ENTER Mental Health is pleased to announce Dr. Reima Ana Maglajlić as a keynoote speaker for our conference. Dr Maglajlic is a Reader in Social Work at the University of Sussex, United Kingdom. Prior to starting this post in 2013, she was the Monitoring and Research Director at the (now) Validity Foundation, an international organisation which supports the rights of people with mental disabilities through legal advocacy and strategic litigation. Her experience is mainly based on her work in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), where she helped develop survivor-run initiatives in mental health and worked on supporting the development of community mental health services, particularly between 1999-2007. Since 1999, Dr Maglajlic works in partnership with survivor researchers in BiH to co-produce knowledge on people’s experiences of mental distress during and after the war, focusing on identifying what helps and hinders people to be well and stay well.
Abstract: ‘Creating communities through co-production and partnership – what does experiential knowledge teach us about deinstitutionalisation?
Deinstitutionalisation processes in mental health services now draw on several decades of different experiences and learning. During this time, they also drew together and pulled apart a range of policy makers, practitioners from different backgrounds and fields and, most importantly, people with different stakes, views and experiences within the mental health system itself. The voice and influence of people who experience both institutionalisation and deinstitutionalisation can too often get lost, and rarely gets centre stage. In her keynote, Dr Maglajlic will try to amplify some of the key experiential lessons about deinstitutionalisation processes – as well as what makes for good support in mental distress. This will draw on experiences of co-creating knowledge about mental distress and relevant support, particularly in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but also elsewhere across Europe and Africa. In particular, the presentation will touch upon the conference themes of peer support, inclusive and integrated care, creating and supporting inclusive communities, rights-based practice, and broader citizenship rights.
We look forward to seeing you there.
(Photo: RA Maglajlic credit Maria Silvano and Disruption Network Lab)