Sociology of Mental Health Study Group: Archive of Events and Publications
The group is developing a wide programme of work which includes an online seminar series along with in-person events.
Archive of Events and Publications
Advances in the Sociology of Mental Health - Symposium | University of York | September 18–19, 2025
Day 1 – Thursday, September 18
12:00 – 13:00: Registration, lunch and welcome
13:00 – 14:30: Session 1 – Lived Experience
“Lived Experience” - Ewen Speed, University of Essex
“Lived Experience Expertise in Mental Health” - Jason Grant-Rowles, King’s College London
“‘Lived Experience’ and ‘Convergent Scholars’ – Implications for Qualitative Mental Health and Distress Inquiries” - Heather Sutherland, York St John University
14:30 – 14:45: Break
14:45 – 16:15: Session 2 – Inequalities
“Under the Gaze of Global Mental Health” - Jerome Wright, University of York
“Reconstructing Mental Health Discourses through Transcultural Identity: Chinese Students’ Lived Experiences in the UK” - Yuting Wen, University of East Anglia
“Mental Health, Emotional Well-being and Self-care Practices in Black Communities in the UK” - Shardia Briscoe-Palmer, University of Nottingham
16:15 – 16:30: Break
16:30 – 17:30: Roundtable – Publishing in the Sociology of Mental Health
Co-chaired by Baptiste Brossard and Ewen Speed
Day 2 – Friday, September 19
10:00 – 11:00: Session 3 – Trauma
“Trauma-informed Approaches and Frameworks for Regulating the Self” - Hilary Stewart, Lancaster University
“Theorising Trauma” - Baptiste Brossard, University of York
11:00 – 11:15: Break
11:15 – 12:00: Session 4 – Policy
“From Social Policy to Sociology and Back Again – What Are We Talking About When We Talk About Mental Health?” - Annie Irvine, University of York
12:00 – 13:00: Lunch Break
13:00 – 13:30: Session 5 – New Developments
“Autistic Mental Distress: Epistemic and Hermeneutic Injustices with the Dosage of Disbelief” - Nathan Keates, University of Sunderland in London
13:30 – 14:30: Roundtable – What is the Sociology of Mental Health?
Chaired by Ruth Graham, Newcastle University
14:30 – 15:00: Seminar Close and Next Steps
2023/2024 Online Seminar Programme
November 3, 4pm: Alex Barnard (NYU) – ‘Conservatorship: Inside California’s system of coercion and care for mental illness’
November 20, 4pm: Sik Domonkos (Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest) – ‘Networks of depression’
December 11, 4pm: James Fletcher (University of Manchester) – ‘The biopolitics of dementia’.
January 15, 4pm: ‘Teaching the sociology of mental health’ – discussion with an introduction from Ruth Graham (Newcastle University)
February 5, 4pm: Alison Fixsen (University of Westminster) – ‘The biopolitics of eating disorders’
February 26, 4pm: Simon Armour (Sheffield Hallam University) – ‘Understanding how experiences of volunteering affect psychological wellbeing in the contexts of health inequalities’
March 18, 4pm: Grzegorz Sokol (University of Warsaw) – ‘Working through what is. Depression and the predicament of reality in Poland’
April 8, 4pm: ‘The sociology of trauma’ – roundtable with Baptiste Brossard (University of York), Vivienne Matthies-Boon (Radboud University), and Hilary Stewart (University of Lancaster).
April 29, 4pm: Gareth Thomas (University of Cardiff) – ‘Can you tell me what "ethics" means?': reflections on doing research with people with learning disabilities’
May 20, 12.30-13.30: Heather Sutherland (York St Johns University) – ‘Thinking Differently about "Student Mental Health and Wellbeing" in the UK: Learning from Undergraduates’ Storied ‘University Life’ Self-Reflections’.
