute sessions to introduce psychiatrists to the ideas of mindfulness.The three sessions are different and can be enjoyed on their own or as a series. Included in each session: introduction to mindfulness concepts relevant to us as psychiatrists, experiential mindfulness practice, discussion, reflections and breathing space.
- 9.00am – 9.30am KN13
- 9.30am – 10.00am KN14
- 10.00am – 10.30am Break
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10.30am – 11.45am
Spirituality old and new: diverse perspectives on spirituality from assessment to formulation
Chair: Professor Swaran Singh, Coventry and Warwickshire Trust, Coventry
Spirituality: perspectives from Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism
Dr Padakkara Saju, Bradford District Care Trust, Bradford
Islam in the context of spirituality and psychotherapy
Dr Huma Khan, South West Yorkshire NHS Trust, Wakefield
Harmony in diversity: Sikhism new wisdom
Professor Swaran Singh, Coventry and Warwickshire Trust, Coventry
Faith and mental health: a Christian perspective.
Professor Patricia Casey, University College, Dublin
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10.30am – 11.45am
Difficult-to-treat depression: medication, meditation and transcranial direct current stimulation. Integrating new research into clinical practice
Chair: Dr Florian Ruths, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London
Mindfulness and medication: expert by experience perspective
Dr Mary Ryan, University of Exeter, Exeter
Mindfulness: new evidence for mindfulness-based cognitive therapy in difficult to treat depression
Professor Thorsten Barnhofer, University of Surrey, Guildford
Difficult to treat depression: research updates on psychopharmacology and transcranial direct current stimulation
Professor David Taylor, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London
The biopsychosocial approach to DTD in clinical practice: a case presentation
Dr Joy Patterson, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, Belfast
Translating the evidence into day-to-day psychiatric clinical practice: how medication and meditation prescribing can be interwoven in a community psychiatry setting
Dr Florian Ruths, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London
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10.30am – 11.45am
Fact or fiction: are rates of eating disorders in children and young people really increasing across England, and is ‘typical’ not so typical after all?
Chair: Dr Helen Bould, University of Bristol, Bristol
Eating disorders in diverse adolescents: insights from the born in Bradford age of wonder Cohort
Ms Eliza Shotton, University of York, York
Patterns of service contact among young people with disordered eating in England: findings from the MHCYP 2017 survey
Dr Benjamin Geers, University of Exeter, Exeter
From eating difficulties to eating disorders: mind the transition
Dr Clara Faria, University of Cambridge, Cambridge
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10.30am – 11.45am
Clinical and cost effectiveness of inpatient mental health rehabilitation provided by the NHS and independent sector; final results and implications of the ACER study
Chair: Dr Andrew Molodynski, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford
Final results from the national study of inpatient mental health rehabilitation services provided by the NHS and independent sector in England (the ACER Study)
Professor Helen Killaspy, University College London, London
Update on NHSE’s Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) for mental health rehabilitation programme and reflections on the implications of the results of the ACER study
Dr Sridevi Kalidindi, South London and Maudsely NHS Foundation Trust, London
Learning from the ACER Study; how to build effective partnerships between the NHS and independent sector to ensure patients with complex mental health needs get the right care
Dr Jon van Niekerk, Cygnet Healthcare, London
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11.55am – 1.10pm
Beyond hospital walls: intensive digital and home-based treatment for severe eating disorders across the lifespan
Chair: Professor Janet Treasure, King's College London, London
Guided self-help for anorexia nervosa: Evidence from the TRIANGLE Trial
Dr Katie Rowlands, King’s College London, London
Professor Valentina Cardi, University of Padova, Italy
From Trials to Practice: Implementing Digital Guided Self-Help in NHS CAMHS-ED Service
Dr Ashish Kumar, Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool
Adapting Family-Based Treatment for Intensive Remote Delivery in CAMHS
Dr Laura Coglan, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, Marlborough
Adapting CBT-E for Intensive Remote Delivery: Bridging the Gap Between Hospital and Community Care
Dr Agnes Ayton, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford
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11.55am – 1.10pm
‘The right to die debate: taking stock of assisted dying/assisted suicide.'
Chair: Dr Annabel Price, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge
Navigating complexity: process and impact of RCPsych influencing in Westminster on assisted dying/assisted suicide
Mr Oliver Kavanagh Penno, Royal College of Psychiatrists, London
Is assisted dying a treatment?
Professor Gareth Owen, King's College London, London
What is the legal relationship between the right to die and suicide prevention?
Professor Alex Ruck Keene, King's College London, London
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11.55am – 1.10pm
Precision psychiatry: thinking beyond simple prediction models - enhancing causal predictions
Chair: Dr Rajeev Krishnadas, University of Cambridge, Cambridge
A problem at the heart of precision medicine – are current clinical prediction models fully actionable for individuals?
