News and events
Selected highlights from the activities of the Centre and it’s members.
Featured news and events
Philosophy and Mental Health - Webinar
Wednesday 26th March 2025
In this webinar, chaired by Professor Lisa Bortolotti, we looked at how the notion of epistemic injustice (emerged in philosophy at the intersection of ethics and epistemology) can help us bring to focus some issues in mental healthcare concerning the role of the patient as a person, an agent, and a collaborator. The panellists discussed their recent work on the topic from different disciplinary perspectives.
Panellists included:
- Michael Larkin (Aston University): “Feeling and Being Understood in Young People Seeking Help.”
- Rose McCabe (City St George's, University of London): “Improving Relational and Communicative Practices Amongst Mental Health Professionals.”
- Luigi Grassi (University of Ferrara): “Preserving Dignity and Epistemic Justice in Palliative Care for Patients with Serious Mental Health Problems.”
- Elisabetta Lalumera (University of Bologna): “Ameliorating Epistemic Injustice with Digital Health Technologies.”
- Rabih Chattat (University of Bologna): “Promoting Good Living and Social Health in Dementia.”
- Eleanor Palafox-Harris (University of Birmingham): “Resisting Perceptions of Patient Untrustworthiness.”
Part of a new series of UoB #PhilosophyMatters webinars on the importance of Philosophy supported by The Royal Institute of Philosophy.
Take it from a psychologist: Rishi Sunak’s callous crusade on welfare will have disastrous consequences
An article by Jay Watts on The Guardian, May 2024
New I-RAP website on autism and personality disorder
The I-RAP (Improving Recognition and Understanding of Autism and Personality Disorder) study is aiming to find out why autism is sometimes missed or misdiagnosed in people diagnosed with a personality disorder, and how we can improve accurate recognition and diagnosis of autism.
Our team received a lot of feedback from clinicians and people with lived experience on our early drafts and have tried to take as much on board as possible whilst reconciling different perspectives.
Our guiding principles throughout have been:
- Raise awareness that some people with a diagnosis of personality disorder may be autistic
- Minimise inadvertent harm to people with either diagnosis
- Be open about important controversies whilst also sharing information that is kind, compassionate and hope-affirming
- Take a neuro-affirming and trauma-informed perspective
Visit our new website: Improving Recognition and Understanding of Autism and Personality Disorder | I-RAP
PACT App launched to support mental health for people with Parkinson's
To learn more about the app, visit: PACT | Personalised Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (PACT) for Parkinson's disease
To use the free app, visit: PACT App
Conversation Analysis and Clinical Encounters 2024
Transforming healthcare communication at the eighth International Meeting on Conversation Analysis and Clinical Encounters (CA&CE) 2024
- Date: 01-03 July 2024
- Location: Wolfson College, University of Oxford
CA&CE meetings bring our international community together to share research findings and promote methodological excellence and innovation in the application of conversation analytic (CA) methods to communication during health care encounters. We consider how we can best ensure that our research is meaningful to patients and their family members, health care professionals, clinical educators, and policy makers.
The 8th meeting brought together 96 international delegates from 20 countries and 54 universities to tackle the most pressing challenges in healthcare communication.
Keynote speakers
- Rose McCabe, Professor of Clinical Communication at City St George's, University of London
- Alison Pilnick, Professor of Language, Health & Society, Manchester Metropolitan University
- Steven Bloch, Professor of Communication and Social Interaction, University College London
- Johanna Ruusuvuori, Professor of Social Psychology, Tampere University, Finland