Previous free webinars for members
In 2020 we started producing a series of free webinars to support members and trainees during the pandemic.
This page collects together these webinars from previous years. The latest free webinars are available on a separate page.
Response – Prof Matthew Broome
This was followed by a Q&A.
Speakers
This webinar was delivered by Professor Alan Carson.
Professor Carson had worked as a Consultant Neuropsychiatrist in Edinburgh, for the last 20 years. He is also an Honorary Professor in Neuropsychiatry based in Clinical Brain Science at the University of Edinburgh. The Functional Disorders Research group in Edinburgh, which he runs along with Jon Stone and produced influential work on clinical phenotype, classification, epidemiology and treatment.
Overview
Speakers
- Applying to ST4 - Dr Nandini Chakraborty, National Recruitment Lead and Janine Chesters
- Higher Training in Psychiatry and the PTC - Rosemary Gordon, Chair PTC
- Entering Higher Training – my experiences - Alex McDermott, ST4 trainee, Forensic Psychiatry
This webinar was chaired by Dr Kate Lovett.
Overview of this webinar
Chair: Dr Adrian James, RCPsych
Speaker: Professor Femi Oyebode
Psychopathology is the precise description, categorisation and definition of abnormal experiences as recounted by the patient and observed in behaviour. It relies on the method of phenomenology by focusing on experienced phenomena to establish their universal character. The aim is to listen attentively, to accurately observe and to understand the psychological event or phenomenon by empathy so that the clinician can, as far as possible, know what the patient's experience must feel like.
In this talk I will distinguish between psychopathology and nosology. I will focus on delusions with a view to illustrating a novel approach to thinking about delusions and I will suggest that there is a need to privilege psychopathology in psychiatric training. I will conclude by summarising the value of psychopathology for psychiatry.
Overview of this webinar
The next webinar in our 180th Anniversary series of free #RCPsychLive webinars was on Psychiatry and Sexuality which took place on Thursday 11 November from 4pm - 5pm.
Chair: Professor Helen Killaspy
- Male Homosexuality as a mental illness to be ‘cured’ – Dr Tommy Dickinson
- Female Homosexuality as a mental illness to be ‘cured’ – Professor Helen Spandler
- First hand recollections of Psychiatrist – Dr John Bradley
Overview
Speakers
- Amelia O’Donnell, National Recruitment Coordinator, Health Education North West 'Applying to CT1'
- Rosemary Gordon, Chair PTC 'Training in Psychiatry and the PTC'
- Divya Vamathevan, CT1 trainee 'Entering CT1 – my experiences'
This webinar was chaired by Dr Kate Lovett.
Overview
Speakers
Dr. Raphael Travis Jr., - LCSW Professor, MSW Program Director at Texas State University, School of Social Work Lab: Collaborative Research for Education, Art, and Therapeutic Engagement (CREATE) Founder and Executive Director, FlowStory, PLLC
Overview of this webinar
Chair: Dr Jan Birtle
Speakers
- Training Mentors: Tips and Takeaways - Dr Nicola Baylis
- Supporting International Medical Graduates in the UK - Dr Hasanen Al-Taiar
- Peer Mentoring Network for Psychiatry Trainees in Northern Ireland - Dr Meta McGee
Overview
This webinar will give psychiatrists an insight into:
- The origins of today’s UK Jewish community, including the major immigration c.1880-1914; refugees from the Nazis; and more recently
- Jewish involvement in psychiatry, particularly the work of refugees who came to the UK in the 1930s
- Identity and diversity in the UK Jewish community
We will not be focusing on Jewish religious practice, information about which is more readily available.
Speakers
- Claire Hilton (Historian in residence, RCPsych) - Jewish identity and Prescot St E1 – From the 1911 Census to the Royal College of Psychiatrists
- David Luck (Archivist, Bethlem Museum of the Mind) - Three Jewish refugees from Nazi Europe: their identities and their contributions at the Maudsley Hospital and to UK psychiatry
- Igor Zinkov (Rabbi, Liberal Jewish Synagogue, London) - Jewish identities in the UK today
Overview
The recent RCPsych data analysis has highlighted that Black, Asian and minority ethnic staff working in mental health settings experience racism and discrimination in their workplace. These findings also corroborate with results from previously conducted surveys.
