Alternatives to psychiatric diagnosis, sport psychology and the Paralympics, and psychology in the First World War are among the subjects under discussion at the Annual Conference of the British Psychological Society’s Northern Ireland Branch.

The conference takes place at the Armargh City Hotel, Armagh, from 20-22 May.

The keynote speakers will be

• Professor Jamie Hacker Hughes, President of The British Psychological Society
• Dr Paul D’Alton, President of The Psychological Society of Ireland;
• Dr Lucy Johnstone, Cwm Taf Health Board South Wales;
• Ms Ingrid Covington, Creating Psychological Capital Ltd.

There will also be invited workshops facilitated by David Carew, Chief Psychologist, Department for Work Pensions. and Professor Sheina Orbell, University of Essex, as wellas a CPD Briefing from Dr Lynn Dunwoody, University of Ulster, who is the Chief Assessor for Health Psychology.

The conference will also see several sessions that are open to the public. These are:

• How psychology is used to benefit ex-service and service personnel in Northern Ireland. Dr Michael Paterson OBE of TMR Health Professionals and Dr Cherie Armour, Ulster University, will present in this session, which will lead on to Professor Jamie Hacker Hughes speaking about Myers, Rivers and others: The contributions of psychology in World War One.
• A policy event on the contribution of psychology in creating a more equal, inclusive and stable society and the Society’s response to the proposed Sexual Orientation Strategy for Northern Ireland, together with the dilemmas for practitioners
• Beyond psychiatric diagnosis: Critiques and alternatives with Dr Lucy Johnstone, Cwm Taf Health Board South Wales
• Winning gold! Sport Psychology and the Paralympics. This session will be facilitated by Kelly Gallagher MBE, Olympic skier and Dr Gavin Breslin Ms Kelley Fay, School of Sport Ulster University. We are delighted to be co-hosting this event with Ulster University and Sport Northern Ireland.

Other events taking place at the conference include the Branch’s annual postgraduate workshop, the conference dinner and the annual general meetings of the Northern Ireland branches of five Society Divisions.

Finally, the Division of Clinical Psychology Northern Ireland has a one-day CPD Event running parallel with the conference on Friday 22 May which is being attended by a large number of delegates from all over Ireland and the UK. ‘Using Formulation in Teams’ is facilitated by Dr Lucy Johnstone, Dr Samantha Cole, Dr Sarah Dexter Smith, Dr Barry Ingram and Dr Gordon Milson. The DCPNI is also holding its annual Strategy Day at the conference.