9th Suicide & Self-harm Early & Mid-Career Researchers’ Forum (EMCRF25)

Event Description

The Suicidal Behaviour Research Laboratory (SBRL) is delighted to announce the 9th suicide and Self-Harm Early and Mid-Career Researchers’ Forum (EMCRF25), which will be held at the University of Glasgow’s Advanced Research Centre, Glasgow, on 2nd and 3rd June 2025. EMCRF25 is open to all working in the field of suicide and self-harm research, but it is specifically targeted at Early and Mid-Career Researchers. It will provide a space for support, networking, and collaborations among Masters, PhD, and Post-doctoral research students as well as more established researchers.  

The EMCR Forum will yield opportunities for investigators at an early stage of their career to receive the advice and guidance of more senior scientists in the field and create a supportive context for EMCRs to share their experiences and discuss the challenges faced in suicide and self-harm research, as well as fostering potential future research collaborations. The Forum also provides the opportunity to present your latest research and study projects in progress to colleagues, peers, health professionals, and policy makers. In short, if you are a researcher (at any stage of your career) in the field of suicide and self-harm please consider attending and/or presenting.  

We are looking forward to welcoming you to Glasgow.  

The Suicidal Behaviour Research Lab Team

Keynote Speakers

Professor Sir Louis Appleby

Louis Appleby advises the Government on the National Suicide Prevention Strategy for England.  He is Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Manchester where he leads the Centre on Mental Health and Safety, investigating suicide, self-harm and other areas of risk. He is Director of the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health, a UK-wide study that aims to improve the safety of mental health care.   

From 2000-2010 he was National Director for Mental Health in England, playing a central role in reforming community care.  From 2010-2014 he was the National Clinical Director for Health and Justice, leading the development of diversion services for offenders with mental health problems.  From 2013-2019 he was a non-executive director on the Board of the Care Quality Commission. He advised the General Medical Council on suicide prevention in doctors under investigation.  He also advised the NHS on the suicide prevention response to the Grenfell tragedy. In 2021 he was awarded the Royal College of Psychiatrists Lifetime Achievement Award.  He was awarded a CBE in 2006 and was knighted in the 2023 New Year Honours.

Dr Susan Rasmussen

Susan is a chartered psychologist and reader in psychology in the Department of Psychological Sciences and Health at the University of Strathclyde. She leads a programme of research to understand how self-harm and suicidal thoughts and behaviour begin, why they might be repeated, and how we can eventually stop these. Her research is theoretically informed and often uses mixed methods to understand the complex ways that psychological, social, and environmental factors impact self-harm and suicidal thoughts and behaviours. She is a member of the Academic Advisory Group which supports Scotland’s National Suicide Prevention Leadership Group and chairs the ethics board for the Samaritans. She recently launched a National Suicide Prevention Network for Universities and Colleges in Scotland which she now chairs with Suicide Prevention Scotland. 

Provisional Programme* 

Monday 2nd June 2025 
10:00 – 12:00 | Pre-conference Workshops**

12:00 – 13:00 | Registration 
13:00 – 13:15 | Welcoming remarks 
13:15 – 14:00 | Opening Keynote Presentation – Dr Susan Rasmussen   

14:00 – 15:15 | Oral presentation – Parallel sessions A & B 
15:15 – 16:00 | Poster session 1, coffee and networking 
16:00 – 17:15 | Oral presentation – Parallel sessions C & D 
19:00 | Dinner at La Vita Spuntinis, 199 Byres Road, Glasgow 

Tuesday 3rd June 2025 
09:00 – 09:30 | Registration 
09:30 – 09:40 | Promoting international early career groups in suicide & self-harm research: IASP ECG and NetECR 
09:40 – 09:55 | Welcoming remarks 
09:55 – 10:40| Keynote Presentation – Professor Sir Louis Appleby  

10:40 –11:00 | Coffee and networking 
11:00 – 12:00 | EMCR Talks 
11:00 – 11:20| EMRC Talk 1 
11:20 – 11:40 | EMCR Talk 2 
11:40 – 12:00 | EMCR Talk 3 
12:00 – 13:00 | Lunch 
13:00 – 13:40 | Panel Discussion 
13:40 – 14:40 | Poster session 2, coffee and networking 
14:40 – 15:55 | Oral presentations – Parallel sessions E & F 
16:00 – 16:15 | Closing 

*Please note that this programme is subject to change.

