James will address the problems with mainstream approaches, their links to harmful social and political structures, and outline various models that seek to remedy the problem. He will touch on the relational movement in psychotherapy, the Neurodiversity Paradigm, the Power Threat Meaning Framework, and an approach called ‘Open dialogue.’ All of these have different but largely compatible ways of approaching mental distress that together provide viable alternatives to the current medical mental health model.

Topics we will explore:

The day will be comprised of 5 sections, which are as follows:

• Capitalism, Psychiatry and the Medicalisation of Distress: The Current Mental Health System

• Trauma, Social Injustice and Alienation: The interpersonal and social nature of the problem

• New Paradigms 1: The 'Relational Turn;' Feminist Critiques; Disability Models

• New Paradigms 2: The Power Threat Meaning framework & Open dialogue

What now? Putting this into practice. Each of these themes will be explored with a wide lens in order to give an overview of the ‘non-pathologising’ space and the reasons for its need in current times.