Global Minds in Forensic Psychiatry: Advancing Research and Practice
04/24/2026 (9:00 AM)
04/25/2026 (1:30 PM)
(GMT+01:00) Amsterdam, Berlin, Rome, Stockholm, Vienna
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About
Global Minds in Forensic Psychiatry – Advancing Research and Practice is an international virtual conference (April 24–25, 2026) bringing together leading experts, clinicians, and researchers from around the world. The event explores cutting-edge developments in forensic psychiatry, including innovative treatment approaches, ethical challenges, and new insights from neuroscience and risk assessment. With keynote speakers from six countries and interactive sessions, the conference promotes global collaboration, evidence-based practice, and the advancement of ethical, patient-centered forensic mental health care.
Agenda
24
Opening and Welcome
Opening and Welcome
Start
9:00 AM
End
9:15 AM
Keynote Lecture 1: Ethical Pros and Cons of Research on Particularly Vulnerable Patient Populations
Keynote Lecture 1: Ethical Pros and Cons of Research on Particularly Vulnerable Patient Populations
Start
9:15 AM
End
10:00 AM
Speakers
Irina Franke
Short Break
Short Break
Start
10:00 AM
End
10:15 AM
Parallel Session 1: Novel IT-based Treatment Options in Forensic Psychiatry
Parallel Session 1: Novel IT-based Treatment Options in Forensic Psychiatry
Novel IT-based Treatment Options in Forensic Psychiatry (session host: Dr. Michael Fritz):
- Talk 1: AVATAR therapy for distressing voices: lessons learnt and future directions
Prof. Dr. Mar Rus-Calafell (Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany) - Talk 2: The clinical applications of Virtual Reality in Alcohol Use Disorder
Dr. Alexandra Ghiţă (Aspris by alkalma United for Health and Wellbeing, Dubai, United Arabic Emirates)
Start
10:15 AM
End
11:00 AM
Speakers
Alexandra Ghiţă
Mar Rus-Calafell
Michael Fritz
Parallel Session 2: Novel Treatment Options for Psychosis and Delusions in Forensic Psychiatry
Parallel Session 2: Novel Treatment Options for Psychosis and Delusions in Forensic Psychiatry
Novel Treatment Options for Psychosis and Delusions in Forensic Psychiatry (session host: Prof Dr. Manuela Dudeck):
- Talk 1: Advances in Catatonia: From Diagnosis to Evidence-Based Treatment
Prof. Dr. Dusan Hirjak (Central Institute for Mental Health Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany) - Talk 2: Neurostimulation and Cognition in Psychosis: Mechanisms and Clinical Perspectives
Dr Panayiota Michalopoulou (King’s College London, London, United Kingdom)
Start
10:15 AM
End
11:00 AM
Speakers
Dusan Hirjak
Manuela Dudeck
Panayiota Michalopoulou
Short Break
Short Break
Start
11:00 AM
End
11:15 AM
Keynote Lecture 2: Premature mortality among offenders with serious mental illness: lessons from forensic psychiatric patients and high-risk groups
Keynote Lecture 2: Premature mortality among offenders with serious mental illness: lessons from forensic psychiatric patients and high-risk groups
Premature mortality among offenders with serious mental illness: lessons from forensic psychiatric patients and high-risk groups.
