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RCPsych Special Interest Groups Annual reports to Council 2013

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SIG reports 2013 1 ADOLESCENT FORENSIC PSYCHIATRY SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP (AFPSIG)

2013 ANNUAL REPORT TO COUNCIL

The last year has again been active within the Adolescent Forensic SIG.

Our meetings at both Child and Adolescent and Forensic Faculty residential conferences have been well attended.

We continue to build links with colleagues in other disciplines and their professional bodies (BPS and Adolescent Forensic Network).

Numerous presentations ( a higher proportion than ever) at the Royal College Residential Child and Adolescent Faculty Meeting in Edinburgh were undertaken by members of the SIG.

We continue to have been involved in a range of national consultations in the area of youth justice, mental health and safeguarding.

We arranged a SIG conference in October 2012 in London on the minimum age of criminal responsibility, papers from which have now published in a peer-reviewed journal: ‘Youth Justice’. A further conference is planned for March 2014 at the Royal College on aspects of security as it relates to children and young people.

We have supported and been actively involved in recent moves to develop more coherent commissioning arrangements for FCAMHS and numerous members of the SIG executive are members of the NHS England clinical reference group (CRG).

We have developed terms of reference and a section on our web-site for a research sub-group.

We continue to have an active, enthusiastic executive and a large membership and look forward to further progress in 2014.

Nick Hindley, Chair, AFSIG December 27th 2013

SIG reports 2013 2 Royal College of Psychiatrists Philosophy and Psychiatry Special Interest Group

Annual Report to Council: November 2013

The Philosophy and Psychiatry Special Interest Group (SIG) has now been running for over 15 years. It was set up to provide a forum for dialogue between philosophers and psychiatrists. The Group has over 1200 members.

The SIG Executive Committee has the following membership:-

Dr. John Callender Chair Dr. Jonathon Hurlow Financial Officer Dr. Drozdstoj Stoyanov Vice Chair Dr. Allerdiena Hubbeling Web Page Adviser Dr. Steve Ramplin Joint Newsletter Editor Dr. Abdi Sanati Joint Newsletter Editor

Other SIG Committee members are Dr. Gwen Adshead, Dr. Ralf-Peter Behrendt, Dr. Matthew Broome, Dr. Lisa Conlan, Dr. Subodh Dave, Professor Bill Fulford, Professor Julian Hughes, Dr. Afzal Javed, Dr. Elselijn Kingma, Dr. Marek Marzanski, Dr. Edward Mitchell, Dr. Gareth Owen, Dr. Hannah Pickard and Dr. Tim Thornton.

We were delighted to welcome Professor Deborah Bowman to our Committee in October of this year. Professor Bowman is Professor of Bio-Ethics, Clinical Ethics and Medical Law at St. George’s, University of London. She has a high profile in the academic and popular press. Her academic interests concern the role of emotion in ethical decision making, professional identities and public involvement in moral decisions in healthcare and therapeutic relationships.

The SIG Committee has regular meetings. These have a dual function. The first is to plan direct activities of the Special Interest Group. The second is to act as a forum in which ideas for academic activity such as conferences and teaching are shared and developed.

We have a total of £4471 in our bank account. We hope to supplement this with profit from the conference that we held this year. Other than this we have no funding stream. We were able to offer a small number of travel grants to philosophers attending our conference and wish to expand this and other activities in support of our aims.

The SIG Committee is very keen to take philosophy and psychiatry out into the wider world of clinical practice, teaching and training and psychiatric research. In relation to training, the SIG submitted comments to the Curriculum Committee suggesting amendments to the core curriculum. The Core Curriculum Review Group have noted these changes and have asked Dr. Subodh Dave to prepare a brief explanatory note to the Registrar of the College to ensure that the proposed changes are in consonance with the general thinking of the College.

SIG reports 2013 3 The Philosophy SIG publishes a regular newsletter which is placed on our web page on the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ web site. The newsletter has over 3600 recipients. It provides a forum for notification of conference proceedings. Its content includes book reviews and original papers on philosophy and psychiatry.

