Event - Careif presents at geopsychiatry symposium

Careif Trustees Professor Rachel Tribe (4th from right) and Professor Afzal Javed (3rd from right) along with Careif Patron Professor Dinesh Bhugra (2nd from left) and Careif co-founder Dr Albert Persaud (2nd from right).

Professor Afzal Javed and Professor Rachel Tribe, trustees of Careif presented at this international meeting held in Bern on 2-6 September at the Department of Forensic Psychiatry, University of Bern. Also present were one of our Patrons, Professor Dinesh Bhugra, and Dr Albert Persaud one of the founders of Careif, who are leaders in the field of geopsychiatry. They were part of a group of academics and clinicians from the World Psychiatric Association’s Geopsychiatry Special Interest Group.

The symposium - ‘The Global Mindscape: Integrating Geopsychiatry Perspectives Across Continents’ - was organised by the International Institute for Geopsychiatry, hosted by the Universities of Bern and Zurich and supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF).

The meeting was truly international, with representatives from Brazil, Lebanon, the Caribbean, India, Guyana, Russia, Pakistan, UK, UAE and the NGO sector presenting. Presentations highlighted the multi-dimensional global challenges and interdisciplinary scope of geopsychiatry, including the geopolitical determinants of mental health, climate change, conflict, migration, education, depression, mental illness, and suicide.

Professor Javed presented his work on microfinancing and mental health in underserved areas and Professor Tribe presented on cultural curiosity in mental health and working with interpreters.

To conclude this highly successful academic symposium a small group, that included our co-founder, Trustees and Patron, were invited by the British Ambassador to Switzerland to his official residence to discuss the initiatives and progress of geopsychiatry across the globe.