Start
11:15 AM
End
12:00 PM
Speakers
Björn Hofvander
Lunch Break
Lunch Break
Start
12:00 PM
End
1:15 PM
Keynote Lecture 3: The AIS and eHARM: a new set to tools for managing violence using big data
Keynote Lecture 3: The AIS and eHARM: a new set to tools for managing violence using big data
Start
1:15 PM
End
2:00 PM
Speakers
Gary Chaimowitz
Short Break
Short Break
Start
2:00 PM
End
2:15 PM
Parallel Session 3: The Genetics of Aggression – Current Understanding and Emerging Treatment Implications
Parallel Session 3: The Genetics of Aggression – Current Understanding and Emerging Treatment Implications
The Genetics of Aggression – Current Understanding and Emerging Treatment Implications (session host: Prof. Dr. Manuela Dudeck)
- Talk 1: Differentially expressed Gene pathway-analysis implicates the immune system, lipid metabolism, and neuroplasticity markers in aggression and violence
Dr. Michael Fritz (Ulm University, Ulm, Germany) - Talk 2: Genes and environment in shaping human behavior: legal and forensic perspectives
Prof. Dr. Silvia Pellegrini (University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy)
Start
2:15 PM
End
3:00 PM
Speakers
Manuela Dudeck
Michael Fritz
Silvia Pellegrini
Parallel Session 4: Brain anatomical correlates of aggression and anti-social behavior across clinical and population cohorts
Parallel Session 4: Brain anatomical correlates of aggression and anti-social behavior across clinical and population cohorts
Session 4: Brain anatomical correlates of aggression and anti-social behavior across clinical and population cohorts (session host: Prof. Dr. Unn Hansen Hauvik)
- Talk 1: Mapping cerebellar subregional volumes and heterogeneity in psychosis and violence
Dr. Thomas Fischer-Vieler (University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway) - Talk 2: Multimodal Correlates of Aggression and Agitation in Early Psychosis and Depression: Integrating Brain Structure, Polygenic Risk, and Social Adversity
Clara Weyer (Ludwig Maximillian University Munich, Munich, Germany) - Talk 3: Early indicators of conduct disorder in the developing brain: structural insights from ages 9-14 in the ABCD Study
Dr. Jaroslav Rokicki (Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway)
Start
2:15 PM
End
3:00 PM
Speakers
Clara Weyer
Jaroslav Rokicki
Thomas Fischer-Vieler
Unn Kristin Hansen Haukvik
Short Break
Short Break
Start
3:00 PM
End
3:15 PM
Parallel Session 5: Substance use disorders within forensic psychiatric care: symptoms, subgroups and treatment
Parallel Session 5: Substance use disorders within forensic psychiatric care: symptoms, subgroups and treatment
Substance use disorders within forensic psychiatric care: symptoms, subgroups and treatment (session host: Prof. Dr. Malin Hildebrand Karlén)
- Talk 1: Community reinforcement approach applied in an FPC in-patient setting
Prof. Dr. Malin Hildebrand Karlén (Gothenburg University, Gothenburg, Sweden) - Talk 2: Co-morbidity subgroups within forensic psychiatric care
Johan Green (Gothenburg University, Gothenburg, Sweden) - Talk 3: Drug induced psychosis – transient and chronic symptoms
Cajsa Jonasson (Gothenburg University, Gothenburg, Sweden)
Start
3:15 PM
End
4:00 PM
Speakers
Cajsa Jonasson
Johan Green
Malin Hildebrand Karlén
Parallel Session 6: Current research in German Forensic Psychiatry
Parallel Session 6: Current research in German Forensic Psychiatry
Current research in German Forensic Psychiatry (session host: Prof. Dr. Birgit Völlm)
- Talk 1: Involving service users in research in forensic psychiatry
Prof. Dr. Birgit Völlm (Rostock University, Rostock, Germany) - Talk 2: Developing a national database on forensic-psychiatric patients
Dr. Katja Köppen (Rostock University, Rostock, Germany) - Talk 3: Patterns of substance use in a forensic-psychiatric hospital in Germany
Finn Sörensen (Rostock University, Rostock, Germany)
Start
3:15 PM
End
4:00 PM
Speakers
Birgit Völlm
Finn Sörensen
Katja Köppen
Concluding Remarks (Day 1)
Concluding Remarks (Day 1)
Start
4:00 PM
End
4:15 PM
25
Opening Remarks
Opening Remarks
Start
9:00 AM
End
9:15 AM
Keynote Lecture 4: Long lasting impacts: The role of childhood adversity for treatment completion
Keynote Lecture 4: Long lasting impacts: The role of childhood adversity for treatment completion
Start
9:15 AM
End
10:00 AM
Short Break
Short Break
Start
10:00 AM
End
10:15 AM
Keynote lecture 5: Should Biological Markers Be Included in Forensic Psychiatric Reports?
Keynote lecture 5: Should Biological Markers Be Included in Forensic Psychiatric Reports?