The highlight of the previous year has been the Philosophy and Psychiatry Special Interest Group’s Second UK Conference on Philosophy and Psychiatry. This was held on 3rd and 4th October, 2013, in Edinburgh. Our plan is that this will be a regular biennial meeting.

The programme comprised a diverse range of sessions, covering themes such as mental illness and moral responsibility, the nature of personality disorder, psychiatry and the extended mind, coercive treatment, practical ethics and concepts of mental illness. Keynote lectures were given by Professor Bill Fulford and Professor Jonathon Hill. (Copy of programme attached).

The Conference was attended by 110 delegates, which took it to full capacity. In the week prior to the Conference we were in the unfortunate position of having to turn away applicants for places.

The Philosophy and Psychiatry Special Interest Group was represented at the Forensic Faculty Conference in Copenhagen in February of 2013. Members of the SIG contributed to a workshop on personality disorder and moral responsibility.

The SIG is one of the academic sponsors of the 16th International Conference on Philosophy, Psychiatry and Psychology of the International Network of Philosophy and Psychiatry (INPP). This will be held in Bulgaria between 26th and 29th June, 2014. The Conference Chair is Dr. Drozdstoj Stoyanov, who is Vice Chair of the SIG. Professor Bill Fulford and Dr. John Callender are members of the International Advisory Board.

The Philosophy and Psychiatry Special Interest Group was an academic sponsor for the Oxford Summer School in Philosophy and Psychiatry. This was also fully sold out, despite a high registration fee.

The Philosophy and Psychiatry Special Interest Group contributed to the “Travelling Symposium” that replaced the 2013 INPP Annual Conference. This comprised three co-ordinated conferences at Durham, King’s College, London, and Oxford. All of these were very well attended and produced excellent feedback.

A conference was hosted on 8th October, 2013, by the Royal Society of Medicine, entitled “Power and Pitfalls of Psychopathology: Marking 100 years since the publication of Karl Jasper’s General Psychopathology”. This was a joint meeting set up by the Maudsley Philosophy Group and the London Division of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and was supported by the SIG. This was fully subscribed with an audience of clinicians at all stages of seniority.

Dr. Elselijn Kingma organised a one day conference at King’s College, London, in December 2012, on “Boorse and Commentators”.

SIG reports 2013 4 Members of the SIG have been involved in a number of significant publications. Professor Bill Fulford is Lead Editor of the Oxford Handbook of Philosophy and Psychiatry, published in July of 2013. This is the first in a series of Handbooks. The Oxford Handbook of Psychiatric Ethics will be published in 2015 with John Sadler as Lead Editor. Dr. Matthew Broome and Dr. Gareth Owen are Co-Editors of the Maudsley Reader in Phenomenological Psychiatry, published by Cambridge University Press in January of 2013.

The Oxford Series, International Perspectives on Philosophy and Psychiatry, continues to flourish. It published its 40th volume this year on “A Century of Karl Jasper’s General Psychopathology by Giovanni Stanghellini and Thomas Fuchs.

The field of philosophy and psychiatry is enjoying what seems to be exponential growth. One manifestation of this is the permanent endowment of the Fulford-Clarendon Tutorial Fellowship at the University of Oxford in the philosophy of mind, with particular relevance to psychiatry and the cognitive neurosciences.

We believe that the Philosophy and Psychiatry Special Interest Group is one of the main forums in the UK which inter-disciplinary work in philosophy and psychiatry can be promoted and developed. This is an area that is becoming of increasing importance to clinicians. The world of psychiatry is engaged in intense debates about concepts and practice in psychiatric diagnosis. Developments in neuroscience and molecular genetics are raising important questions about agency, responsibility and desert in mentally abnormal offenders. The question of capacity has come to the fore in the context of legislative developments in all parts of the UK.

The Philosophy SIG Committee appreciates the support that it receives from the College and hopes that this fruitful relationship will continue into the future.