**You must register for the pre-conference workshop via the registration portal.

Registration  

REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED.

Registration link here (for payment by credit/ debit card/ pay at the door): https://peakpass.co/event/9th-suicide-self-harm-early-mid-career-researchers-forum-2025

Registration cost: £70* 

Registration deadline: Friday 9th May 2025. 

 If you are paying your registration on the day of the conference, we can only accept cash (no cheques, or credit/debit cards). Please bring the exact amount of £70. We will provide receipts on the day.  

If you have any questions about registration then please email: glasgowwellbeing@gmail.com  

Refund policy: Refunding requests will only be accepted by Thursday 22nd May 2025. 

*Please note: The conference dinner is not included in the cost of registration.    

Pre-conference Workshop 

Pre-conference workshops (see below) will take place on Monday 2nd June 2025 between 10am-12pm. You can sign up for one of our pre-conference workshops when registering for our conference.

Workshop 1: An introduction to network analysis in R with Dr Derek de Beurs​ and Valeria Epelbaum

Workshop 2: Supporting our mental health and wellbeing in self-harm and suicide research with Dr Hazel Marzetti and Dr Seonaid Cleare.​

Please note: Only those who are registering for the conference can sign up to the pre-conference workshops.

Dinner 

We will have an informal dinner on Monday 2nd June at 7pm at La Vita Spuntinis, on Byres Road in the West End of Glasgow. If you wish to come, please select the option when registering. Please note, however, that the costs of the dinner are not included in the registration fees – everyone will buy their dinner ticket at the registration desk. The dinner cost will be £25. Spaces will be limited (first come, first served).  We can only accept cash for dinner tickets so please ensure you bring cash on the day.

Location  

We are excited to announce that the 9th Suicide & Self-harm EMCR’s Forum will be held in-person at University of Glasgow’s Advanced Research Centre. 

This location is in the heart of Glasgow’s West End with transport links from Hillhead Subway Station to the City Centre (Glasgow Buchanan Street or St Enoch) via Glasgow Subway. 

Call for Submissions (adapted from BPS guidelines) 

Presentations will be in the format of a brief 10-minute oral presentation or a poster. Authors can present complete studies or work in progress. This latter type of presentation allows researchers to provide information about, and share their reflections on, work in progress. For all types of presentations, the abstract should have clear and explicit aims and objectives, hypotheses or research questions; methods should be clearly described, with an explicit statement of intended sample characteristics and justification for this; a clear plan of analysis should be outlined, which should make clear how the intended analyses will address the research aims or research question; and the discussion section should clarify the expected or potential implications of the research. Please see below for guidance on writing your abstract: 

For completed work:

Background: State the primary objectives of the study, including the main research questions, aims or theory being tested. 
 
Methods: Quantitative studies should include design, participants, measures and analyses; qualitative studies should include design, participants, methods of data collection and analysis, (e.g. thematic analysis, discourse analysis, interpretative phenomenological analysis). 
 
Findings: Quantitative studies should include a summary of the results (accompanied by important statistical information); qualitative studies should include a description of the main findings such as the themes or categories generated. 
 
Discussion: Conclusions and/or some discussion of the possible contribution to, or implications for, psychology and other relevant contexts related to self-harm or suicide. 

For work in progress:

Background: State the primary objectives of the study, including the main research questions, aims or theory being tested. 
 
Methods: Quantitative studies should include design, participants, measures and analyses; qualitative studies should include design, participants, methods of data collection and analysis, e.g. thematic analysis, discourse analysis, interpretative phenomenological analysis. 
 
Expected results: Describe the preliminary or expected results. Current stage of work: Describe the stage you are at with regard to the planned work. 
 
Discussion: Some discussion of the possible contribution to, or implications for, the field of self-harm or suicide research. 

Please note that if you choose to present a poster then vertical A0 or A1 best fit the poster boards. 

Abstract Submissions: 

  • Abstract submission is now closed

Important Dates: 

Abstract submission deadline: Monday 31st March 2025

Abstract acceptance: Monday 21st April 2025 

Registration deadline: Friday 9th May 2025