President: Yuri Savenko
Executive Director: Lyubov Vinogradova
Functioning as an independent professional association, the Independent Psychiatric Association assists in reforming psychiatry in Russia -- clinically, legally and socially -- through education, advocacy and professional support. IPA focuses specifically on creating a legal infrastructure and applying modern educational and clinical techniques in psychiatry.
Founded in 1989 and officially registered in 1992, IPA grew out of an informal association of doctors and human rights activists concerned with the state of psychiatry in Russia. During the Soviet period psychiatric hospitalization became a widely-used technique for repressing political dissent. Although progress had been made in bringing this practice to an end, IPA members felt that reforms in Russian psychiatry were severely lagging behind the rest of the political, economic and social changes taking place. IPA works to reform psychiatry not only clinically, but also conceptually -- challenging traditional and often outdated conceptions held by both state and society. When it was formed, the IPA was the only independent humanitarian psychiatric organization in the former Soviet Union. The Association is a full member of the World Psychiatric Association.
Initially IPA's main concern was securing the release of those put into psychiatric hospitals solely for political reasons. To this end, IPA regularly conducted investigations into cases where political reasons were believed to be the main cause for mandatory hospitalization. To prevent further abuses of psychiatry in the future, IPA began to play an active role in advocating serious reform of Russian psychiatry and demanded conformity with international standards in the field. The Association regularly consults with legislative, professional and state bodies on legal reforms affecting psychiatry. In 1992, IPA began conducting public and professional education in modern psychiatric methodology.
Special Projects:
International Conference: "Bridging Gaps in Russian Psychiatry: Legal Regulation of Psychiatric Care in Russia and Other Countries"
IPA, together with the World Psychiatric Association and the World Association for Medical Law, and in collaboration with the Russian Ministry of Health and the Moscow Mental Hospital No. 1, co-sponsored this five-day seminar for legal and psychiatric professionals, held September 25-29, 1995, in Moscow. Lead by a host of international panel members and presenters, the seminar addressed comparative legal aspects of psychiatric care and human rights factors in the field.
Annual Meetings of the IPA
Each year, professionals from around Russia gather to discuss the state of psychiatry and the work of the organization, reviewing progress made and setting the upcoming year's agenda.
Commission for Moral Implications of Psychiatric Care
Since 1989, this body has overseen the moral implications of psychiatric care and researched cases of potential rights abuses. Individuals can request that their case be looked into by the Commission. They then review the medical history of the patient, conducts their own exam, and renders a decision which is then made available to both the patient and their regular doctor. The practice of giving the patient access to their own file breaks with the traditional practice in Russia of withholding this information from patients. With the decision of the commission, patients who still had grievances with their case can pursue legal action, using the commission's report as evidence -- in a sense the 'second opinion' that was otherwise unavailable to Russian psychiatric patients. The Commission meets with patients two days per week to conduct case research.
Educational Outreach
When IPA began its work, there was only one institution where all psychiatrists were schooled in the Soviet Union. The course of study and the methodological approaches had not changed in over ten years. IPA has begun a long-term project aimed at updating and diversifying the options for schooling in the field of psychiatry. In the course of its educational outreach program, IPA hopes to involve not only doctors of psychiatry, but also nurses, teachers, lawyers, those who work in the court system, and others who are effected by or play a role in psychiatric care. In this sense, IPA aims not only to enhance the educational base of practitioners, but also to create an understanding community of service providers in the medical and legal fields. Currently, individual training programs are being held for psychiatrists, nurses, lawyers, and legal professionals.
Publications:
The NIS Third Sector Organization section is based on information found in the print edition of "The Post-Soviet Handbook." For more information on the Handbook and instructions on how to order, see our
Post Soviet Handbook Information page.
Sponsored by:
Center for Civil Society International
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