Dr. John Callender MD FRCPsych Chair, Philosophy and Psychiatry Special Interest Group

22nd November, 2013 Back to top

SIG reports 2013 5 The Royal College of Psychiatrists Philosophy and Psychiatry Special Interest Group Second UK Conference on Philosophy rd th and Psychiatry Thursday 3 and Friday 4 October 2013 Carlton Hotel, Edinburgh

Programme Thursday 3rd October 2013

10.00 – 10.30 Arrival, Registration, tea and Coffee

10.30 – 10.35 Welcome from Chair Dr John Callende r

Keynote Lecture, Highland Suite

10.35 – 11.15 Celebrating Jaspers’ Centenary: the Next Hundred Years Professor Bill Fulford

11.15-11.30 Tea & coffee served

Parallel Session 1: Mental symptoms and mental states Highland Suite Chaired by Professor Julian Hughes

11.30 - 13.00

Mental symptoms as hybrid objects Ivana S. Marková Reader/Honorary Consultant in Psychiatry, Hull York Medical School

Wittgenstein's private language refutation and the 'mental state' examination Miles Clapham, Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, Bedford

Parallel Session 2: Reflections on the self Sutherland Suite Chaired by Dr Iain Smith

11.30 - 13.00

The role of self-reflection in schizophrenia Anke Maatz, Psychiatric University Hospital, Zurich

The Possibility of Altruism Sarah Majid, Consultant Psychiatrist in Psychotherapy, Tavistock Centre, London

SIG reports 2013 6 13.00 - 14.00 Buffet Lunch served

rd th Please note that Thursday 3 October qualifies for 6 hours of CPD points and Friday 4 October qualifies for 4 hours subject to approval by the individual member’s Peer Group

Parallel Session 3: Mental Illness and Responsibility I Sutherland Suite Chaired by Dr Steve Ramplin

14.00-15.30

Mental Disorder as an Excuse Eric Matthews, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, University of Aberdeen

Attribution, Retribution and Consequences John Callender, University of Aberdeen

Parallel Session 4: What is mental illness? Highland Suite Chaired by Dr Abdi Sanati

14.00-15.30

What Is To Be Diagnosed? Jeffrey D. Bedrick, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia

Three Reasons why our Concepts of Mental and Physical Disorder Differ Elselijn Kingma, Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge

Parallel Session 5: Mental Illness and Responsibility II Sutherland Suite Chaired by Dr John Callender

15.45-17.15

Substantially impaired self control & moral responsibility Steve Ramplin, Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist, Tees Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust

Reforming Mental Incapacity Defences Elizabeth Shaw, Department of Law, University of Aberdeen

SIG reports 2013 7 Parallel Session 6: R.D. Laing in Context Highland Suite Chaired by Dr Iain Smith

15.45 - 17.15

Portrait of the Psychiatrist as a Young Man. The Early Writing and Work of R.D. Laing, 1927-1960. Allan Beveridge, Consultant Psychiatrist, NHS Fife

Sartre, Laing, and Phenomenological-Existential approaches to Psychopathology Matthew Broome, University of Oxford and Warneford Hospital, Oxford

17.15 - 18.30 Book Club Have you written, edited or made a major contribution to a book on philosophy or ethics in psychiatry? If so, you may wish to ‘showcase’ this at the conference book club. You will be offered a space for display copies and publicity materials and will have the chance to discuss your work with conference delegates. If you wish to do this, please send details of your book and some biographical information to the conference organiser, Angela Currie to acurr [email protected]

19.30 Conference Dinner, Carlton Hotel

Programme Friday 4th October 2013

08.45 – 09.00 Arrival, Registration, Tea and Coffee

Keynote Lecture, Highland Suite

09.00 - 09.45 Meaning, intentionality and mental disorder Jonathan Hill, University of Manchester

SIG reports 2013 8 Parallel Session 7: Ethics in Practice Highland Suite Chaired by Dr Abdi Sanati

09.45-11.15

Is this a dilemma I see before me? Theatrical perspectives on clinical ethics in psychiatry. Deborah Bowman, St. George’s, University of London

Assessment of mental capacity. Ethical dilemma or technical skill? David Findlay, Consultant Old Age Psychiatrist, NHS Tayside

Parallel Session 8: Personality Disorders Sutherland Suite Chaired by Dr Jonathan Hurlow

09.45-11.15

Personality disorders and the unsuccessful attempt to separate character from personality Konrad Banicki, Jagiellonian University, Krakow

