Persons with mental problems may experience crisis, and are at higher risk for committing suicide and experiencing coercive measures. Since the rates of suicides as well as coercive measures seem to be on the rise in many countries, effective preventive interventions are urgently needed.

The theme of the conference is ’Zero Strategies: From Dream to Reality’. Aiming at the use of zero coercive measures and zero suicides stimulates the development and implementation of best practices. Every nation has a set of guidelines how to deal with crisis, suicide, and coercion, but there is large variation in clinical practices between countries. Some of the preventive and intervention models have been well described and researched, while others may be promising but not yet studied. In addition, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) urges us to develop new strategies to reduce coercive measures. Therefore, the International Crisis, Coercion and Intensive Treatment in Psychiatry (CCITP) Foundation has started an initiative to organize this first CCITP Conference.

Aims of the CCITP Conference

In 2018 the first international Conference will take place in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, during which the latest knowledge concerning crisis, coercion and intensive treatment in psychiatry will be shared and discussed. The aim of the CCITP Conference is to bring together clients, caregivers, professionals (psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses, social workers and others), managers, policy makers and researchers to exchange knowledge and experiences about CCITP-related topics, and thereby to contribute to prevention of crisis, suicide, and coercion.