Programm

Friday, 24 April 2026 (Day 1)

All times in CET (Central European Time)

09:00 – 09:15 AM

Opening and Welcome (Dr. Michael Fritz)

09:15 – 10:00 AM

Keynote Lecture 1: Ethical Pros and Cons of Research on Particularly Vulnerable Patient Populations

PD Dr. Irina Franke (Center for Forensic Psychiatry, Chur, Switzerland)

10:00 – 10:15 AM

Short Break

10:15 – 11:00 AM

Parallel Sessions

Session 1: Novel IT-based Treatment Options in Forensic Psychiatry (session host: Dr. Michael Fritz) 

    Talk 1: AVATAR therapy for distressing voices: lessons learnt and future directions
    Prof. Dr. Mar Rus-Calafell (Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany)
     

    Talk 2: The clinical applications of Virtual Reality in Alcohol Use Disorder
    Dr. Alexandra Ghiţă (Aspris by alkalma United for Health and Wellbeing, Dubai, United Arabic Emirates)

    Session 2: Novel Treatment Options for Psychosis and Delusions in Forensic Psychiatry (session host: Prof Dr. Manuela Dudeck)

    Talk 1: Advances in Catatonia: From Diagnosis to Evidence-Based Treatment
    Prof. Dr. Dusan Hirjak (Central Institute for Mental Health Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany)


    Talk 2: Neurostimulation and Cognition in Psychosis: Mechanisms and Clinical Perspectives
    ​​​​​​​Dr Panayiota Michalopoulou (King’s College London, London, United Kingdom)

    11:00 – 11:15 AM

     Short Break

    11:15 AM – 12:00 PM

    Keynote Lecture 2: Premature mortality among offenders with serious mental illness: lessons from forensic psychiatric patients and high-risk groups

    Prof. Dr. Björn Hofvander (Lund University, Lund, Sweden)

    12:00 – 1:15 PM

    Lunch Break

    1:15 – 2:00 PM

    Keynote Lecture 3: The AIS and eHARM: a new set to tools for managing violence using big data

    Prof. Dr. Gary Chaimowitz (McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada)

    2:00 – 2:15 PM

    Short Break

    2:15 – 3:00 PM

    Parallel Sessions

    Session 3: The Genetics of Aggression – Current Understanding and Emerging Treatment Implications (session host: Prof. Dr. Manuela Dudeck)

    Talk 1: Differentially expressed Gene pathway-analysis implicates the immune system, lipid metabolism, and neuroplasticity markers in aggression and violence
    Dr. Michael Fritz (Ulm University, Ulm, Germany)

    Talk 2: Genes and environment in shaping human behavior: legal and forensic perspectives
    Prof. Dr. Silvia Pellegrini (University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy)

    Session 4: Brain anatomical correlates of aggression and anti-social behavior across clinical and population cohorts (session host: Prof. Dr. Unn Hansen Hauvik)

    Talk 1:Mapping cerebellar subregional volumes and heterogeneity in psychosis and violence
    Dr. Thomas Fischer-Vieler (University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway)

    Talk 2: Multimodal Correlates of Aggression and Agitation in Early Psychosis and Depression: Integrating Brain Structure, Polygenic Risk, and Social Adversity
    Clara Weyer (Ludwig Maximillian University Munich, Munich, Germany)

    Talk 3: Early indicators of conduct disorder in the developing brain: structural insights from ages 9-14 in the ABCD Study
    Dr. Jaroslav Rokicki (Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway)

    Session 5: Substance use disorders within forensic psychiatric care: symptoms, subgroups and treatment (session host: Prof. Dr. Malin Hildebrand Karlén)

    Talk 1: Community reinforcement approach applied in an FPC in-patient setting
    Prof. Dr. Malin Hildebrand Karlén (Gothenburg University, Gothenburg, Sweden)

    Talk 2: Co-morbidity subgroups within forensic psychiatric care
    Johan Green (Gothenburg University, Gothenburg, Sweden)

    Talk 3: Drug induced psychosis – transient and chronic symptoms
    Cajsa Jonasson (Gothenburg University, Gothenburg, Sweden)

    Session 6: Current research in German Forensic Psychiatry (session host: Prof. Dr. Birgit Völlm)

    Talk 1: Involving service users in research in forensic psychiatry
    Prof. Dr. Birgit Völlm (Rostock University, Rostock, Germany)

    Talk 2: Developing a national database on forensic-psychiatric patients
    Dr. Katja Köppen (Rostock University, Rostock, Germany)

    Talk 3: Patterns of substance use in a forensic-psychiatric hospital in Germany
    Finn Sörensen (Rostock University, Rostock, Germany)

    4:00 – 4:15 PM

    Concluding Remarks (Day 1)

     

     

    Saturday, 25 April 2026 (Day 2)

    All times in CET (Central European Time)

    09:00 – 09:15 AM

    Opening Remarks (Day 2)

    09:15 – 10:00 AM

    Keynote Lecture 4: Long lasting impacts: The role of childhood adversity for treatment completion

    Prof. Dr. Hedwig Eisenbarth (University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand)

    10:00 – 10:15 AM

    Short Break

    10:15 – 11:00 AM

    Keynote lecture 5: Should Biological Markers Be Included in Forensic Psychiatric Reports?

    Prof. Dr. Unn Hansen Haukvik (University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway)

    11:00 – 11:15 AM

    Short Break

    11:15 AM – 12:00 PM

    Parallel Sessions

    Session 9: Risk of recidivism and development of risk assessment in the Nordics (session host: Dr. Markku Lähteenvuo, Niuvanniemi Hospital, Kuopio, Finland)

    Talk 1: Finnish forensic psychiatric care and subsequent recidivism
    Dr. Markku Lähteenvuo (Niuvanniemi Hospital, Kuopio, Finnland

    Talk 2: Swedish forensic psychiatric care and subsequent recidivism in violent crime
    Dr. Jonas Forsman (Karolinska Institutet and The Swedish National Board of Forensic Medicine, Stockholm, Sweden)

    Talk 3: Beyond Categories: Temporal Validation and Clinical Refinement of Risk Assessment Tools for Modern Forensic Psychiatric Practice
    Lenka Sivak (Karolinska Institutet and The Swedish National Board of Forensic Medicine, Stockholm, Sweden)

    Session 10: [Title Needed] (session host: Prof. Dr. Schiltz, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany)

    Talk 1: tbd

    Talk 2: tbd

    12:00 – 12:15 PM

    Short Break

    12:15 – 1:00 PM

    Keynote Lecture 6: The New Science of Risk Assessment: Implications for Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology

    Prof. Dr. Seena Fazel (University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom)

    1:00 – 1:30 PM

    Concluding Remarks (Final Summary)