Workshops

A new way of thinking about mental health

Thursday 27th April 2023 at Hilton Reykjavík Nordica


Registration starts at 8:00 on the second floor at Hilton Reykjavík Nordica. Attendees can choose particular workshops at registration.

VENUE: ROOM H+I

8:00 Registration and coffee


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

Workshop leaders: 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.


10:20 Operating outside the box

Workshop leaders: Ann Mari Lofthus and Ragnhild Fugletveit


12:00 Lunch and networking

There are several options for lunch nearby. The hotel has a restaurant, Vox, as well as some sandwiches in the lobby. Nettó supermarket is within walking distance as well as other restaurants and coffee houses.


13:00 When living isn’t possible any more: Shifting the focus from the individual to societal changes

Workshop leaders: Fanney Björk Ingólfsdóttir, Svava Arnardóttir and Sigurborg Sveinsdóttir
Fanney, Sigurborg and Svava are activists fighting for social change in the mental health sphere and have all worked in NGOs relating to mental health. They co-wrote a book “Boðaföll” about alternative approaches to suicidality and self harm with three other. They are people with lived experience of distress and survivors of psychiatry.


14:45 Peer support

Workshop leader: Nína Eck, Lisa Archibald, Chris Hansen and Amanda Francis



VENUE: ROOM G

10:20 Batahús: Introduction and breathwork

Workshop leader: Vagnbjörg Magnúsdóttir, Guðrún Ebba Ólafsdóttir, Agnar Bragason and Sverrir Borgþór Aðalbjörnsson
Batahús, a halfway house for people who have completed their prison sentences, is an individualized support resource that works with people on a peer basis based on the ideas of a trauma-focused approach. At the workshop, one resident will present the Breathwork journey, which is part of Batahús‘s work inside the prisons.


12:00 Lunch and networking

There are several options for lunch nearby. The hotel has a restaurant, Vox, as well as some sandwiches in the lobby. Nettó supermarket is within walking distance as well as other restaurants and coffee houses.


13:00 Where do you come from? Interculturality and peer support in mental health

Workshop leader: Dumitrita Simion
In a society that is increasingly more diverse culturally, mental health support should be designed to meet the needs of people with various backgrounds. The workshop will tackle the role of interculturality in mental health services, introduce examples of good practices and open a conversation about what can be learnt from peer support when it comes to bridging different cultures.


14:45 Bataskóli Íslands – Iceland Recovery College

Workshop leader: Helga Arnardóttir and Sigrún Sigurðardóttir
Bataskóli Íslands – Iceland Recovery College is a place where people struggling with mental health challenges can come and participate in a variety of courses that all focus on mental health and recovery in different ways. Each course is a work of cooperation between specialists in the field of the course and peers (people with experience of mental health challenges).

The recovery college is free of charge, no referrals or diagnosis is needed, anyone that sees themselves as having mental health challenges is welcome. The school is also open to people who have a loved one with mental health challenges and seek to better understand and support them.

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