Slanted & Enchanted: on having good reasons not to dislike people with borderline personality disorder Dimitrios Chartonas, Michalis Kyratsous and Angeliki Zoumpouli, North East London, East London and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trusts

rd th Please note that Thursday 3 October qualifies for 6 hours of CPD points and Friday 4 October qualifies for 4 hours subject to approval by the individual member’s Peer Group th Friday 4 October 2013 Parallel Session 9: Extended Psychiatry Highland Suite Chaired by Professor Julian Hughes

11.30-13.00

What is the Subject of Psychiatry? Implications of Extended Minds and Extended Evolution in Understanding Mental Disorder. Sean Roche, Consultant Psychiatrist, Visiting Research Fellow in Philosophy, Kings College London

Psychiatry and the extended mind Mark Sprevak, School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh

SIG reports 2013 9 Parallel Session 10: Coercion and Treatment Sutherland Suite Chaired by Dr David Findlay

11.30-13.00

The dark heart of psychiatry: drug treatment or chemical control? Joanna Moncrieff, Department of Mental Health Sciences, University College London

Are We Reading The Evidence Right? Abdi Sanati, Consultant Psychiatrist, North East London NHS Foundation Trust

13.00 Conference close and lunch

rd th Please note that Thursday 3 October qualifies for 6 hours of CPD points and Friday 4 October qualifies for 4 hours subject to approval by the individual member’s Peer Group Back to top

SIG reports 2013 10 Spirituality & Psychiatry Special Interest Group

Annual Report 2013

The Spirituality and Psychiatry Special Interest Group (SPSIG) has had another full year. In addition to our usual one-day conferences, this year we put on a training day under the auspices of the Centre for Advanced Learning and Conferences (CALC). Our aim in running the day was to cover a broad range of issues that would be of relevance to psychiatrists, especially those in training. Professor Chris Cook spoke on how spirituality is relevant to mental healthcare and ethical concerns and Dr Sarah Eagger talked about assessing spiritual needs. Dr Simon Dein reviewed the research and Reverend Paul Walker spoke on spiritual care giving and receiving. In addition there were a variety of workshops covering such topics as pathological spirituality, working with faith communities, spirituality and recovery, mindfulness, and how we use spirituality in the workplace. The day was extremely well received. Some people did find it costly – it was significantly more than our usual day conferences – and we were concerned that this may have prevented some people from attending. This is an issue we hope to address when running future training events.

In April we held a one day conference on “Furthering kindness and kinship in mental healthcare” organized by Dr Andrew Clark. The speakers for the day were Dr Penny Campling on “Culture, kinship and intelligent kindness”; Dr Andrew Powell on “Love versus fear: vocation under siege”; Reverend Professor Stephen Wright on “Keeping our hearts open in hell”; and Martin Wells on “Kindness – a natural condition”. The day gave an opportunity to explore this key human quality on a personal level, in relation to our patients, and at an institutional level.

We were pleased to be able to run our November meeting in the new College premises. Professor Simon Dein organized a day on “Brain disorders and spirituality”, and spoke on “Neurotheology: what have we learned?” Other contributions were from Dr Alasdair Coles on “Neurological disorders and spirituality”; Professor John Swinton on “Dementia and Spirituality”; and Dr Quentin Deeley on “Cognitive style, spirituality, and religious understanding: the case of autism”. The stimulating day provided the chance to reflect more fully on brain pathology and its relationship to spiritual experiences and spiritual care.

There have been a number of changes to the membership of the Executive. We were sad to say goodbye to Professor Andrew Sims, a former chair of the SPSIG and founding member; also to Dr Oyepeju Raji and to Dr Tim Read. All three have made significant contributions to the work of the SPSIG. I have taken over from Professor Chris Cook as chair of the SPSIG. We are very grateful to Professor Cook’s leadership and guidance during his term. Dr Sophie Thomson has taken over from me as financial officer. Dr Alison Gray continues as secretary. We welcomed three new members to the executive: Dr Rob Waller, Dr Chetna Kang and Dr Russell Razzaque.

SIG reports 2013 11 We were pleased to be able to award the SPSIG Essay Prize once again this year. Dr Andrew Powell continues as editor to maintain our website and as usual two issues of our Newsletter have been published. Dr Alison Gray continues to manage book reviews for publication on the website.