June 3, 4pm: Anne Irvine and Cassandra Lovelock (King's College London) – ‘Understanding mental health in the UK welfare system: representations of distress among working-age benefit claimants’
June 20, 4pm: Evan Sedgwick Jell (Birkbeck, University of London) – ‘Mental Health, Labour Discipline and Relative Surplus Value’
2022-2023 Online Seminar Programme
The History and Politics of Self-Esteem, c.1960-90: An Exploratory Paper
Ian Miller, Ulster University
September 26, 2022 – 4pm-5pm (UK time)
Seekers and providers: The colonization of circumstantial sadness and fear
Sigita Doblytė, University of Oviedo
October 17, 2022 – 4pm-5pm (UK time)
Social Crises, Mental health, and Mental-Healthism
Peter Morrall, University of Leeds
November 7, 2022 – 4pm-5pm (UK time)
The multiple flaws in the concept of 'stigma' in mental health
Diana Rose, Australian National University
November 28, 2022 – 4pm-5pm (UK time)
Stigma, mental illness & ethnicity: Challenging dominant, damaging narratives
Dharmi Kapadia, University of Manchester
December 12, 2022 – 4pm-5pm (UK time)
Stigmatising on a blank page? On the obviousness of stigma in contemporary mental health research
Amy Chandler, University of Edinburgh, and Baptiste Brossard, University of York
January 9, 2023 – 4pm-5pm (UK time)
“Every Joy will Follow in Grief’s Footsteps”: Understanding a Different Perspective of Distress
Jerome Wright and Janaka Jayawickrama, University of York
March 27, 2023 – 4pm-5pm (UK time)
Depression, self and society: An analysis of Japanese depression memoirs
Hiroto Shimizu, The University of Edinburgh
April 17, 2023 – 4pm-5pm (UK time)
Eating disorders on-screen: A critical feminist analysis of the mini series ‘ Physical’
Alison Fixsen, Westminster University
May 15, 2023 – 4pm-5pm (UK time)
Stories of self-harm: Endings, ongoingness, and narrative structure from the perspective of lived experience
Veronica Heney, Durham University
May 22, 2022 – 4pm-5pm (UK time)
Understanding Mental Distress: Book launch
June 12, 2023 – 4pm-5pm (UK time)
Rich Moth, Liverpool Hope University and Guests
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Prior events and presentations
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9 June 2021 (9:30am-3:30pm BST)
Sociological Perspectives on the Mental Health and Wellbeing Agenda in Educational Settings
A virtual event via Zoom - Download Abstracts
12 October 2018 (1pm-5pm)
Building alliances: Mental health activism and the academy
Birkbeck, University of London, UK
10 June 2015
PsychoPolitics in the Twenty First Century: Peter Sedgwick and radical movements in mental health
Liverpool Hope University, UK
11 September 2014
Mental Health, Mental Health Care and the Family Symposium at the BSA Medical Sociology Annual Conference
Aston University, UK
13 June 2014
Sociology of Mental Health Study Group Symposium: Social Movements and Sociology Knowledge on Mental Health: Where are we now? - Slide Presentations - Flyer - Briefing Paper
University of Wolverhampton, UK
12 September 2013
Sociology of Mental Health Study Group AGM and book launch - Mental Health Service Users in Research: Critical Sociological Perspectives, edited by Patsy Staddon (taking place at the Medical Sociology Annual Conference)
University of York, UK
10 June 2013
Sociology of Mental Health Study Group symposium: What does sociology need to contribute towards or against the wellbeing agenda?
BSA Meeting Room, Imperial Wharf, London, UK
- Intersections in Innovation; mindfulness-based therapies as part of the well-being agenda by Kate Spiegelhalter
- To Make an Army of Illness by Helen Spandler
- Governance and the excluded citizen: tensions between welfare reform and the wellbeing agenda by Allison Savory
- What does sociology need to contribute towards or against the well-being agenda? by Lydia Lewis
5 September 2012
The Group held it's AGM at the BSA Medical Sociology Group Annual conference in Leicester. This included a presentation of a research briefing on adult community learning and mental health. Read the 2012 AGM Report.
9 May 2012
Co-convenor Lydia Lewis helped to organise a day symposium on 'Patient and Public Involvement in Health Care: Implications of the Big Society' which took place at the University of Leicester. Please contact Lydia for abstracts from the event.
