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Division of Social & Transcultural Psychiatry, McGill University
Advanced Study Institute in Cultural Psychiatry
Maddening Times: Finding Meaning Through Resistance to Political Repression
June 3 - 5, 2026
Montreal, Québec
Advanced Study Institute Conference and Workshop (June 3 - 5, 2026)
We are facing profound challenges to civil society through the rise of populism, oligarchic capitalism and fascism. Although the intensity of the threat is acknowledged by many, the avenues to survive and resist collectively are a source of conflict and divisions which further challenge social cohesion. This Advanced Study Institute will explore resistance strategies in two very different milieus that are directly affected by the present storm, but involve contrasting relations to institutional power: youth, who face an uncertain future, and mental health practitioners of cultural psychiatry, who face an ongoing crisis, torn between the safety of silence and the duty to speak up. For youth, many contemporary expressions of distress (e.g., disaffection or disagio, disengagement, and some kinds of violence) can be conceptualized as forms of resistance to the tensions and paradoxes in our societies. While often considered distinct phenomena, these can be seen as complementary and intersecting idioms of distress in which psychic suffering and resistance are intertwined. How do we understand and respond to these strategies? To what extent do we participate in pathologizing or silencing young people because their strategies and discourses are disturbing? Can we find ways to support their voices and agency? Respect for diversity is at the center of cultural psychiatry. The demonization of diversity and of minorities is a core strategy in current populist politics. How can cultural psychiatry contribute to understanding and resisting these reactionary and oppressive forces? How can we use our academic and clinical knowledge to understand the situation and develop strategies to protect policies that aim to promote equity, diversity and inclusion? Given the level of division among marginalized groups and individuals, how can we contribute to the collective resistance and to the preservation of democracy in ways which promote dialogue and dissent?
This ASI workshop and conference will bring together an international and interdisciplinary group of scholars and researchers from psychiatry, psychology, social sciences and philosophy to address these vital questions. Presentations will consider: (1) the origins of polarization and repression; (2) youth responses to the present social ethos; (3) responses to repression through prevention programs, mental health services; and (5) contributions of cultural psychiatry and academia to broader forms of resistance through advocacy and political action. The format will be a two-day workshop (June 3 & 4) for researchers working on these topics, followed by a one-day conference (June 5). There will be a poster session. during the conference.
Guest Faculty: Jean-Louis Aillon, Neil Aggarwal, Kenneth Fung, Diana Miconi, Kristine Langhoff, Stijn Sieckelinck
McGill Faculty: Ana Gómez-Carrillo, Jaswant Guzder, Laurence J. Kirmayer, Rachel Kronick, Cécile Rousseau
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Call for Papers (Deadline March 1, 2026) Limited space is available for paper presentations at the ASI workshop. To submit an abstract for consideration, please provide complete the form on the next page and email to: tcpsych [at] mcgill.ca . Proposals will be reviewed by the ASI program committee. If accepted, draft papers will be due for pre-circulation to workshop participants by May 1, 2026. Papers not accepted for workshop presentation, may be accepted for the Conference poster session. (To submit a paper for the Conference poster session, complete the online registration form: www.mcgill.ca/tcpsych/training/summer.) |
Registration for the Advanced Study Institute is now ONLINE.