Webinar
Racism and discrimination in mental health care of migrants, refugees and forcibly displaced people
April 18th, 2023
Tuesday
12:00
GMT
FREE
Registration is required
Certification
To all attendants via email
Racism and discrimination in mental health care of migrants, refugees and forcibly displaced people
April 18th, 2023
CEST
14:00
New York
08:00
London
13:00
Athens
15:00
San Diego
05:00
Paris, Rome
14:00
Beijing
20:00
Ethnic minority groups across the world face social and psychological challenges linked to their minority status, often involving racial discrimination. Racial discrimination is increasingly recognized as an important contributing factor to health disparities among non-dominant ethnic minorities. A growing body of literature has recognized these health disparities and has investigated the relationship between racial discrimination and poor health outcomes. Institutional racism goes along with policies and procedures which reduce the access to mental health care. Cultural racism, both at the societal and individual level, negatively affects economic status and health by creating a policy environment triggering negative stereotypes and discrimination that are pathogenic and fostering health damaging psychological responses. A large and growing body of evidence indicates that experiences of racial discrimination are an important type of stressor that can alter the health status and lead to behavioural patterns which increase health risks. The persistence of institutional and interpersonal discrimination is driven by racism. Studies have shown that perceived and experienced racial discrimination is a significant risk factor for mental health.
In this symposium the first speaker will give an Overview of current research on racism and discrimination against migrants, refugees and forcibly displaced people. The second speaker will focus on The role of genetics in the concept of “race” and racism. The third speaker will underline the Impact of racism and discrimination on the mental health of migrants, refugees and forcibly displaced people, while the last speaker will discuss How to deal with growing racism and discrimination – Is there a way out?
CHAIRS
Afzal Javed, MD
President World Psychiatric Association (WPA) Consultant Psychiatrist (UK and Pakistan) Honorary Professor. Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham, UK Honorary Clinical Associate Professor, Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, UK Chairman Pakistan Psychiatric Research Centre, Fountain House, Lahore, Pakistan
Meryam Schouler-Ocak, MD
Professor of Intercultural Psychiatry at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin Psychiatric University Clinic of Charité at St. Hedwig Hospital in Berlin, Germany Chair of Section on Transcultural Psychiatry of World Psychiatric Association (WPA-TPS) Chair of the Working Group on Improving Mental Health Care for Migrants and Refugees Honorary Member of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA)
SPEAKERS
Dinesh Bhugra, UK
Overview of current research on racism and discrimination against migrants, refugees and forcibly displaced people
President, Royal College of Psychiatrists (2008-2011) President, World Psychiatric Association (2014-2017) President , British Medical Association (2018-2019) Professor Emeritus of Mental Health and Cultural Diversity, Kings College London As a cultural psychiatrist he has been always interested in the impact of culture on mental health. As part of WPA programme he led on and crafted 20 Position Statements on various topics some of which have strongly influenced policy in governments around the world. He established Presidential task Forces on Child abuse and Neglect, Inter-personal Violence, Prisoner mental Health care, Migrant health care, LGBT populations’ mental health care and those of people with intellectual disabilities. He created programmes for mental health promotion and appointed Good Will Ambassadors from Bollywood and Hollywood along with patients and religious leaders. He established 6 WPA Collaborating centres in different parts of the world to share research, policy and training. Following a survey of discrimination against people with mental illness in 193 countries, he developed Bill of Rights for Individuals with mental Illness signed by 60 organisations which was followed by Bills of Rights for Children and young people and for those with intellectual disabilities. He has authored/co-authored over 500 scientific papers, chapters , editorials and 40 books. Three of his books have been translated into Mandarin and Japanese and various books have won awards including Oxford Textbook for Public Mental Health which was BMA Book of the Year in psychiatry in 2019. The same year, Practical Cultural Psychiatry was highly recommended. He is the Editor of the International Journal of Social Psychiatry and International Review of Psychiatry. He is on the Board of Sane and Psychiatric Research Trust charities. Between 2019-2022 he chaired DocHealth charity which provides psychotherapy to doctors and medical students.
