Register now for Mind Matters Symposium

The RCVS' second Mind Matters Initiative Research Symposium, ‘Understanding and supporting veterinary mental health’, is now open for registrations.

The symposium, which will be held on Tuesday 24 September 2019, at Church House, London, will bring together researchers interested in all aspects of veterinary professionals’ wellbeing and mental health.

The symposium will feature plenary speakers from mental health research, including:

Sustaining resilience at work – what does the evidence tell us works?: Professor Neil Greenberg, Professor of Defence Mental Health, Consultant Academic Psychiatrist at King’s College London, Chair of the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ (RCP) Special Interest Group in Occupational Psychiatry.

The impact of veterinarian suicide on colleagues: Dr Alexandra Pitman, Associate Professor in Psychiatry in the UCL Division of Psychiatry and an Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist at Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust.

The Mind Matters Initiative – what we’ve achieved so far: Professor Stuart Reid, Principal, Royal Veterinary College, Chair of the Mind Matters Initiative.

“It’s really important that any mental health and wellbeing interventions are evidence based, so bringing together researchers in this area is vital to underpin the work that we and others carry out to better support veterinary professionals,” says RCVS CEO, Lizzie Lockett.

“Our first Research Symposium, held in Edinburgh in 2017, had an amazing energy - there was curiosity to understand such a complex area, a real drive to provide evidence that can be translated into meaningful action and a strong sense of community. I hope that our second Symposium will build on this and make a really exciting contribution to the field.”

Tickets for the symposium cost £45 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.

A small number of travel bursaries are available for students, people with lived experience of mental health problems, and people who are unwaged, who would not otherwise be able to attend. For further details, please contact Lisa Quigley, Mind Matters Initiative Manager, on [email protected].

Call for submissions

The symposium is also currently open for applications for presentations on veterinary mental health and wellbeing research, with abstracts being accepted up until 23:59 (GMT) on Friday 19 April 2019.

Applicants should note that presentations should be in the format of a 15-minute oral presentation or an A1 poster.

Those wishing to apply should submit an abstract clearly marked ‘poster’ or ‘oral presentation’. The title should be 15 words or fewer. The abstract should include author(s) first name(s), followed by surname(s), institution of affiliation and country. The body of the text should be no longer than 250 words and include: background; clear and explicit aims and objectives, hypotheses or research questions; methods; results; discussion; and conclusion.

All abstracts should be submitted as Word documents to Rosie Allister on [email protected].

Applicants will be notified if they have been successful within 14 days of this date. Speakers whose applications are successful will receive complimentary registration for the symposium, not including travel and accommodation costs.