Effecting Change: ending coercion in mental health settings and effecting social reforms to address distress

3rd CICSI Summer School Convenors

Professsor Fabian Freyenhagen and Dr Polona Curk, founding Co-Directors of CICSI.

CICSI Summer School Speakers:

We are still completing the line-up of speakers for the 3rd CICSI Summer School, but the following have already agreed to come:

• Professor Mary Boyle: Emeritus Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of East London; held NHS posts in adult mental health and women's health. Author of "Schizophrenia: A scientific delusion?" and many articles and chapters on feminist approaches to women's health and on problems of and alternatives to psychiatric diagnosis. Lead author, with Lucy Johnstone, of the Power Threat Meaning Framework.  
• Ed Davie (Centre for Mental Health, London): lead author of A Mentally Healthier Nation: Towards a ten-year, cross-government plan for better prevention, equality and support; designer and deliverer of the Thrive LDN Mentally Healthier Councils training programme delivered to 532 elected members in 32 boroughs; over a decade as a Local Government Association Expert Peer advising councils all over England, and serving as a senior Lambeth Councillor including as Cabinet Member and LGIU-award-winning scrutiny chair; studied social determinants of health with Professor Sir Michael Marmot at University College London. 
• Professor Fabian Freyenhagen (University of Essex): Professor of Philosophy and member of the Essex Human Rights Centre. Working in areas of Social and Political Philosophy and Philosophy of Psychiatry, with a focus on mental distress and its social conditions, and on autonomy in the contexts of care. Author of Adorno's Practical Philosophy: Living Less Wrongly, and papers on Critical Theory and Social Pathology. CICSI's founding director.
• Dr Roberto Mezzina: former Director of the Dipartimento di Salute Mentale / WHO Collaborating Centre for Research and Training, Azienda Sanitaria Universitaria Integrata Trieste, Italy. Publications including on Basaglia’s impact, deinstitutionalisation, and empowerment; supporting the development of community-based services and programs, which are person-centred and value-based (human rights), including in a London Borough.
• Professor Dainius Pūras: Professor of child psychiatry and public mental health at Vilnius University, Lithuania and director of the Human Rights Monitoring Institute, an NGO based in Vilnius. Former UN Special Rapporteur on the right to physical and mental health. Spent the last three decades on promoting a human rights-based approach to health policies and services. His 2017 report as Special Rapporteur was a landmark report on mental health provision, calling for an end to coercion and for addressing the wider social context.      

Change: ending coercion in mental health settings and effecting social reform, the 3rd CICSI Summer School, is held over 2 days and consists of a mixture of presentations, interactive exercises, and case study discussions. Starting 10am on Thursday 12 June and finishing on Friday 13 June 5pm (dinner on Thursday, and lunch and refreshments on both days are provided).

Here is the provisional summary of the programme:

Day 1: Ending coercion in mental health settings  

This is an explicit UN goal since 2017, but its implementation faces many obstacles. The first day will be dedicated to understanding what coercion is and how to recognise and evaluate it in its manifold guises; how ending it was adopted as a goal by the WHO and UN, and what good practices exist that make this a feasible goal to aim for; how to navigate challenging situations with those in severe distress without coercion; and what kind of service infrastructure needs to be in place for this.

Day 2: Effecting social reforms to address distress

Participants of the successful 2024 summer school requested more on how to contribute to wide social changes that would prevent from distress arising in the first place. We will hear from a policy leads expert that will offer training on impacting government policy, from an activist about building social movements, from pioneering psychologist about how to tackle social-political issues in therapy settings, and consider what shifts in values and conceptions of the self might be necessary for wider social reforms. 

The fees for the Change: ending coercion in mental health settings and effecting social reform course are: 

Course fee does not include accommodation (See Accommodation section for more details).

Fee includes:

• 1 Evening meal* and networking.
• Daily lunches* and refreshments from our on-campus caterer.
• A CICSI certificate upon completing your course.

To take advantage of our Early Bird Discount please submit payment by 5 April 2025.

The delivery of this course is dependent on a minimum number of applicants. In the unlikely event that this minimum is not met, we would have to reconsider the feasibility of running this course.

Accommodation can be booked (and paid) separately. 

There are two options on campus:

Option One:

Essex University Student Accommodation: £45 per person per night (this does not include breakfast; there are various food options on campus and a supermarket nearby) or £51 per person per night, with breakfast included.

The rooms are in easy walking distance of the summer school venue.

To book please visit:

Book Bed & Breakfast accommodation at the University of Essex hotel and conference venues and enter one of the following promo codes:

CICSIRO (for room only)

CICSIBB (for bed and breakfast)

If you wish to book over the phone, you can call 01206 872358. The office opening times are Monday-Thursday (9am-5:15pm) and Friday (9am-4:30pm).

Accommodation bookings are non-refundable.

Option Two:

Wivenhoe House Hotel: this 4-Star hotel is also the summer school venue, and there are a limited number of rooms available which you can book either directly by contacting reservations@wivenhoehouse.co.uk or by finding the best available rates on different platforms.