As part of Black History Month, the Royal College of Psychiatrists and Association of Black Psychiatrists UK are hosting a webinar examining these issues, their impact on staff wellbeing and patient care as well as how racial discrimination could be tackled in the workplace.
Speakers
This webinar will involve a round table discussion from a fantastic lineup of speakers including, Professor Anton Emmanuel, Professor Dawn Edge, Dr Aggrey Burke and Dr Rasheedah Bankole.
The session will be chaired by Dr Tim Ojo.
As part of our 180th Anniversary webinar series, join us for this live debate: "Should psychiatrists from history be judged by today’s standards?"
Speakers
This webinar will be chaired by Paul Rees and feature speakers:
- Simon Wessely
- Rob Poole
Henry Maudsley was a leading psychiatrist of the late 19th century. Amongst his many achievements, he co-edited the Journal of Mental Science (now the British Journal of Psychiatry) and he was President of the Medico-Psychological Association (now the Royal College of Psychiatrist). He made a large donation to found the Maudsley Hospital and a bronze bust still sits in the entrance hall.
However, he was a vocal opponent of higher education for woman and an active opponent of Elizabeth Garrett Anderson in her campaign for women to be admitted into the medical profession. He was a leading advocate of hereditary degeneration as the cause of mental disorder and a therapeutic nihilist. He had some role in the development of psychiatric eugenics.
Should Maudsley be judged by the standards of today, in which case should the hospital be renamed and his bust removed, or should we judge him by the standards of the time he lived in? Simon Wessely and Rob Poole debate the question with respect to Maudsley and other controversial psychiatrists of the past.
We are all aware that physical activity, or lack of it, has a huge impact on our mental health, but how many of us know the science behind it, are active ourselves or actively encourage our patients to move?
This webinar will explore the impressive impacts of being active on mental health, cover the latest research on this topic, discuss enablers and barriers to physical activity in inpatient mental health settings, and will introduce social prescribing as a route into increased activity for all members of our communities.
This webinar will also introduce an exciting new project for mental health service users providing free sessions of activity and exercise on prescription.
Speakers include:
- Katherine Kennet
- Caz Nahman
- Nicole Lekka
- Kenny Butler
The next webinar in our 180th Anniversary series of free #RCPsychLive webinars was the The Impact of War on Psychiatry in the UK: Planning After a Prolonged Crisis, which took place on Thursday 16 September from 4pm - 5pm.
Overview of this webinar
Chair: Dr Trudi Seneviratne
Speakers
• Professor Edgar Jones - Mental Health Service reform post WW2
• Dr Geraldine Strathdee – How should long term mental health policy be planned post-pandemic?
• Q&A
- the role and benefits of digital technology in delivering better mental health pathways
- experiences from those who have implemented digital into mental health services, the successes and challenges
- the wider range of digital tools covered in the playbook via an interactive discussion
- future opportunities for expansion of this dynamic digital resource to improve patient care.
Agenda
Feedback and Q&A Panel - Facilitated by Lisa Hollins and Dr Paul Bradley
Chair: Professor George Ikkos
Speaker: Dr Awais Aftab
Awais Aftab, MD is Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Case Western Reserve University, USA, and staff psychiatrist at Northcoast Behavioral Healthcare (Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services). He has been actively involved in initiatives to educate psychiatrists and trainees on the intersection of philosophy, psychiatry, and history. He leads the popular interview series “Conversations in Critical Psychiatry” for Psychiatric Times, which engages with commentators within and outside the profession who have made meaningful criticisms of the status quo. He is an executive council member of the Association for the Advancement of Philosophy and Psychiatry and senior media editor for the journal Philosophy, Psychiatry, and Psychology.
The next webinar in our 2021 series of free #RCPsychLive webinars - History of Psychiatry Special Interest Group: Future Archives Winners - took place on Thursday 12 August from 4pm - 5pm.
The webinar showcased the winners of the recent 'Future Archives' competition, organised as part of the College's 180th anniversary celebrations, inviting people to contribute their thoughts and impressions of psychiatry and mental health services today. Through these archives, the College provided a broad perspective about what mental health care is like now, for future generations.
