Collegium Helveticum
Collegium Helveticum
Collegium
Helveticum
event_urtelaukaityte_page
Japanese model figures: doctor and patient. Wellcome Collection. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Symposium

The Mind-Body in Context
Culture, Illness, and Healing

Collegium Helveticum, Meridian Hall
Convened by
Urte Laukaityte
Early-Career Fellow 2026–2027
Details

Venue & accessibility info: Collegium Helveticum, Meridian Hall

This is a public event. Participation is free of charge. No registration is needed.

Humans are deeply cultural beings. The social and material features of our environments shape how we function, including in cases of health and illness. This transdisciplinary symposium brings together several prominent researchers working at the intersection of culture, illness, and healing.

Program

13:00

Opening & welcome remarks

By Urte Laukaityte
13:20

Illness and Environment

Ecological Niches
Rethinking the History of Mental Disorders

Baptiste Brossard
University of York, UK

Geo-Political Determinants of Mental Health
The Field of Geopsychiatry

Dinesh Bhugra
King’s College London, UK
14:50

Coffee break
15:30

The Cultural Basis of Healing

Ritual Efficacy in an Externalizing Medical System
Healing Among the Akha of Highland Laos

Giulio Ongaro
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, CN

Rituals of Transformation
A Cultural-Ecosocial Approach

Laurence Kirmayer
McGill University, CA
17:00

Panel discussion

With all participants
17:25–17:30

Closing remarks

Followed by a small reception

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