Start
10:15 AM
End
11:00 AM
Short Break
Short Break
Start
11:00 AM
End
11:15 AM
Parallel Session 10: Investigations into personality traits and attentional processes in offenders
Parallel Session 10: Investigations into personality traits and attentional processes in offenders
Session 10: Investigations into personality traits and attentional processes in offenders (session host: Prof. Dr. Schiltz, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany)
- Talk 1: Personality Profiles Across Offender Subgroups
Susanne Schobel, M. Sc. (LMU Munich, Munich, Germany) - Talk 2: Gaze Behaviour towards children in pedophilia and hebephilia
Puyan Heindl, M. Sc. (LMU Munich, Munich, Germany)
Start
11:15 AM
End
12:00 PM
Parallel Session 9: Risk of recidivism and development of risk assessment in the Nordics
Parallel Session 9: Risk of recidivism and development of risk assessment in the Nordics
Session 9: Risk of recidivism and development of risk assessment in the Nordics (session host: Dr. Markku Lähteenvuo)
Talk 1: Finnish forensic psychiatric care and subsequent recidivism
Dr. Markku Lähteenvuo (Niuvanniemi Hospital, Kuopio, Finnland)
Talk 2: Swedish forensic psychiatric care and subsequent recidivism in violent crime
DDr. Jonas Forsman (Karolinska Institutet and The Swedish National Board of Forensic Medicine, Stockholm, Sweden)
Talk 3: Beyond Categories: Temporal Validation and Clinical Refinement of Risk Assessment Tools for Modern Forensic Psychiatric Practice
Lenka Sivak (Karolinska Institutet and The Swedish National Board of Forensic Medicine, Stockholm, Sweden)
Talk 1: Finnish forensic psychiatric care and subsequent recidivism
Dr. Markku Lähteenvuo (Niuvanniemi Hospital, Kuopio, Finnland)
Talk 2: Swedish forensic psychiatric care and subsequent recidivism in violent crime
DDr. Jonas Forsman (Karolinska Institutet and The Swedish National Board of Forensic Medicine, Stockholm, Sweden)
Talk 3: Beyond Categories: Temporal Validation and Clinical Refinement of Risk Assessment Tools for Modern Forensic Psychiatric Practice
Lenka Sivak (Karolinska Institutet and The Swedish National Board of Forensic Medicine, Stockholm, Sweden)
Start
11:15 AM
End
12:00 PM
Short Break
Short Break
Start
12:00 PM
End
12:15 PM
Keynote Lecture 6: The New Science of Risk Assessment: Implications for Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology
Keynote Lecture 6: The New Science of Risk Assessment: Implications for Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology
Start
12:15 PM
End
1:00 PM
Concluding Remarks (Final Summary)
Concluding Remarks (Final Summary)
Start
1:00 PM
End
1:30 PM
Speakers
Alexandra Ghiţă
Professor @ Leiden University, Netherlands
Birgit Völlm
Medical Director @ Forensic Hospital at the University of Rostock, Germany
Björn Hofvander
Professor @ Lund University, Lund, Sweden
Cajsa Jonasson
Medical Professional @ Lund University, Sweden
Clara Weyer
PhD Student @ Ludwig Maximillian University Munich, Munich, Germany
Dusan Hirjak
Managing Assistant Medical Director @ Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim, Germany
Finn Sörensen
Research Associate @ Forensic Hospital at the University of Rostock, Germany
Gary Chaimowitz
Professor @ McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
Hedwig Eisenbarth
Associate Professor @ Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand
Irina Franke
Deputy Medical Director @ Center for Forensic Psychiatry, Chur, Switzerland
Jaroslav Rokicki
Researcher @ Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
Johan Green
Researcher @ University of Gothenburg, Göteborg, Sweden
Jonas Forsman
Senior Physician @ Karolinska Institutet and The Swedish National Board of Forensic Medicine, Stockholm, Sweden
Katja Köppen
Research assistant/project coordinator @ Forensic Hospital at the University of Rostock, Germany
Kolja Schiltz
Professor @ Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, LMU University Hospital
Lenka Sivak
Phd Student @ Karolinska Institutet and The Swedish National Board of Forensic Medicine, Stockholm, Sweden
Malin Hildebrand Karlén
Senior Lecturer @ University of Gothenburg, Göteborg, Sweden
Manuela Dudeck
Medical Director @ Department of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany
Mar Rus-Calafell
Professor @ Ruhr University Bochum, Germany
Markku Lähteenvuo
Chief of Forensic Psychiatry @ Niuvanniemi Hospital, Finland
Michael Fritz
Deputy Medical Director @ Department of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany
Panayiota Michalopoulou
Consultant Psychiatrist @ King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
Puyan Heindl
Psychologist @ LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
Seena Fazel
Professor @ University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
Silvia Pellegrini
Professor @ University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
Susanne Schobel
Psychologist @ LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
Thomas Fischer-Vieler
Senior Consultant @ University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
Unn Kristin Hansen Haukvik
Professor @ University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway