5th International Conference in Duhok

"Trauma, Education and Responsibility in Post-Conflict Societies - Interdisciplinary and Transcultural Perspectives from Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, MHPSS and Research.

Organised by the Institute of Psychotherapy and Psychotraumatology (IPP), University of Duhok, the Institute of Transcultural Health Science (TCultHS), Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University (DHBW) in Germany, and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH

from 26th to 27th October 2026, at the University of Duhok, Kurdistan Region, Iraq

CALL FOR PAPERS

Organising the conference “Trauma, Education and Responsibility in Post-Conflict Societies”, the Institute of Psychotherapy and Psychotraumatology (IPP) at the University of Duhok is aiming at providing a platform for exchange and dialogue between psychiatry, psychotherapy, MHPSS, psychosocial and social sciences, public health, education, and related disciplines, bringing together perspectives from research, academic training and field-based practice.

The conference focuses on comparative models, empirical findings and practical experiences from different post-conflict settings, with particular attention to Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, while explicitly including experiences from other regions worldwide. Key questions include the cultural adaptation of evidence-based approaches, interdisciplinary collaboration between medical, psychotherapeutic and psychosocial services, and the realities of professional practice in contexts of insecurity and limited resources.

A central component of the conference is the active inclusion of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), which play a crucial role in delivering psychiatric, psychotherapeutic and MHPSS services in many post-conflict regions. NGOs are invited to present their experiences from clinical and community-based work, capacity building, research, advocacy and cooperation with academic institutions.

This call is for proposals to organise different panels and workshops. If you wish to submit a proposal to the congress organisers, please complete the application form in the link, giving details of your proposal and how it will address the Congress topics. Information and instructions are available in the link

The international congress will be in English.

Topics

The organisers welcome papers, panels and roundtables on all aspects of these topics.

Topics of interest are the following. At the same time, topics of interest are not limited to the following list.

- Transcultural psychiatry, psychotherapy and MHPSS in post-conflict societies

- Challenges and limitations of evidence-based interventions across cultural contexts

- Interdisciplinary models integrating psychiatric, psychotherapeutic and psychosocial care

- Research in conflict and post-conflict settings: methodology, ethics and feasibility

- NGO perspectives: best practice, structural challenges and future directions

- Academic education, capacity building and the responsibility of universities

- Trauma, social resilience and peacebuilding

- International cooperation and knowledge exchange between the Global North and Global South

Individuals, institutions or groups of experts can propose either a panel or workshop paper on a topic of interest to the congress or a full panel or workshop on one of the topics defined above.

The application form asks you to provide an abstract of your contribution and to place it in one of eleven topic categories. Each topic can be addressed from the perspective of legal reform, scientific research, or validated practice.

The length of each introductory speech should be a maximum of 20 minutes.
Each panel/workshop will last 90 minutes.
The Congress will be in English.

Please visit the link for the application below.

Completed applications must be received before or on 4th October 2026.

For technical support with the application, please reach out to the following email address;

International Speakers: [email protected]

Local Speakers: [email protected]

As soon as the organising committee and the academic committee have viewed and assessed the abstracts, you will receive an answer and an invitation to participate in the congress.