Dissatisfaction with mainstream mental health systems, as well as attempts, from both within and outside, to find different ways to support people in distress, have been well documented over the years. This year’s conference explores critical perspectives from both within and outside mental health systems, considers the struggles, challenges and barriers people have experienced at developing new approaches, and examines what it means to be on the inside and/or outside of different spaces, such as inside/outside service use, inside/outside academia, and inside/outside different knowledges. Innovations in service delivery, in

education, and in activism will be explored, set within the wider context of critical debates on contested areas in mental health

Lydia Sapouna, School of Applied Social Studies and Harry Gijbels, School of Nursing and Midwifery (retired).