The competition closed on 30 April 2021, and received over 60 entries, delivered in a variety of formats including essays, poems, stories, film, paintings and cartoon strips to name a few. The entries were assessed by a diverse panel of judges, including a journalist, a clinician, a patient, and a historian.
There were 4 winners of the competition, Alea (patient winner), Rachel Cullivan (medic winner), Karrish Devan (medic winner) and Jennifer Parker (medic winner).
The webinar was chaired by the President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, Dr Adrian James, and the winners presented their entries and talk about their inspiration for their writing.
Programme
1. Welcome - Dr Adrian James
2. The masks we wear - Dr Karrish Devan
3. The underbelly of a pandemic - Dr Jennifer Parker
4. What was psychiatry like in 2020-2021 - Dr Rachael Cullivan
5. Alea's poem entry - Presented by Dr Joanna Cannon
6. Q&A
Watch the webinar here.
Mental Health Act 1983 and MHA Review - Steve Gilbert
Each of the speakers gave a short presentation and this was then followed by a Q&A discussion, chaired by Professor Ikkos.
Join us for this webinar as part of South Asian History Month, where our speakers discuss the impact and challenges of COVID-19 on South Asian doctors and clinicians in mental health trusts.
This session was chaired by the College's Dean, Professor Subodh Dave.
Our speakers include:
- Collaboration at a time of crisis - Dr Ananta Dave
- The impact of covid on South Asian communities - Dr Saadia Muzaffar
- Mental Health in the times of Covid-19 pandemic: south Asian experience - Professor Dinesh Bhugra
- Dr Irfan Akhtar
This webinar, chaired by Professor Wendy Burn CBE, explores aspects of psychiatry from the perspective of the devolved nations.
Speakers include:
- Vice-Chair, Dr Michael Doherty, who presents on the 'Influences on the Development of Psychiatry in Northern Ireland'.
- Professor Rab Houston of the School of History, University of St Andrews who provides a summary of the development of mental healthcare in Wales, Scotland, and the island of Ireland over the last 200 years.
- Professor Rob Poole who presents on, ‘In Glyndwr’s stronghold: Psychiatry in North Wales 1990-2021’.
The RCPsych and Rainbow SIG are proud to present a webinar in honour of Pride month. The webinar will be an opportunity to share and reflect on experiences of LGBTQ+ people, through personal and professional journeys.
Hosted by Dr Pavan Joshi, incoming Chair of the Rainbow SIG with talks from:
- Professor Dinesh Bhugra, Former RCPsych President
- Professor Saul Levin, CEO of American Psychiatric Association
- Dr Louise Theodosiou, a prominent RCPsych member
- Dr Paul Gilluley, Chief Medical Officer for East London.
Dr Derek Tracy will explore how should services be planned in the 21st Century
This was followed by a Q&A session.
David Lammy MP is the Shadow Justice Secretary and led the Lammy review into the treatment and outcomes for Black And Minority Ethnic (BAME) people in the Criminal Justice System.
Dr Lade Smith and Dr Raj Mohan the RCPsych Presidential leads for Race and Equality will discuss with him the challenges to mental health and health inequalities faced by Black and Minority Ethnic people in Britain today.
This was followed by a Q&A session.
On 27 May 2021, we delivered a webinar on the principles and practice of Psychological First Aid, focusing on the devastating effect of COVID-19 in India and the wider South Asian region.
We worked with the College’s Presidential Lead for COVID-19, Emergency Preparedness and Mental Health and our Volunteering and International Psychiatry Special Interest Group (VIPSIG) to deliver this free webinar. The six excellent speakers below delivered the webinar via Zoom:
- Professor Mohammed Al-Uzri, RCPsych Presidential Lead for International Affairs
- Professor Richard Williams, RCPsych Presidential Lead COVID-19, Emergency Preparedness and Mental Health
- Dr Peter Hughes, VIPSIG
- Dr Anis Ahmed, VIPSIG Chair elect
- Dr Sophie Thomson, VIPSIG Chair
- Dr Bhavana Chawda, BIPA Vice President
Dr Helen Boyle (1869–1957), the first woman president of this College, gave her presidential address on 12 July 1939 and it was published in The Journal of Mental Science, September 1939. Dr Boyle worked with patients with the ‘early signs of nervous disorder’ and her primary objective was to avoid certification and asylum admission.
