Innovation & Strategies for Digital Interventions in Mental Health

31st July - 2nd August 2017

Westminster, London, England





TITLE  "Innovation & Strategies for Digital Interventions in Mental Health"

WHEN  31st July - 2nd August 2017

WHERE within the precincts of Westminster Abbey, London, England

LEAD/CREATOR  Dr Becky Inkster (Affiliations: Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom & SAFE Lab, Columbia University, New York City, USA)



CONFERENCE AIMS  The overall aim is to combine psychiatry, digital technology and culture to bring positive change for those seeking mental health support. Our key objectives include:

  1. to explore how data derived from social media sites can be implemented into personalised or group interventions for mental healthcare; and
  2. to strive for digital equality (i.e., to end the postcode lottery of mental health) by developing ways to implement innovation directly impacting disadvantaged groups, including homeless youth, inner city gang members, prisoners/young offenders, refugees, domestic violence victims, postpartum mental health, low resource areas in countries such as India, and more.


FULL PROGRAMME  currently being drafted. It will have lay summaries about the lectures and workshops etc, learning objectives, speaker bios, overall aims, material from sponsors and I intend to arrange for additional free space to advertise up-and-coming social ventures etc.

AGENDA OUTLINE (more details coming soon)

DAY 1  Opening Remarks / Afternoon Keynotes to open conference will include:  Professor Vikram Patel (others being confirmed)

DAY 2  Lecture Themes (more information will be coming shortly):

  1. "The Digital Psychiatrist" Chaired by The Lancet Psychiatry Editor, Niall Boyce
  2. "Ethics, Policy and the Public Sphere" Chaired by BBC News Editor & Former Fellow Michigan University, Matthew Shaw
  3. "Technology & Methodologies" Chaired by Dr David Stillwell
  4. "Global Digital Mental Health, Society and Culture" Chaired by Professor Vikram Patel.

DAY 3  Workshops: in addition to these themes we will have 5 parallel running Workshops in which attendees can choose a subset to attend to encourage mixing of groups and interactions. Each workshop will ensure that attendees learn something about psychiatry, digital technology/methodologies, and various forms of culture. These workshops include:

  1. How Chicago gang networks communicate violence and trauma using Twitter
  2. The Digital Psychiatrist - what might practice look like in 10 years?
  3. Technology transition tools for prisoners both inside and outside of prison settings
  4. Analysing and interpreting digital photographic environments experienced by homeless youth and displaced refugees
  5. Youth culture, education: how can India's millennials help rural low resource areas?

DAY 3  Q&A Session / Closing Remarks: This session will be streamed live from the UK (3pm) reaching out to people from India to California. We will combine knowledge exchanged derived from the Lectures and Workshops and we will also involve the public in this discussion. The intended digital audience is aimed to excede 1 million+ people!