Workshops

8:30 Voices of Change: A LET(s) Lead Workshop
Kristine Irizarry and Maria Restrepo-Toro from Yale

Join us for a dynamic LET(s) Lead workshop with Kristine Irizarry and Maria Restrepo-Toro, exploring leadership through lived experience and recovery-oriented systems of care. This interactive session will highlight how peer-led change can shape more compassionate and inclusive mental health practices.

As part of the workshop, the 15 participants of the LET(s) Lead project will share their personal elevator pitches—brief, powerful stories of their journeys and visions for change. Together, we’ll celebrate lived experience as a driving force for innovation, connection, and transformation in mental health systems.

Room: Litróf

8:30 Introduction to Psychodrama, the action of the soul
Trausti Ólafsson

The Austrian-American pscyhiatrist Jacob L. Moreno developed the method of applying techniques from the theatre as tools to deal with mental disturbances and trauma.

Moreno called his method psychodrama, a greek term which literally means the action of the soul, and his approach was one of the first attempts to group psychotherapy.

In the workshop the participants will gain some insight into the Morean psychodrama and have the opportunity to see how some of Moreno´s techniques are applied in the process of a psychodrama session.

Room: Mildi

9:45 25 Years of Working with Voices in Psychiatric Services
Trevor Eyles

During this workshop, Trevor Eyles will share and discuss his experiences of the many and varied ways in which it is both supportive, accepting and beneficial to work with voice-hearers.

Through curiosity and collaboration, rather than (false) professional ‘knowledge’, the majority of the people he has worked with and learned from, have now adapted ways in which they live their lives, with or without voices, and free from the constraints of psychiatry.

Room: Litróf

9:45 Breathing and Sweat Temples Inside and Outside Prisons
Agnar Bragason and Þorlákur Morthens

In this hour, the intention is to introduce and offer a special breathing practice, called rebirth breathing, and how it can be used in a beneficial way in daily routines and emotional processing. We will also talk about our work in prisons and outside them and how we use sweat temples and breathing exercises in connection with that work.

The Recovery Academy is a group of people who work on a peer basis with individuals who are in prison. They conduct various activities within the walls of the prisons, such as meditation, sweat temples and breathing exercises.

Room: Mildi

11:00 Harm Reduction Dialogue Basics
Caroline Mazel-Carlton

As human beings, our words are some of the most powerful tools that we have. Our words can open new worlds of understanding, and yet also have the potential to shame, silence and limit lives. This workshop will introduce the V-C-V-C model (Validation-Curiosity-Vulnerability-Community) Caroline articulated first for Wildflower Alliance spaces that is now taught in many settings around the world.

V-C-V-C is not a script or a protocol. It is away to integrate harm reduction values so that our conversations can be deeper, more authentic and healing. It also provides guardrails so we can avoid some of the pitfalls of many Western therapy models like pathologizing experiences or telling people what to do. Come join the dialogue!

Room: Litróf

11:00 Research on Personal Experiences of Mental Health Challenges
Grétar Björnsson og Gunnhildur Una Jónsdóttir

Poetry Puzzle, Shared Writing and Short Stories. The workshop with Gunnhildur Una will emphasize creativity and collaboration. Participants will join together to create poems and short stories where each voice can enjoy itself.

In his workshop, Grétar will briefly talk about his research into the experiences of people who hear voices and/or have experiences that most of us do not have.

The research was his final project for his MA degree in sociology and its purpose was to talk to members of Hearing Voices Iceland and others who were not part of the association and see if their attitudes, feelings and reactions to these unusual experiences were different. We will also discuss and work on micro-projects around the concepts of “schizophrenia” and voice hearers.

Room: Mildi

13:00 Sisu as Grit, Grace and Gentleness: A Personal Inquiry Into Inner Strength
Elisabet Lahti

This workshop introduces the construct and lived experience of sisu—the Finnish concept of life force that helps us endure challenges, act against the odds, and use our strength wisely—not as a means to push through, but as a way to relax into doing challenging things. Blending science and storytelling to chart the unpredictable terrain of what it means to be human—and a healer—in this time, Dr. Elisabet Lahti guides participants to recognize their sisu and learn how to use it wisely.

Healthy inner strength isn’t about striving harder, but softening into strength, becoming available to ourselves, and opening to interdependence as a path to becoming stronger than ever before. The session includes guided reflection, gentle movement, and tools for both personal and professional use. Whether you’re a peer supporter, practitioner, or on your own healing path, this is an invitation to slow down, meet yourself—and rise into love and sisu, one breath at a time.

Room: Litróf

13:00 My River flow: A Nature Therapy Workshop through the Kawa Model
Harpa Ýr Karínardóttir and Alda Pálsdóttir from Grænahlíð Fjölskyldumiðstöð

This workshop draws on the Kawa Model from occupational therapy to guide self-reflection and connection through nature.

With the support of the natural world, we explore our life’s flow — what supports us, what gets in the way, and how we might create a better flow for wellbeing.

Participants engage in gentle movement, sensory exploration and shared presence. The experience offers a nourishing and respectful way to reconnect with the body, emotions, and environment through the river of life.

Room: Mildi

14:15 Reimagining Reintegration: The Power of Peer Support
Fritzi Horstman, Johan Lothe, Tuuli Daavittila, Guðmundur Ingi Þóroddsson

This workshop explores peer support in prisoner reintegration with perspectives from Nordic NGOs. Johan Lothe presents WayBack in Norway, Tuuli Daavittila shares insights from RETS in Finland, and Guðmundur Ingi Þóroddsson introduces Afstaða in Iceland.

The session includes an interactive session led by Fritzi Horstman of the Compassion Prison Project, offering a healing, trauma-informed experience. Together, these voices highlight how lived experience, peer support, and compassionate practices can transform the reintegration journey and promote dignity and connection for people leaving prison.

Room: Litróf

14:15: Somatic Movement
Brian Gerke

In this 1-hour guided session, we will explore how simple developmental movement patterns can be used to center the body, calm the nervous system, and restore a felt sense of ease. Moving from a seated position, participants will be gently cued through patterns inspired by early motor development—such as grounding, reaching, spiraling, and rhythmic shifting.

These movements are designed to awaken deep body awareness, reconnect us to innate organization, and support nervous system regulation. By revisiting these primal patterns, we tap into the body’s natural capacity for self-soothing and resilience. No prior experience is necessary—just a willingness to slow down, tune in, and move with curiosity. This class is ideal for anyone seeking a gentle, accessible practice to support emotional and physical grounding.

Room: Mildi