• Therapists need to be ready for an upsurge in demand for their services in the post-Covid world

  • iCAAD’s popular London mental health conference has moved online

  • Discounts for therapists whose income has been reduced in recent months

  • More than 40 CPD/CEU credits available

  • Find tickets and information here


Over the past three months, life as we once knew it has changed, perhaps irrevocably. What has become clear is that a pandemic, which began as a global health crisis, is quickly morphing into a mental health crisis. All of us working within the mental health industry are preparing ourselves for the fallout, but we are faced with practical concerns that need answering if we are to be sure to provide the best service to our clients. 

  • How can we best provide services virtually? 
  • What is the global feeling around the future of addiction and mental health treatment? 
  • Current global uprising and obvious anger demonstrate the need to better understand collective trauma: where and how can we do this? 
  • Many trainings and events scheduled for this year have been cancelled. How can we earn the CPD/CEU credits we need in order to fulfil our yearly quota? 


Fortunately, solutions are beginning to emerge. One company able to boost the skills, morale and resilience of every mental health professional is iCAAD. For the past four years, iCAAD has been a ‘must attend’ event on the London for therapists, counsellors, and healthcare practitioners who want to increase their awareness and education on addiction, trauma, resilience and recovery. Last year’s London conference was attended by over 1300 mental health professionals and was a big hit across the board.

This year, iCAAD have moved their entire conference 100% online, running on July 16 and 17. And it remains just as much a ‘can’t miss’ event as ever before. 

Moving online has not been easy for the organising team, but Sam Quinlan, founder and director, expects great things from the online event. “ICAAD Online 2020 means that we are able to offer professionals outside London, across the UK and around the whole world two amazing days and over 40 CEU/CPD credits. Mental health professionals could earn their entire yearly quota for just the cost of one ticket, and will emerge with tools and thinking to help their clients navigate the world after-Covid. This is the most accessible conference we have ever put on.” 

The programme features over 40 leading experts and authors in the fields of mental health, addiction and trauma recovery. As it’s 100% online, iCAAD 2020 is now available to anyone with an internet connection, anywhere around the world. It will also be available for 30 days on demand, so you can watch, re-watch and consider the ideas of the speakers in your own time. 


Reduced ticket prices

But how much is a ticket? Sam Quinlan has some good news. “We know how hard Covid-19 and lockdown have been for everyone – ourselves included. But because we’ve moved online, we’ve saved a lot of money and have pumped these savings into reducing the price of our tickets by over fifty percent. So you can expect the same great learning and experience at less than half the price. We also stand in solidarity with our colleagues who have seen their income collapse to zero. If this describes you, please contact us. You shouldn’t be missing out, and there are things we can do to help.” 

The iCAAD program will feature a wide array of innovative thinkers made up of industry professionals, expert speakers and authors and will bring to your table fresh and forward thinking ideas for you to consider and incorporate into your practice. Many of the speakers and presentations will explore multi-disciplinary models of treatments and approaches to behavioural, emotional, and mental health and well-being, with a significant focus on the implementation of these ideas in recovery from addiction and trauma. 

iCAAD’s online platform makes it easy to navigate between as many presentations as you can handle. It also makes it simple to meet the speakers in this virtual conference and to take part in live Q&As and networking sessions with other industry professionals from around the world. This opens up a universe of connections, opportunities and job offers. 


Highlighted topics at the conference

The following topics and ideas are just a sample of the many presentations that you will be able to attend at iCAAD Online 2020.

  • Reality of recovery
  • Functional medicine
  • Psychoactive substances
  • Psychedelics and therapy
  • Dual diagnosis 
  • The role of therapy in the workplace
  • Trauma and burnout in healthcare providers
  • The future of mental health and substance use disorder (SUD) treatment


Other presentations will look at the topics of race and gender in therapy and recovery, the importance of family in recovery, resilience, and balance in life, and this is still a small sample of what iCAAD have lined up.


Renowned speakers

Professionals can learn a lot about current industry trends in the aftermath of coronavirus. 

You will learn about how best to conceptualise childhood treatment through attachment theory from Dr. Jon Caldwell, chief of psychiatry from Meadows Behavioural Healthcare. Dr Anjula Mutanda, relationship psychologist, behavioural expert, TV personality, fellow of the National Counselling Society and also an ambassador for Relate will be exploring anger both on a personal and societal level.

Professor Stephen Porges will be looking at addiction through the lens of polyvagal theory. Looking at addiction this way, enables us to better understand addiction as the addicted individual’s quest for safety without having the neurophysiological resources to be sufficiently physiologically calm to co-regulate with others. Using this model Dr. Porges believes treatment needs to focus on providing resources for the addicted to regulate autonomic state that will enable them to cue others, via the social engagement system, that they are safe to approach and to be part of a co-regulatory dyad with trusted friends and relatives.

Victor Yalom will be exploring how to ultimately find one's own voice and style in therapy in the field of psychotherapy, using insight from his own life as a professional. Yalom believes that therapy should not be about explaining something to a client, but rather about helping the client to EXPERIENCE what they're feeling. He will explain how clinicians can implement this in their practice, and he will explore how it is best learned experientially. At iCAAD Online, Yalom will demonstrate just how therapy can be brought to life.

Welldoing,org’s own Louise Chunn will also be attending this year's event alongside Arti Kashyap-Ainsley and Kay Forsythe of Deloitte Consulting, talking on the future role of therapy in the workplace and on where practitioners need to upskill further to cope with the changing and evolving world of mental health treatment.

Last year’s iCAAD London conference was a major a shared moment of humanity featuring an eclectic combination of topics, and this year you should expect no difference. The move online allows for more accessibility, connection and networking without losing any of the therapeutic excellence that iCAAD is so renown for.  


About iCAAD

iCAAD is a platform dedicated to expanding knowledge, exchanging ideas, advancing well-being, and the prevention and treatment of behavioural, emotional, and mental health issues. They provide networking opportunities for both industry professionals and a more general audience. Through their communications network and ongoing series of Global Conferences they facilitate open dialogue, learning and skills acquisition to influence best practice worldwide in the expert treatment of increasingly common conditions affecting individuals in every country. 

Get information and tickets for iCAAD Online 2020 here