More than 1000 participants attended.
The topic was "Cornerstones in mental health".
The official interest in spiritual approaches was poor.
There were one or two sessions on faith and spirituality, and "bible drama" (?).
Dr. Mantel gave a one hour workshop on the integration of meditation into psychological and psychiatric treatments. About 15 participants took part, most of them psychiatrists, including a meditation teacher psychiatrist from Australia, a psychiatrist from New York who teaches relaxation and introduction to meditation, a psychologist from Netherlands specializing in cancer (he will probably participate in a forthcoming IASP conference on psycho-spiritual approaches to cancer).
The workshop included a talk on the nature of meditation, the role of listening and observation, the understanding of meditation as perceiving without interpreting, and a short talk on "re-centering therapies" and their application to mental health. Then a lively discussion between all participants. A specific interest was in the limits and complementary indications of drugs, psychotherapies and spiritual practices.
The IASP received an invitation from a therapist from Denmark to organize something in his country.
Dr. Mantel had a meeting with a Buddhist team from Taiwan which has created a center for mentally ill patients with spiritual therapeutic approaches. This center has 700 patients and a team of 20 therapists. Using of meditation, work, body exercises, vegetarian food, etc. No use of drugs. From their point of view, the results are very good. They will send us their video tape describing their work. They will probably participate in a forthcoming IASP conference (maybe the one on spiritual approaches to psychosis).
Globally it was a positive experience.
The IASP will probably attend the next World Federation of Mental Health
conferences for introducing spiritual approaches to mental health.