BJAA Winter Gathering: Madness and Civilization…

This is a members-only event. You must log in to your bpf account for the registration button to appear on this page.

BJAA Winter Gathering (hybrid - online and at the bpf house) 

 

11:15 - 11:30: Coffee and biscuits 

11:30 - 1:00: 'Madness and Civilisation: Thinking of health and illness in cultural and socioeconomic contexts’ presented by Giles Allen and Julian Masters. Chaired by Steven Flower 

1:00 - 1:15: Celebratory toasts 

1:15 - 2:00: Shared lunch (contributions welcome)

2:00 - 3:00: BJAA Business Meeting 

 

Madness and Civilisation: Thinking of health and illness in cultural and socioeconomic contexts.

Presented by Giles Allen and Julian Masters. Chaired by Steven Flower 

This talk in two halves will trace the long and shifting relationship between madness and civilisation — from the demon-possession and divine punishment of the ancient world, through the humoral theories of Hippocrates and Galen, the Great Confinement of the Renaissance and Enlightenment, and Pinel's unchaining of the patients at the Salpêtrière, to the psychopharmacological revolution, deinstitutionalisation, and today's neuroscience and digital age.

The discussion will move from the institutional history of how societies have confined, treated and pathologised madness, to a deeper inquiry into what madness reveals about reason, order, and the self; we finish by wondering how social media's engines of imitation and the rise of AI companionship are reshaping selfhood, empathy, and the boundary between authentic encounter and pathological attachment.

About the speakers

Julian Masters is a Jungian analyst. He currently teaches on BPF’s public dream workshops, MSc course, and theory program. He teaches also on the WMIP analytical psychotherapy training in Birmingham. He is a member of BJAA and the IAAP. He lives in Oxford where he works with adults in private practice. Julian is also a musician, composer and writer. He has published articles and reviews for BJP and JAP; the most recent being ‘The Deal with Wolves: A Case History’ (JAP 2026). 

Dr Giles Allen is a general adult psychiatrist, a Jungian Analyst and an EMDR therapist, working in both the NHS and private sector. He lectures for the BJAA, BPF, and Brighton & Sussex Medical Schools, with special interests in neuroscience, trauma and addiction

*If you are a psychotherapist or counsellor residing in an active conflict zone, you are eligible to attend this event free of charge (regardless of whether you are a bpf member or not). Please email events@bpf-psychotherapy to enquire about a ticket.