7 June 2011
A Difficult Alliance? Making Connections between Mental Health and Domestic Violence Research and Practice Agendas
Edge Hill University, UK
- BRIEFING PAPER: A Difficult Alliance? Making Connections between Mental Health and Domestic Violence Research and Practice Agendas compiled by Angela Cotton and Lydia Lewis
- Notes from workshop 5: Gender and mental health servicescompiled by Lydia Lewis
- Report for the Foundation for the Sociology of Health and Illness- Angela Cotton and Lydia Lewis
- Words, Stories and Noises - BMER Women and Domestic Violence - Marai Larasi
- Reasonable responses to unreasonable behaviour?: medical and sociological perspectives on the aftermaths of sexual violence - Abstract- Liz Kelly, CWASU, London Metropolitan University
- States of Denial: Gendering Policy & Practice in Domestic Abuse and Mental Health Services - Abstract- Professor Linda McKie, Glasgow Caledonian University
- Exploring Implications of the Impact of Mental Health Issues on Those Experiencing Domestic Violence in Same Sex and/or Trans Relationships - Abstract- Catherine Donovan, University of Sunderland
- The Joint Forum Women's Group - Abstract - Jackie Patiniotis and Lisa White
1-3 September 2010
Follow-up Symposium on 'Sociology of Alcohol Use: Future Directions' at the BSA Medical Sociology Group Annual Conference
Durham University, UK
6 February 2010
BSA Sociology of Mental Health Study Group Study Day: Alcohol and Mental Health - REPORT
BSA Meeting Room, London, UK
Seminar Series 2009
Researching in Mental Health: Sociological and Service User/Survivor Perspectives
The Study Group hosted a very successful joint seminar series with the Survivor Researcher Network in the academic year 2008-9. The series took place at the Conference Centre at the British Library in London.
Download the report submitted to The Sociology of Health & Illness Foundation.
Review 1 June presentations:
- 'A symbolic interactionist approach to mental health outreach' - presented by Jim Roe and Hugh Middleton, University of Nottingham
- 'Using personal experiences to understand other people’s mental health recovery' - presented by S. Ajayi, J. Billsborough, T. Bowyer, P. Brown, A. Faulkner, A. Hicks, J.A. Larsen, P. Mailey, R. Sayers, R. Smith, Rethink. The Rethink team are in the process of writing up this research and so welcome comments on this presentation until the end of July 09. Please email Sarah Ajayi.
Review 11 May presentation:
- 'Women, alcohol and mental health: achieving authenticity in a hostile environment', Patsy Staddon, University of Plymouth (Bibliography)
Review 6 April presentation:
- 'Does who we are make a difference to the research that we do?' Telling stories about the experiences of patients detained under the Mental Health Act - presented by Steve Gillard and Kati Turner
Papers from 2 March:
- Effective Involvement in Mental Health Services: the Role of Assertive Outreach and the Voluntary Sector - Rosie Davies, Assertive Outreach Research Project
- "Hard to Reach?": Race, Minority Ethnic Communities and User Involvement in Mental Health - Jayasree Kalathil, Survivor Research
- Lydia Lewis' paper, 'Politics of Recognition: What can a Human Rights Perspective Contribute to Understanding Users' Experiences of Involvement in Mental Health Services?', will be published in a themed section of the journal Social Policy and Society, 8 (2), April 2009: Lewis, L. (Ed.), 'Mental Health and Human Rights: Social Policy and Sociological Perspectives'. Contact Lydia Lewis for further details.
Sessions from the Inaugural Seminar are available to review:
- SRN/BSA Seminar Series 2009: Professor Peter Beresford's introduction
- SRN/BSA Seminar Series 2009: Patricia Chamber's presentation.
April 2009
'Between 'Rights' and 'Experience': Sociological Reflections on the Politics of Mental Health'
Cardiff City Hall, UK
A seminar based on papers by Mark Cresswell and Lydia Lewis published in a themed issue of Social Policy and Society (vol. 8, issue 2, April 2009), 'Mental health and Human Rights: Sociological and Social Policy Perspectives' was held at the BSA annual conference in Cardiff in April 2009. Abstract. Journal themed issue.