As well as contributing to the work of the College, the SPSIG continues to hold a space where psychiatrists can reflect on and debate issues to do with spirituality and its relation to psychiatry. We remain open to and interested in a wide variety of views, which can support exploration of this aspect of humanity.

Dr Paramabandhu Groves Chair, Spirituality & Psychiatry Special Interest Group November 2013

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SIG reports 2013 12 TRANSCULTURAL SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP ANNUAL REPORT 2012

The Transcultural Special Interest Group (TSIG) remained active since last years report. We remain committed to the work of the College; provide guidance to the College members and the public on transcultural psychiatry related matters. Our networking expanded and now involves wide range of interested individuals in Europe and North America. Our membership remains solid.

The group contributes to college’s consultations on policy and training. We have provided input into CPD programmes, reviewed articles and on one occasion a chapter in a book.

Transcultural SIG Symposia at The Royal College we have organised and Chaired four symposia: 1. Psychiatry in Asia 22.3.2013 at the Royal College of Psychiatrist: I gave a talk about Transcultural Psychiatry and my plans for the future of the group. I invited seven speakers to talk about different aspects of psychiatry in different countries of Asia and the Registrar of the Royal College chaired part of the meeting 2. Psychiatry in The Middle East; 21.6.2013 Royal College of Psychiatry. I gave a talk about Psychiatry in Yemen and Qatar and I invited six speaker two for outside the UK. I invited Sir Prof Robin Murray to chair part of the meeting. 3. Psychiatry in Africa 8.11.2013 at the Royal College of Psychiatry I invited seven speakers to talk about psychiatry in different parts of Africa. 4. I organised and Chaired Psychiatry in the Middle East in The International Cambridge and Luton Psychiatric conference 5-7 Sep 2013. I talked about psychiatry in Iraq and four other speakers talked about psychiatry in different parts of the Middle East..

College’s International Congress 2014

We submitted proposals for two symposia:

1. PRACTICING PSYCHIATRY IN CONFLICT ZONES. 2. TRANSCUTURAL PSYCHIATRY SYMPOSIUM.

Unfortunately we were unsuccessful and we would like more support from the college executive committee, to back our proposal.

Bulletin of TSIG

SIG reports 2013 13 We managed to put together an issue of our newsletter after an absence of nearly five years. It has an eleven item, reporting the SIG activities, Transcultural psychiatry articles, Transcultural news around the world and forthcoming activities around the world.

Finance

The finance of TSIG remains in a healthy status. We have appointed an interim treasurer following the resignation of the previous one. A new finance officer has been elected for the next term of the office.

Election of new officers

We Are in the process of selecting a Newsletter editor and members of the executive committee to help and coordinate the SIG activities at the College, in the United Kingdom and around the world.

New Challenges

The group was not that active for four years. We started this year and managed to organise four symposia at the Royal College and produced our newsletter.

Our ambition is to try to organise regular symposia at the Royal College, at least twice a year. To produce regular issues of our Newsletter twice a year.

To try to organise symposia in other parts of the United Kingdom and hopefully in other parts of the world.

To liaise with other cultural psychiatry SIG in Europe and in The United States .

We have submitted two proposals for symposia in the World Psychiatric Association Meeting in Madrid joint with European Cultural Psychiatry SIG.

Despite the fact that various groups and individuals do the cultural psychiatry work, I remain convinced that there is a big role for TSIG to play in the coming years and in highlighting the new developments in cultural psychiatry which is now a well established part of academic and clinical psychiatry.

Our plan is to make TSIG take more proactive role in promoting cultural aspects of psychiatric practice in the United Kingdom and other parts of the world.

Hellme Najim Chair November 2013 Back to top

SIG reports 2013 14 Volunteering and International Psychiatry Special Interest Group (VIPSIG) 2012-2013 Annual Report

Introduction The Volunteering and International Psychiatry Special Interest Group is now into a new phase of development following its initial launch on 22.6.2011. It has sustained a high amount of interest and enthusiasm among its members. The members now number over 1200.It retains its historical role as a compliment to the College Volunteer programme.

