Ethics for mental health workers in the prevention of radicalisation

Join the RAN Mental Health Working Group for an online meeting on 16-17 June 2020

When treating patients convicted, charged or held under suspicion of committing terrorist offences, mental health workers focus on treating mental illnesses, as they would for any patient. There are various settings in which mental health workers are asked to assess a patient’s risk of engaging in terrorist acts or to offer treatment with the aim of addressing psychological characteristics associated with terrorism. Mental health workers can face this situation both when there is a doctor–patient relationship and when there is not (i.e. when a psychiatrist acts as an expert witness and provides a court report). In both sets of circumstances, there are multiple ethical considerations.

The aim of this digital meeting is to explore the various mental health settings across Europe and the different national legal and ethical frameworks in which mental health practitioners operate. While providing participants an overview of the discussion and ethical considerations, we will also discuss how to exchange relevant information and stay within the ethical guidelines.

Would you like to participate?

We are inviting mental health workers, such as forensic psychologists, psychiatrists and mental health service representatives, to participate. They should be able to share ethical challenges in their national and professional context (i.e. doctor-client relationship, forensic context) and contribute to shaping tangible ethical guidelines, taking into account other relevant fields in mental health.

To participate, please answer the following questions. We will invite participants based on this information. Due to a limited number of places available for this online meeting, participation is not guaranteed. 

Send your answers to j.krasenberg@radaradvies.nl  and f.keijzer@radaradvies.nl by 15 May 2020.

Questions

• What do you think are the main questions we should be asking regarding ethics, radicalisation and mental health? Are there any case studies (e.g. Breivik, Malek F) in relation to radicalisation? Would you be able to share your experiences and considerations?
• What are the legal and ethical challenges in your national context regarding this topic? Do you know whether this differs from other European countries?

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