LSTM Inaugural Lecture - The World Turned Upside Down: Mental Health And A New Global Health Architecture

The world turned upside down: mental health and a new global health architecture

In recent years the public health research and development community has examined its colonial history and implications for the way that our relationships with international collaborators must be examined critically. Dramatic cuts in international development have heralded immediate health consequences and unnecessary suffering, but have also raised debate about the prospect of new, more equitable relationships.

The emergence of global mental health is an opportunity to reimagine a new global public health architecture. Despite psychiatry’s dark history of social control, the field has sought to value the voice of people living with mental health conditions and explore the place of culture in defining health and illness. From coproduction of research to restructured financing, and contributing to public health science in combating commercial determinants of poor health, mental health can both learn from and inform more established fields.

About the Speaker: Professor Julian Eaton, Professor in Global Mental Health at LSTM

Julian Eaton is a public health psychiatrist and Professor in Global Mental Health at LSTM. He has worked in international development and health, conducting research on strengthening mental health systems in low resourced settings, strengthening resilience in humanitarian emergencies, and the intersection of mental health and climate change, and with Neglected Tropical Diseases. He was a Commissioner for the Lancet Commission on Global Mental Health, has supported WHO and other international agencies with a number of key guidelines, and is chair of the WHO Skin NTD Psychosocial Group.

He was born and raised in DR Congo, and lived in West Africa between 2003 and 2017, where he worked on improving mental health services, stigma reduction, policy reform, and addressing human rights abuse. He is now based in the UK.

Professor Eaton's lecture will last approximately 45minutes followed by a 15minutes Q&A. Guests will be welcomed to attend a networking reception after the lecture.

Due to the capacity of the venue, space within the main room is limited and guests will be seated on a first come first served basis. The lecture will also be live streamed at the venue if we exceed capacity.

The event will be live streamed and recorded.

To keep up to date with LSTM’s upcoming programme of events, check our events page over the coming months.