The Chair of the group resigned in 2013 and Dr. Peter Hughes became new Chair in September 2013. Dr. Hughes moving to this role created a vacancy for Finance Officer and elections are in process currently for this latter role. Dr Victor Doku remains as Secretary.

The maximum term for the elected officers (Chair and Financial Officer) is 4 years. All other appointments to the Committee are non-tenured and by invitation.

Review of Aims The aims of the group remain as on launch but the UK volunteering side has not mobilised interest.

The group aims to promote and support mental health globally, focusing on the low and middle-income countries as defined by the World Bank. The group reports to the College Council. The SIG hopes to support training and education in the international arena and will aim to:

 Promote volunteer work overseas and expand the population of people interested in this work;  Be a voice that will inform the College and serve as an agent in this work;  Have a fundraising role in order to develop its activities. However most of the fundraising activities of members are directed at supporting the Volunteer programme of the College.  Produce a newsletter in order to celebrate volunteerism in the UK and globally;  Establish E-groups in order to promote this field by regular discussion;  Promote appropriate training materials for volunteers overseas;  Explore web-based psychiatry training to assist training sites in mental health;  Establish links with non-governmental organisations and Diaspora communities;  Promote overseas electives for medical students and encouragement of psychiatry as a career; Promote the overseas experience in psychiatry as a desirable attribute for the NHS.

The group will have affiliations with non-College members and other disciplines. It will be open to all Diaspora communities and others who do not have a distinct ethnic orientation.

SIG reports 2013 15 Activities During 2012/2013

The meeting dates for 2012-2013 were:  19.10.2013 at College  26.4.2013 at College  13. 1.2013 in Birmingham  6.12.2012 at College  13.9.2012 at College  19.4.2012 at College  21.1.2012 in Birmingham mhGAP trainings  mhGAP Training in London March 8 and 9th 2013  mhGAP training in Manchester 8 and 9th September 2013

Representation at other meetings  Members have represented the Special Interest Group at many meetings during the year including other SIG meetings, annual congress, international meetings and trainings. Representation at medical student and postgraduate fora.

Communication  Website for the VIPSIG on the College website is active.  The VIPSIG newsletter: January 2012, April 2012, September 2012, January 2013, April 2013, October 2013. Editorial Team are Dr. Susannah Whitwell, Dr. Daniel Wolde- Giorgis, Dr. Manshant Rani Kaur, Dr. Kiran Purandare, and Dr. Lucy Potter  Twitter- This was started for several months but collapsed for technical reasons  Emails to members from Administration support Sue Duncan at College

Achievements 2012-2013  Annual conference in November 2012  mhGAP training was supported by donation from adult faculty of £5000 over 2 years. This has enabled free of charge training in London and Manchester which were very successful.  Fundraising development project created by SIG members to support Volunteering programme of College –Burma Trek  Increased numbers of members  Website –new articles of interest posted  New chair 2013

Finance The annual Business plan has been submitted by Finance officer for 2012-2013

 Adult faculty provided a donation of £5000 over 2 years, which has enabled mhGAP trainings.  A number of donations  Outlay remains minimal  Funds remain from conference 2012  Account is positive

SIG reports 2013 16 Communication  Members report some issues with communication and getting sufficient information on activities. Request for more direct and regular e-mail from VIPSIG  Twitter –This was started but collapsed but did not achieve purpose of easy communication  Some issues around data protection were raised in year but VIPSIG confident that there have not been Data Protection breaches.

Administration  Sue Duncan provides Administration support  Now there are assurances that there is no limit on e-mails to members.

