Delivered Online via Zoom
This lecture is aimed at nurses, psychiatrists, psychologists, occupational therapists, social workers and other mental health practitioners.
Marcus Evans (Psychoanalyst, Registered Mental Health Nurse)
Lisa Conlan (Consultant Psychiatrist, Psychoanalyst)
Dr Ronald Doctor (Consultant Psychiatrist, Psychoanalyst)
Chaired by Olive Burke (Psychoanalyst)
FREE TO ATTEND
This online event explores the growing pressure on community mental health and forensic services in assessing and managing violence in the community.
Balancing respect for patient autonomy with the duty of care presents an ongoing clinical challenge—especially when psychosis or entrenched personality structures lead individuals to deny their need for support. Feelings of shame or humiliation around dependency can provoke defensive withdrawal, making even well-intentioned care feel intrusive or persecutory. As a result, patients often reject services precisely when engagement is most crucial. Risk can escalate rapidly if these reactions are misunderstood or avoided—whether out of fear of confrontation or an overcorrection toward preserving autonomy. In such moments, thoughtful engagement in the face of resistance is not simply persistence; it is a clinical imperative.
Violence risk assessment is never an exact science. Risk is dynamic and can shift suddenly, especially in community contexts where contact with patients is limited. Staff are often under immense pressure to make finely balanced decisions, typically with incomplete information and under emotionally charged conditions. What kinds of structures best support clinicians in navigating these conflicts—between the risk of overreach and the danger of inaction? The anxiety surrounding such decisions can impair clinical judgment, leading to either excessive caution or unwarranted deference to autonomy. Yet responsibility for these decisions cannot be deferred. Paradoxically, avoiding action in the name of independence may undermine the very care and safety that ethical practice is meant to protect.
Marcus Evans is a Fellow of the British Psychoanalytical Society-with a long-standing interest in applying psychoanalytic thinking in mental health settings. Before retiring from the NHS, he was a psychiatric nurse and an adult psychotherapist. He was a founding member of Fitzjohn’s service for the treatment of patients with severe and enduring mental health issues and personality disorders and clinical lead of the adult and adolescent services at the Tavistock for five years. He is the author of three books. ‘Making Room for Madness in Mental Health’, ‘Psychoanalytic Thinking in Mental Health Settings’ & ‘Gender Dysphoria: A therapeutic model for working with children adolescents and young adults’ a book he wrote with his wife Susan Evans.
Dr Olive Burke is an Adult Psychoanalyst (BPAS) working in full-time private practice. She has over 30 years experience of working in Mental Health, including as a Consultant Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist at the Tavistock & Portman NHS Trust for nearly 20 years prior to her retirement from NHS. She has always been interested in using psychoanalytic insights to think about psychiatric issues at a deeper level & to inform treatment approaches. She continues to be invested in the development & support of young professionals, particularly within the NHS.
Dr Lisa Conlan is a Consultant Psychiatrist and Psychoanalyst working in community mental health with the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. Recently qualified as a psychoanalyst, she brings a rich, integrative approach to her clinical practice, combining evidence-based psychiatry with psychoanalytic insight. Dr Conlan also maintains a strong academic interest in the Philosophy of Psychiatry and Medical Education, where she explores the interface between philosophical thought and psychiatric practice.
Dr Ronald Doctor is a Consultant Psychiatrist in Medical and Forensic Psychotherapy at the West London NHS Trust, and a practicing Psychoanalyst. A Fellow of both the British Psychoanalytical Society and the Royal College of Psychiatrists, he is also a Senior Member of the British Psychotherapy Foundation. Dr Doctor is the Chair of the International Psychoanalytical Association's Committee on Psychoanalysis and Law and serves on the Executive Board of the International Association for Forensic Psychotherapy. His career spans clinical, academic and custodial settings, and he is the editor of two significant volumes - Dangerous Patients: A Psychodynamic Approach to Risk Assessment and Management (2003) and Murder: A Psychotherapeutic Investigation (2008). He is also the author of History, murder and the fear of death (IJAPS, 2015).
REFUND POLICY: Tickets are fully refundable until 14 days before the lecture, after which time no refunds will be issued.
Views and opinions expressed by speakers are their own and do not represent the views or opinions of the Institute, event organisers or other speakers. We expect delegates to respect the confidentiality of clinical material discussed in our events. The content must not be recorded, conveyed or disseminated in any format and participants must not share access to the event with non-registered participants.
London
United Kingdom
|
Member only event
|