From 1904 Dr Boyle travelled to Glasgow, Germany, France and Austria to explore the voluntary admission systems and clinics for mental health care. In 1910 she travelled to Munich to meet Emile Kraepelin and in 1913 she met Adolf Meyer in the USA. In 1920 she was invited to the USA and Canada to speak about her work and explore developments in psychological medicine.
Dr Boyle was a vigorous proponent of non-asylum treatment with outpatient facilities, which was the antithesis of the care generally available in England at the time because of the strict lunacy laws.
Many of Helen Boyle’s ideas and principles are still valued in today’s community care, perinatal psychiatry, and Child and Adolescent MH Services.
Boyle wrote that her presidential address caused her ‘considerable anxiety’ and my webinar will explore her work and identify the reasons why this presidency was not only a surprise but also a source of anxiety.
This 180th Anniversary webinar will be chaired by Dr Gianetta Rands and will include a presentation and Q&A with Dr Louise Westwood.
Overview
The RCPsych will later this month launch the first ever membership survey in its 180-year history – which will be open to all members between 19 May-13 June.
In the session, our President Dr Adrian James, our Registrar Dr Trudi Seneviratne and our Associate Registrar Dr Santosh Mudholkar will look at what the survey means for the RCPsych. Meanwhile, Research by Design will talk about the methodology they plan to use for the survey.
MindEd is a free e-learning service aimed at equipping both specialist and universal health professionals, teaching staff and members of the public with evidence-based information about children, young people, adults with learning disability and older people’s mental health. MindEd provides CPD opportunities for professionals and empowers users with the confidence and skills to understand, identify, and address mental health challenges.
This session will introduce MindEd, core areas of focus (including key programmes delivered through the pandemic), its current programmes and its different e-learning formats.
Speakers
- Dr Raphael Kelvin - National Clinical Lead, MindEd
- Harry Weber-Brown - Programme Manager, MindEd
Overview
In this free webinar, Richard Smith, chair of the UK Health Alliance on Climate Change (of which RCPsych is a member), introduced Dr Fiona Godlee, Editor in Chief of the BMJ, Dr Nick Watts, Chief Sustainability Officer of NHS England, and Dr Lisa Page, Chair of the RCPsych Sustainability Committee, who discussed why climate change is a mental health issue, the NHS’s plans for net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, and the role that Psychiatry can play in improving the health of people and the planet.
Overview
- How imaging is making an impact on patient care. Translating the value of modern imaging methods from the research lab to the clinic
- Brain imaging Part 1: Methods and techniques. The pros and cons of selected imaging techniques, including PET, (f)MRI and MEG. Understanding and interpreting results
- Brain imaging Part 2: Using imaging techniques in selected psychiatric disorders. How can imaging help with patient management?
Speakers
- Dr Matt Wall – Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, UCL and Hon Snr Lecturer, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College, London
- Professor Wendy Burn – Co-Chair, RCPsych Gatsby/Wellcome Neuroscience Project
This webinar was organised by the Northern and Yorkshire Division
Webinar overview
- Understand the principles of trauma informed care
- Understand the ways in which psychosis, treatment, and ethnicity can contribute to trauma
- Incorporate principles of trauma informed care into clinical practice.
Speakers
- Dr Peter Carter, consultant psychiatrist, joint lead for NELFT EIP. Director of Medical Education
- Dr Miriam Fornells-Ambrojo, consultant clinical psychologist, joint lead for NELFT EIP. Assistant Professor Psychology DClinPsy UCL
- Dr Mel O, Brien, clinical psychologist, NELFT EIP
- Dr Ruby Rathbone, Foundation Year 1 doctor. NELFT
Webinar Overview
Four authors present their essays on the topic “How the COVID-19 pandemic has taught be to be a better doctor/psychiatrist”, as chosen by the external judging panel of Honorary Fellows.
We are delighted to announce that Dr Lovett and Dr Evans will be joined by Dr Adrian James, President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. This webinar will also feature appearances by Honorary Fellows Stephen Fry and Alastair Campbell.
Webinar overview
This taster session covered some key situations in which psychiatrists have had to manage problems related to addiction. The focus was on clinical scenarios, with guidance on recognition and management.