Andreas Heinz, Germany
The role of genetics in the concept of “race” and racism
Andreas Heinz is a German neurologist, psychiatrist and philosopher. The focus of his research is on learning mechanisms and their interplay with social isolation stress and discrimination in mental disorders including psychosis and addiction. He pioneered research on molecular imaging, gene-environmental interactions and stress effects on neurodevelopment. His clinical work contributed to legal changes including open door policies in emergency wards to reduce coercion in mental health care. His advanced academic qualifications include his MD (1988, Ruhr Universität Bochum) on evolutionary and anthropological theories in schizophrenia, senior lecturer in psychiatry (1998, Freie Universität Berlin) on the dopaminergic reward system, Professor of Addiction Research (2000, Universität Heidelberg), Full professor of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy (2002, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin), PhD (Universität Potsdam 2013) on the concept of a mental disorder, and senior lecturer in philosophy (2022, Universität Potsdam) on colonial traditions in brain research. He is the author of more than 1000 original research articles and published several books including ‚A new understanding of mental disorders’ at MIT Press Boston, 2017. Since 2002, he is the director and chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin. Andreas Heinz is a member of the National Academy of Science (Leopoldina) and of the Academy of Science and Literature, Mainz. He was president of the German Society for Biological Psychiatry and the national German Association of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy (DGPPN). He is the speaker of the Berlin-Potsdam site and one of two national speakers of the new German Center for Mental Disorders (DZPG).
Laurence Kirmayer, Canada
Impact of racism and discrimination on the mental health of migrants, refugees and forcibly displaced people
– Laurence J. Kirmayer, MD, FRCPC, FCAHS, FRSC – James McGill Professor & Director Division of Social & Transcultural Psychiatry McGill University – Senior Investigator Lady Davis Institute – Director Culture & Mental Health Research Unit Institute of Community & Family Psychiatry Jewish General Hospital Laurence J. Kirmayer, MD, FRCPC, FCAHS, FRSC is James McGill Professor and Director, Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University. He is a Senior Investigator at the Lady Davis Institute, directs the Culture & Mental Health Research Unit at the Institute of Community and Family Psychiatry, Jewish General Hospital, in Montreal, where he conducts research on culturally responsive mental health services, psychiatric anthropology, and the philosophy of psychiatry. His publications include the co-edited volumes: Cultural Consultation: Encountering the Other in Mental Health Care (Springer, 2013); Re-Visioning Psychiatry: Cultural Phenomenology, Critical Neuroscience, and Global Mental Health (Cambridge, 2015); Culture, Mind and Brain: Emerging Concepts, Methods, and Applications (Cambridge, 2020). He is a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences and the Royal Society of Canada.
Rwanda Gaffaz, Lybia
How to deal with growing racism and discrimination – Is there a way out?
– Al-Razi Psychiatric Hospital, Gergaresh, Tripoli, Libya, Psychiatry-trainee (since 2020) – Master of Child life & Pediatric Psychosocial Care, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada (since 2022) – Windsor Working with Immigrant Women (WWWW), (2017 -2019) – Member of the Libyan Association of Psychiatry, Neurology and Neurosurgery – Member of the Arab Gulf Psychiatric Association Dr. Rwanda Gaffaz has following skills: – Disciplined and confident physician with various certifications in public health, community medicine, psychiatry & mental health, child psychosocial care, and counseling – Extensive experience in hospital and clinical settings especially in psychiatry and community medicine – Excellent patient communication and interpersonal skills, fluent in English, Arabic, and basic French – Highly qualified in interviewing patients of various cultural backgrounds providing empathy, non-stigmatizing advice, and demonstrating emotional support & rapport – Ability to identify and manage psychologically affected cases and provide mental health support individually and within groups – Ability to detect communicable diseases, prevent infection, and implement safety measures – Team leader with quick-decision making, critical thinking, and intelligent problem solving skills – Experienced doing physical & mental health exams, psychosocial assessments, and diagnosing mental illnesses throughout the DSM to patients of various ages, social classes, ethnicities, gender, with unbiased and antiracism – Published research articles, abstracts, and symposia at many international conferences, and accustomed to giving lectures to students and public speaking – Keyboarding ability of up to 60 wpm and highly trained in Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, Adobe Pro, and Internet Explorer (Google meet, Zoom, and other methods of online communication Apps.) including medical office management – High ethical and moral values following PHIPA regulations
Organization
WPA
