Towards relational perspectives in mental health research

6th Qualitative Research in Mental Health Conference May 25-27, 2016, Chania, Greece

Over the last decades, mental health theory and practice have witnessed a clear move towards relational approaches to understanding and dealing with mental health difficulties. Interpersonal, family and social relationships are considered central to fostering mental health, coping with life’s stresses and managing trauma and distress. Moreover, the central role of the relationship between professionals and service users in providing appropriate and helpful services and avoiding harm has also been increasingly recognised and examined, both through questioning the role of coercion and control in professional mental health practices and through promoting ethics of relationality in professional-client interactions. On the methodological front, relational research approaches have been developed, which focus on communication, dialogue, affective interaction, embodiment and the intersubjective processes involved in the mutual co-construction of meaning.

The conference hosted qualitative studies, from a variety of disciplines, adopting relational research perspectives and examining aspects of relationships in a range of topics pertaining to mental health. 

Invited Speakers