Topics and Speakers
Q & A – 30 minutes
Speakers
- Dr Kate Lovett, Dean, Royal College of Psychiatrists
- Dr Claire Hilton, Consultant Psychiatrist, RCPsych Historian in Residence
- Dr Rajesh Mohan, Presidential Lead on Race and Equality
- Dr Gianetta Rands, Consultant Psychiatrist
- Dr Fiona Subotsky, Consultant Psychiatrist and former RCPsych Treasurer
Topics covered
- Specialist assessment and management of young onset dementia
- Recent advances in the understanding of young onset dementia
- Interplay with neurology
- Transition between different services: mental health services, memory services, neurology, primary care, local authorities, specialist tertiary services.
Speakers
- Dr Mohan Bhat, Consultant Old Age Psychiatrist, Associate Medical Director for Barking and Dagenham North East London NHS Foundation Trust
- Dr Janet Carter, Consultant in Old Age Psychiatry, Older Adults Community Mental Health Team and Memory Service, Romford
- Dr Paul Gallagher, Psychiatrist, East London NHS Foundation Trust
- Dr Joanne Hew, Psychiatrist, East London NHS Foundation Trust
This webinar aimed to help psychiatrists and other frontline healthcare workers understand some of the thinking behind the vaccine roll-out and the key issues to consider when offering the vaccine to those with a severe mental illness, intellectual disability and/or dementia.
Topics covered
- Overview of the vaccination programme
- Insight into how decisions should be made about the administering of vaccines
- Discussion around some of the ways capacity to consent has been addressed with patients
Speakers
- Dr Adrian James - President of Royal College of Psychiatrists
- Dr Jonathan Leach OBE - NHS England Medical Director for COVID-19 Immunisation
- Mr Alex Ruck Keene - Barrister and Visiting Senior Lecturer at King’s College London
- Dr Mani Krishnan - Chair of the Faculty of Old Age Psychiatry at the Royal College of Psychiatrists
- Dr Ken Courtenay - Chair of the Faculty of the Psychiatry of Intellectual Disability
- Dr Victoria Sullivan - Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist
Each of the speakers gave a short presentation on their area of expertise and this was then followed by a Q&A from the audience, which was chaired by Adrian James.
This webinar aimed to introduce the best places to find evidence to support your day to day practice and research projects.
Learning objectives:
- find out what resources are out there to support everyday practice and research projects. Which should be used in different situations
- learn about point of care tools and explore BMJ Best Practice
- learn how to effectively and efficiently search databases of medical literature
- learn about Open Access research and how it can be accessed
- find out about and download useful apps.
Topics to be covered:
- levels of evidence – what to search and when
- point of care tools – BMJ Best Practice
- Open Access Research
- useful apps
- how to find what you want in healthcare research databases, such as Medline and PsychINFO, including Boolean searching, search tips, limiting your results and exporting.
- how to search the databases and journals provided by the NHS
how to search the databases and journals provided by the RCPsych.
Speakers
This webinar was chaired by Dr Luke Baker (Chair, PTC) and delivered by Fiona Watson (RCPsych Library and Archives Manager).
The webinar will focus on the work of the College's quality networks and accreditation schemes. We will explore the benefits of being a peer reviewer - both to a psychiatrist's own professional development and also in supporting improving quality in their service.
Speakers
- Peter Thompson - Introduction to the CCQI and overview of process
- Dr Trudi Seneviratne - Personal experience of benefit to own service from participating
- Dr Vishelle Kamath - how being a reviewer helps with professional development
The webinar is part of a campaign the CCQI is running over the next few months to boost the number of psychiatrist reviewers across the networks.
This webinar covered the controversy that surrounded the transition to becoming a Royal College in 1971, 50 years ago.
The webinar features the first screening of short video about The Petition Group, a band of rebel Junior Doctors who objected to way the College was being formed and the bitter conflict that erupted as a result. The screening was followed by a panel discussion to examine the issues in greater detail and consider the impact that it has had on the College today.
This webinar was chaired by former president, Professor Dinesh Bhugra, alongside our panelists Sir David Goldberg, Professor John Gunn, Dr Angela Rouncefield & Dr Peter Noble.