Ethical Principles and Dilemmas in Psychiatry
Led by Prof. Dr. Meryam Schouler-Ocak, chair of the Committee on Ethical Issues of the EPA, this one-hour webinar will take place on Tuesday 6 February from 14:30 to 15:30 (CEST) and will feature the following speakers:
Dr. Jan Wise, NHS Consultant in General Adult Psychiatry (United Kingdom)
“Termination of Pregnancy: Good Intentions Pave the Way – an Analysis of a High Profile Recent Case in the UK:” Most countries allow women to terminate a pregnancy at some stage, with boundaries at which it becomes a criminal act varying. Whilst a desperate act, culpability and guilt are distinct from the consequences of a guilty act – Actus Reus. A case from the criminal division of the justice system of England & Wales will serve to illustrate the perils of this moral maze.
Biography: Dr. Jan Wise is NHS Consultant in General Adult Psychiatry working in a busy inner city area, responsible for the provision of long term care for over patients with severe and enduring mental illnesses. He has been instructed in Class actions involving defective products and civil rights violations. During the COVID-19 Pandemic he was a member of the CNWL NHS Trust ‘3 wise men’ ethics panel. He provides support and training to a suicide-reduction charity, the Samaritans (2022-now).
He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and a Distinguished International Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, as well as an Honorary Member of the World Psychiatric Association. He was elected to the board of the EPA in 2019, and awarded the Association Medal of the BMA for sustained and meritorious service. As Chair of the British Medical Associations Medico-Legal Committee, he regularly liaised with the Ministries of Health & Justice, and Medical Defence Organisations. He was elected chair of the BMA’s Medical Ethics Committee (2021–24), and sat on those of the European Psychiatric Association, and the World Psychiatric Association.
His research is forensically based, the interface of law with psychiatric practice and medically unexplained symptoms. Since 2001, he lectures, and runs workshops at National/International Conferences. He is an author of 5 textbooks and monographs, and over 100 articles, letters, abstracts, and web-based learning resources. He was part of the GCPN for ICD-11. He is a reviewer for the RCPsych journal of continuing medical education, BJPsych Advances, as well as European Psychiatry and the British Medical Journal.
Prof. Dr. Rutger Jan van der Gaag, MD PhD (1950), Emeritus Professor of psychiatry (Radboud University Medical Center, Netherlands), psychosomatics and psychotherapy (Stradina University, Riga, Latvia)
“Mental Pain and Suffering poses an Ethical Dilemma to each Psychiatrist:” A Dilemma is a situation in which a difficult choice has to be made between two or more alternatives, especially ones that are equally undesirable. The Physicians Plegde (2017) may or not help, when it comes to serious choices between quantity and quality of live in regard of the patient’s will that should be respected. Psychiatrists are in the position of assessing individuals capacity to decide. Mental suffering is terrible. This is illustrated by the theoretical question addressed to individuals that have endured both cancer and depression, choosing for cancer if they were to have one or the other again. A psychiatrist should prevent suicide. But how to deal with the question of the patient that asks for assisted dying because his/her suffering is unbearable and psychiatrist cannot offer prospects of improvement or recovery. A poignant dilemma to be discussed.
Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions during the Q&A session.
To register, click HERE.