Dr Samuel Leighton, University of Glasgow, Glasgow
Conventional prediction modelling, the gaps and introducing causality
Dr Fani Deligianni, University of Glasgow, Glasgow
The shortcomings of average treatment effects, introducing individualised parameters and counterfactuals with modern machine learning and AI
Dr Damian Machlanski, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh
Ethnic bias in prediction and decision making algorithms in precision psychiatry: challenges in a shrinking world
Dr Rajeev Krishnadas, University of Cambridge, Cambridge
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11.55am – 1.10pm
Masterclass in clinical neuropsychiatry of neurorehabilitation and acquired brain injury
Chair: Dr Himansh Tyagi, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London
Review of NICE guidelines of neuro-rehabilitation
Dr Mark Paramlall, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada
Psychosis in Traumatic Brain Injury
Dr Elvina Chu, Kingston Health Sciences, Kingston, Canada
Offending in Acquired Brain Injury
Dr Czarina Kirk, Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust, Lancashire
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11.55am – 1.10pm
Transforming workforce mental health: evidence-based and systemic approaches to supporting healthcare professionals
Chair: Dr Peter McAllister, RCPsych Lead for Veterans' Mental Health, London
The role of cross-organisational collaboration and strategies for a better mental health in the workforce
Dr Ananta Dave, Black County Integrated Care Board, Wolverhampton
Galatea Integral Care Program: 25 Years of a specialised mental health service for health professionals
Dr Dolores Braqueheis, Universitat Internacional de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
Caring for carers: establishing a cost-effective, scalable mental health service for healthcare workers
Dr Muzaffer Kaser, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge
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11.55am – 1.10pm
The RCPsych Leadership and Management Fellowship scheme - got a problem? Come and bring it to an action learning set
The Royal College delivers a year long fellowship scheme in leadership and management (LMFS) for higher residents and mid career SAS doctors. Now in its seventh cohort of fellows, the scheme has gone from strength to strength in empowering psychiatrists from all over the country with skills, mentoring, and practical opportunities to develop.
One element of the scheme involves a group problem solving technique called the action learning sets (ALS). Over the course of the year there are 10 teaching modules - on each of these days fellows get together in smaller groups for just over an hour to follow the ALS process, developed by academic professor and management consultant Reg Revans.
During this fringe event we would like to offer delegates the opportunity to learn more about action learnings sets, give them an opportunity to be part of a set for the session, and to potentially help them to solve any of the complex professional quandaries that they might be experiencing right now!
If you would like to understand the action learning set process and how it could be useful to you, your teams and organisations that you work in, come along and sample a small slice of LMFS.
- 1.10pm – 2.10pm Lunch
- 1.10pm – 2.10pm Student and resident doctors lounge
- 1.10pm – 2.10pm SAS doctors lounge
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1.10pm – 2.10pm
Minds, murders, and mysteries: psychiatry through the lens of detective fiction
Detective fiction has long intrigued both the public and mental health professionals for the way it probes the boundaries of reason, madness, morality, and justice. This fringe session explores the intersection of psychiatry and mystery fiction through two classic works: P. D. James’s A Mind to Murder and Edgar Allan Poe’s The Murders in the Rue Morgue. Each highlights the detective’s dual role as analyst and observer, inviting comparison with psychiatry’s interpretive work in uncovering motives, reconstructing narratives, and restoring coherence after disruption.
Participants will be encouraged to read both texts in advance and join a guided discussion considering questions such as: How does the detective’s reasoning mirror the psychiatrist’s clinical method? What do these stories reveal about cultural fears of madness, secrecy, and transgression? How have literary depictions of the “criminal mind” shaped public perceptions of psychiatry?
Through literature, participants will gain new perspectives on the narrative, diagnostic, and ethical dimensions of psychiatric practice while reflecting on the enduring cultural power of the mystery genre. The session will appeal to psychiatrists and other clinicians interested in how stories, fictional and clinical alike, illuminate the workings of the human mind.
- 1.35pm – 2.05pm Rapid fire poster presentations
- 2.10pm – 2.40pm KN15
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2.40pm – 3.55pm
Improving sleep on inpatient wards
Chair:
SleepWell: a multimodal intervention to improve sleep on inpatient wards
Dr Kirstie Anderson, Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Newcastle Upon Tyne
Impact of SleepWell on mortality on inpatient wards
Dr Patrick Keown, Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation, Newcastle Upon Tyne
Treating sleep disruption on acute psychiatric inpatient wards: from randomised controlled trial to implementation
Dr Bryony Sheaves, Oxford University, Oxford
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2.40pm – 3.55pm
Neuromodulation across the NHS: current uses and future directions
Chair: Professor Cynthia Fu, King's College London, London
Real world NHS experience of introducing tDCS in a mother and baby unit
Dr. Somayya Kajee, Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, Norwich
Rapid-access neuromodulation: implementing tDCS in the Leicester urgent care pathway
Dr Mark McConnochie, Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust, Leicester
Is TMS cost-effective for treatment-resistant depression in the NHS?
Professor Richard Morriss, University of Nottingham, Nottingham
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2.40pm – 3.55pm
24/7 Neighbourhood mental health: first, do no harm - ideals meets implementation
Chair: Dr Mary Docherty, NHS England, London
The Birmingham experience - building citizenship and a research infrastructure in an urban 24/7 community mental healthcare
Dr Selvaraj Vincent, Birmingham and Solihull NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham
Neighbourhood health - learning from Sheffield and implications for psychiatric training and workforce
Dr Helen Crimlisk, Sheffield Health Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, Sheffield
Co-production and partnerships - the secret sauce of new ways of working
Professor Tim Kendall, Sheffield Health Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, Sheffield