CEA Conference: Mental Health Emergencies
Catalan Mental Health Congress Foundation
The annual Conference of the Healthcare Ethics Committee of the Catalan Mental Health Congress Foundation (FCCSM) will be held on May 8, 2026 on the topic "Mental health emergencies."
Assembly hall of the COIB - Barcelona
Registration form: https://www.fccsm.net/events/event/jornada-les-urgencies-en-salut-mental/
Mental health emergencies constitute an area of high importance within the public mental health care network with important healthcare, social and ethical implications. The complexity of urgent situations, the vulnerability of the people being treated and the pressure on the devices make a space for critical reflection and plural debate necessary.
Once again, the FCCSM Healthcare Ethics Committee wants to revisit the key and most controversial points in Mental Health care from the point of view of Ethics and its foundations. For this reason, it is convening an open and plural debate space with the participation of experts: professionals and groups involved in the first person and family members.
We will maintain the traditional working format at the CEA, with a presentation by an expert and a broader discussion panel. On this occasion, we have among us Jim van Os, Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Utrecht, the Netherlands, epidemiologist and President of the Division of Neuroscience (UMC). Author of many publications, including the book "Beyond DSM-5", in which he criticizes the use of the DSM. He proposes more personalized diagnostic models, evokes intervention proposals based on patient consent and cooperation between those involved, with a clear social commitment and transformation of the public mental health system.
With this conference we hope to create a participatory and enriching debate to identify the shortcomings and possible alternatives to the current model. From an ethical point of view, urgent care and emergencies must be thought of as a safe space with privacy, free from violence and within the framework of respect and human rights.
