Patrick Michael O’Shea, known to most simply as Rick, passed away in 2025 at the age of 59. A man of great heart, humour, and humility, Rick lived a life defined by kindness, purpose, and a deep commitment to helping others.

We are pleased to announce that our Patron, Professor Dinesh Bhugra, has been awarded the Yves Pelicier Prize by the World Association of Social Psychiatry.

On 13 September, between 2-5pm, Careif will be supporting an event to celebrate the life and legacy of Dr Suman Fernando, who died earlier in the year aged 92. Dr Fernando had an international reputation in the field of critical psychiatry, particularly in relation to advocating for race equity in mental health.

Dr Mariam Bhaila, our newly appointed Associate, recently delivered an online workshop titled Understanding Trauma and Working in a Trauma-Informed Way on behalf of Careif, in collaboration with Fountain House, Lahore. She was supported by Professor Rachel Tribe.

Ben Amponsah and Rachel Tribe (Chair of Careif) conducted an engaging and informative workshop on day 1 of the British Psychological Society’s Division of Counselling Psychology Conference 2025 that had a full house of attendees

We are saddened to announce the death of Patrick ‘Rick O’Shea, one of Careif’s longstanding Patrons and a passionate supporter of our work.

The first steps towards a suicide prevention model for clinicians and medical school students in Pakistan were taken recently when 30 participants received online training to spot the signs in someone who is thinking of suicide and have a conversation that could help save their life.

It’s been a busy time for Careif. Here is a round-up of some of the recent engagements and events that we have been involved with which include several presentations and discussions.

Careif is proud to announce that trustee Professor Afzal Muhammad Javed has received an OBE in the King’s Birthday Honours List 2025, for services to mental health care.

ATTUNE is a project using creative arts methodologies to explore and understand the mechanisms behind poor adolescent mental health, including Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). Here are some updates from three of their work packages.

Careif would like to bring to your attention an important seminar on geopsychiatry that is being organised jointly by the World Psychiatric Association, the Asian Federation of Psychiatric Associations and the SAARAC Psychiatric Federation.

The online seminar, taking place on Saturday 8 March, has a theme of The relevance of geopsychiatry: navigating climatic events mental health complexities.

Careif Trustee, Professor Afzal Javed, in collaboration with the University of Thessaloniki, co-organised a webinar last October that examined the intersections between climate change and mental health.

This week, trustees and associates of Careif attended the launch of a new book ‘Journey to the centre of the self’, authored by Professor Rina Arya of Hull University along with one of our Patrons, Professor Dinesh Bhugra.

Two Careif Trustees presented at a recent symposium - ‘The Global Mindscape: Integrating Geopsychiatry Perspectives Across Continents’ - that was organised by the International Institute for Geopsychiatry,

Professor Rachel Tribe recently gave a lecture to a group of Italian psychologists on the topic of community psychology as part of their training at the Gruppo Italiano Tecniche di Imagerie Mentale (GITIM).

Careif is pleased to announce that it plans to work in partnership with Fountain House in Pakistan to foster information transfer and capacity building.

Professor Rachel Tribe, Careif Trustee, was invited and chaired a panel as part of an event organised by Veronica Franklin Gould, President of Arts for Dementia to mark World Refugee Day in June. 

Professor Rachel Tribe (Careif Trustee) and Professor Divine Charura ran a workshop on refugees, asylum seekers and mental health on behalf of Careif, for the British Psychological Society (BPS).