Our fifth AGM took place at the Medical Sociology Group Annual Conference at the University of Sussex on Friday 5 September 2008. The event included a presentation from Dr Susie Scott, University of Sussex on her award-nominated book, Shyness and Society: The Illusion of Competence (2007, Basingstoke: Palgrave).
A panel session, Medicalization – Demedicalization of Depression, including presentations from David Armstrong, David Pilgrim and Ann Rogers, took place at the annual Medical Sociology Group Annual Conference, 4-6 September 2008 at the University of Sussex.
Members of the Group have recently hosted an ESRC seminar series. See: http://www.mhseminars.info/.
A panel session, 'Well-being and recovery: connecting natural and social worlds' took place at the BSA Annual Conference, 28-30th March 2008. View Joe Sempick's paper, 'Being outside: exploring perceptions of nature and health in therapeutic gardens' and Jean Nee et al's paper, 'Supported socialisation: first reflections on a randomised controlled trial'.
The Study Group held its fourth AGM at the BSA Medical Sociology Group conference on 7th September 2007 in Liverpool. Click here to view the report.
The group hosted its second day symposium on the 22nd June 2007 at the University of Warwick. The theme of the event was Mental Health and Human Rights: Sociological Perspectives. Click here to view the programme from the day, and here to view the abstract book. A report of the event and themed section of the international journal, Social Policy and Society, are also available. Selected presentations can be viewed as follows:
- Beyond libertarianism and the behavioural state: Towards a framework for analysing fundamental (mental health) rights, Mick Carpenter, University of Warwick;
- The ‘Rights’ of ‘Self-Harm Survivors’ and the Role of the State,Mark Cresswell, University of Manchester;
- The Annihilation of Subjective Experience in Schizophrenia Research: Whither Human Rights?, Alastair Morgan, University of Nottingham, Tim Calton, University of Nottingham and Caroline Flood, Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust;
- An investigation of controversies around human rights of patients with ADHD, Pooria Sarrami-Foroushani, University of Nottingham;
- The adverse effects of imprisonment on Deaf prisoners’ mental health: a Human Rights perspective?, Amy Izycky and Manjit Gahir, Nottinghamshire NHS Trust;
- Confidentiality in Mental Health Services: Negotiating the negotiated order?, Tony Evans, University of York;
- Experiences of Acute Mental Health Services among Black and Minority Ethnic Groups, Rubina Jasani, Sarah Pemberton and Laura Griffith, Warwick Medical School;
Third AGM at the BSA Medical Sociology Group Conference at Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh on 15th Sept. 2006. Click here for a full report.
A panel session about Social Capital and Mental Health was held at the BSA Medical Sociology Conference (14-16 September. Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh). Presentations were as follows: Jerry Tew, 'Reclaiming Bourdieu: finding a paradigm that fits the experience of mental health service users'; Martin Webber, 'Social Capital and Recovery from Depression'; Ross Graham, 'A Convivial Mutiny: Sticking up the Bank of Social Capital'. The session was chaired by Lydia Lewis.
Panel session at the 2006 BSA Annual Conference (21-23 April, Harrogate International Centre) on the them of The Sociology of Mental Health: Continuity or Change? Presentations were as follows: Dr Peter Morrall on 'Post-Liberal Mental Health and the Status of Realism in Mental Health Policy' and Dr John Aggergaard Larsen, Insight in Mental Illness and Individualisation. The session was co-organised and chaired by Dr Joanne Warner and Louise Woodward.
Second AGM at the BSA Medical Sociology Group Conference, University of York on the 16th September 2005. Click here for the full report.
Held its first meeting at the BSA Medical Sociology Group conference on the 18th September 2004 and plans to hold this on an annual basis. Click here for a report of the first meeting.
Hosted its first one day symposium in Nottingham on 30th June 2005. Click here for a report of the event and on the following links to access selected papers presented at the event:Larsen; Page; Pilgrim; Chidlaw; Leze. A special issue of the Journal of Mental Health based on this event is now available (Volume 16, issue 3).