“Are We Mad?” – Call for Abstracts

“Are We Mad? Critical Perspectives on the Canadian Mental Health
System” will be held at the University of Alberta, in Edmonton on
March 26 & 27, 2009.

This event will be hosted in conjunction with the University of
Alberta’s Faculty of Law and Legal Activist Collective.

SCOPE

The purpose of this Conference is to bring together researchers and
practitioners from various disciplines for a critical discussion of
the Canadian mental health system, and the problems this system may
create both for individuals and for society more generally.

The treatment of the mentally ill in Canada is an ongoing source of
concern. This conference will examine this treatment and provide
critical perspectives that are generally not understood by the
public.  In particular, the legal, social and ethical implications of
the medicalisation of mental illness, disease mongering by the
pharmaceutical industry, the inherent power disparities and grievous
dangers attendant to the idea of involuntary hospitalization,
revisionistic and patient-centric positions on patient rights, and
the ramifications of widespread xenophobia with respect to the
mentally ill will all be addressed.

Are We Mad? Critical Perspectives on the Canadian Mental Health
System is a forum designed to bring together those sharing these,
and other, concerns with the current state of the mental health
system in Canada. Authors are encouraged to submit abstracts on any
of the conference topics listed below. Accepted papers will be
presented at the conference by one of the authors and published in
the proceedings. Acceptance will be based on quality, relevance and
originality.

CONFERENCE TOPICS

– Legal issues surrounding mental illness
– Medicalisation of mental illness
– Patient rights
– Popular representations of mental illness
– Pharmaceutical ties to academic psychiatry
– Treatment efficacy and withdrawal
– Disease mongering in areas of mental health
– Involuntary hospitalization
– Stigma and the mentally ill

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Dr. Irving Kirsch, University of Hull (UK)
http://psy.hull.ac.uk/Staff/i.kirsch/

Dr. Gordon Warme, University of Toronto
http://www.anansi.ca/authors.cfm?author_id=437

ABSTRACT SUBMISSION

Authors should submit a presentation abstract of between 500-1000
words in length, carefully checked for correct grammar and spelling,
to info@arewemad.com.   Authors should prepare abstracts expecting a
presentation time of approximately 20 minutes.

The program committee will review all abstracts and the contact
author (the author who submits the paper) will be notified of the
result, by e-mail.

Submission procedure:
-A “double-blind” evaluation method will be used. To facilitate this
procedure, the authors are kindly requested to produce and provide
the full abstract, WITHOUT any reference to any of the authors.
-The manuscript must contain the paper title and abstract but NO
NAMES OR CONTACT DETAILS WHATSOEVER are to be included in any part of
this file.
-The file sent must be a zip containing two files: author(s)
information in one and the paper, without any author(s) information,
in another. PS/PDF/DOC formats are acceptable.

IMPORTANT DATES

Abstract Submission: February 15, 2009
Authors Notification: February 28, 2009
Final Presentation Submission and Registration: March 20, 2009
Conference date: March 27 & 28, 2008

VENUE

The conference will be held in Telus Center on the campus of the
University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

CONTACT

Questions with respect to this Call for Papers can be directed to
info@arewemad.com