PRESS RELEASE
UCC hosts conference on the value of psychiatric diagnoses
12 and 13 November 2014
The fifth edition (2013) of the Diagnostic Statistical Manual (DSM) has once
again intensified the debate about the value of psychiatric diagnoses in
understanding and responding to human distress. This conference, now in its
6th year, aims to explore critical perspectives and creative responses beyond
psychiatric diagnoses.
Olga Runciman, a psychiatric survivor, today works as a psychologist and is the
Chair of the Danish Hearing Voices Network. She talks about her experiences of
having being labeled schizophrenic: treatment is determined by those making
the diagnosis …psychiatric diagnoses have social consequences. She refuses to
be defined within a narrow illness context, and through her work in the
Hearing Voices Movement, challenges psychiatry’s diagnostic paradigm.
Wilma Boevink, from the Netherlands, also describes herself as psychiatric
survivor. She works as a social scientist. She points out that for people using
mental health services there is the risk of being reduced to a disturbed object or
to the disorder itself, with interventions often aimed at biological factors while
the psychosocial context is ignored. In her presentation Wilma will draw on her
own experiences to illustrate the damaging and sometimes disastrous effects
of the use of the DSM in psychiatry. She offers more hopeful alternatives she
has found helpful after 25 years of struggling as a ‘chronic psychiatric patient’.
In contrast, Stuart Neilson, who lectures about the autism spectrum and
mental health in Adult Continuing Education, UCC, takes a different position.
Stuart was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome in 2009 at the age of 45,
following a number of years of ineffective psychiatric treatment: my own
interactions with mental health services have benefited immeasurably from a
diagnosis of Asperger syndrome. He adds that accurate labels can act as the
gateway to resources and shorthand to the most appropriate therapy. He
concludes that alternative, and often imposed labels of difference, including
playground taunts, co-workers' put-downs and medical professionals'
dismissals of being difficult or uncooperative are invariably less kind, more
exclusionary and less effectual than autism spectrum disorder.
The value of critical thinking and political action in achieving change and
transformation in mental health care will also be addressed at the conference.
Pat Bracken, Clinical Director of the Mental Health Service in West Cork,
Ireland argues that unless professionals are able to embrace critical reflection
on their assumptions, values and practices, their engagement with the recovery
approach will be superficial at best and tokenistic at worst. David Harper, a
Reader in Clinical Psychology at the University of East London, suggests that we
need to develop a broader range of tactics focused on the institutional pillars
that support psychiatric diagnosis
The conference organisers, Harry Gijbels and Lydia Sapouna, are anticipating
another successful conference: we hope that the conference offers delegates
the opportunities to critically think about the value and relevance of psychiatric
diagnoses, and learn about ways to work outside this narrow way in
understanding and responding to human distress.
This conference is unique as it is free for all participants and involves people
from diverse backgrounds (self-experience, survivors, professionals,
academics, carers/supporters) presenting, discussing and debating critical and
creative perspectives on and beyond the dominant bio-medical approach. The
2010 conference saw the launch of the Critical Voices Network Ireland (CVNI),
a network of people interested in considering and developing responses to
human distress, which are creative, enabling, respectful and firmly grounded in
human rights. The conference will include an open forum to discuss the ongoing work of the CVNI.
Keynote Speakers: Pat Bracken, Consultant Psychiatrist and Clinical Director,
West Cork Mental Health Service; Wilma Boevink, Expert by Experience, Social
Scientist, Netherlands; David Harper, Reader in Clinical Psychology, University
of East London. Stuart Neilson, lecturer Adult Continuing Education University
College Cork, Ireland; Olga Runciman, psychiatric survivor and chair of the
Danish Haring Voices network, Denmark; Jim Walsh PhD candidate, Dublin City
University, Ireland.
Concurrent sessions: the conference includes 31 concurrent sessions reflecting
the conference theme.
The Conference organisers are Harry Gijbels, Catherine McAuley School of
Nursing and Midwifery, and Lydia Sapouna, School of Applied Social Studies,
University College Cork, Ireland.
Programme details available on
http://www.ucc.ie/en/nursingmidwifery/news/
Contact details: Lydia Sapouna l.sapouna@ucc.ie tel. 087-9225910; Harry
Gijbels h.gijbels@ucc.ie tel. 085-7554220