Challenges in year 2012-2013  Communication with members –consistent feedback that members do not get enough communication from VIPSIG  UK volunteering arm still needs to be developed  Focus of enthusiasm of members into outcomes.  Budget

Progress in achieving aims  Promote volunteer work overseas and expand the population of people interested in this work- this is on-going and VIPSIG were highly instrumental in project in Kashmir 2013 through volunteers  Be a voice that will inform the College and serve as an agent in this work; Members are represented at College fora where advocacy can occur.  Have a fundraising role in order to develop its activities. However most of the fundraising activities of members are directed at supporting the Volunteer programme of the College. Some donations and conference planned for 2014  Produce a newsletter in order to celebrate volunteerism in the UK and globally; This continues to be very successful.  Establish E-groups in order to promote this field by regular discussion; This has not been successful. Twitter collapsed. We work towards further means of development.  Promote appropriate training materials for volunteers overseas; We have on website important and interesting documents. We continue to develop this area.  Explore web-based psychiatry training to assist training sites in mental health; This has not been achieved yet.  Establish links with non-governmental organisations and Diaspora communities; VIPSIG is active in Diaspora groups meetings. VIPSIG has been developing other contacts

 Promote overseas electives for medical students and encouragement of psychiatry as a career; Elective database remains an area of development. VIPSIG members have been active at career fairs, Medfest Promote the overseas experience in psychiatry as a desirable attribute for the NHS. Continued advocacy  Further aim is to be a source of expert technical advice on volunteering international and nationally

SIG reports 2013 17 Role and responsibilities  Role of chair, Finance officer and Secretary clearly indicated  Conference committee established  Fundraising committee established  Higher training representative  Core training representative  Medical student representative  UK volunteering lead

Some of these later roles need more formal development

VIPSIG have been formally asked to adopt a model of executive meetings separate from members meetings with agenda and minutes available on website.

Plan for 2013-2014  Consolidate and develop aims  UK volunteering  Adopt more formal executive SIG structure  Newsletter  Meetings  Conference  mhGAP training  Fundraising for VIPSIG as well as for volunteers programme of College  Focus energy and enthusiasms into outcomes  Develop a body of technical expertise  Raise profile of SIG in health and intersectoral fora.

Acknowledgement We acknowledge support of Sue Duncan, Veena Verdi and College in our Special Interest Group as well as all the energy and enthusiasm of members

Dr Peter Hughes Chair 19.11.2013

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SIG reports 2013 18 WOMEN AND MENTAL HEALTH SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP (WMHSIG) ANNUAL REPORT 2013

The Executive Committee has continued its work over the past year, and as usual members of the committee have responded to consultations, organised conferences, written articles and examined issues around training. We continue to input widely, both within the College and externally.

During the past year we have welcomed new members onto the executive committee, including new vice chair Dr Carol Henshaw, Dr Sarah Cohen, Dr Rina Gupta (website), Dr Claudia Cooper (academic secretary), Dr Rebecca Marriott (PTC representative) and our first male executive committee member, Dr Ben Neroli. We thank Dr Maria Atkins, Anya Topiwala and Gira Patel who have stepped down from the committee for their excellent contributions.

Our 2013 AGM took place at the Annual Congress in July. The meeting was attended by Dr Lawrence Mynors Wallis who contributed to a discussion regarding how the College can assist with communication between the executive committee and the wider SIG membership. Since then communication has improved and it is anticipated that this will facilitate programmes of work going forward.

Our current workstream focusses on the mental health of women in disadvantaged groups. The output of this workstream along with other projects will inform a larger project aimed at developing a curriculum in women’s mental health for psychiatric trainees. Unfortunately the conference planned around this workstream has had to be postponed due to a number of logistical issues as well as the current climate in relation to study leave budgets etc resulting in too few registrations. It is planned that this conference will have a narrower forensic/ criminal justice focus in order to improve uptake and will take place next autumn.

Our annual essay prize for this year also focusses on the theme: “The mental health of women in disadvantaged groups”. The prize is open to medical undergraduates, trainees and newly qualified consultants and will be awarded shortly.

We are liaising with the psychiatric section of the RSM on a conference to be held on March 11 2014. The conference theme is ‘Women’s Mental Health: pregnancy the puerperium and beyond’.

The finances of WMHSIG remain in good order under the auspices of our treasurer, Dr Judith Edwards.

St Andrew’s continues to sponsor our Newsletter, on which we receive good feedback from our extensive membership.

Dr Anagnostakis will be contributing a chapter to the forthcoming College book ‘The Woman’s Mind’, edited by Sue Bailey, Ros Ramsay and Kathryn Abel.

Dr Katina Anagnostakis Chair - WMHSIG

SIG reports 2013 19 SIG reports 2013 20