Morning Sessions
Welcome and Introductions
9:30 - 9:45, Auditorium C
Conference Chair James Hogan and SASW National Director Jane Shears welcome delegates to the conference and outline the day's sessions.
Session 1: Keynote Address - The National Social Work Agency & MHOs
9:45 - 10:30, Auditorium C
Joanna Macdonald, Chief Executive of the National Social Work Agency and Chief Social Work Adviser, will deliver a keynote address.
Session 2: Adult Social Work, the role of the MHO, and supportive spaces
10:30 - 11:15, Auditorium C
The scope of social work with adults is vast – from adult protection, learning disability, substance use, older adults, and mental health – demands on MHO’s have never been greater. This presentation will look at current issues and explore how supportive spaces can assist in meeting demand.
This session will be led by Dr Neil Gibson, Adult Social Work Policy and Practice Lead, Social Work Scotland
Break, Networking & Exhibition
11:15 - 11:30, Level 2 Mezzanine
Workshops
11:30 - 12:30, Level 2 Workshop Rooms
Detention without MHO Consent
Workshop Room 1
The aim of this session is to present details and objectives of the ongoing work being conducted by the Mental Welfare Commission in relation to EDCs and MHO consent and importantly to seek the views of MHOs regarding the barriers/differences in practice/experience that they would like to share with us to inform our work.
This session will be led by Emma Fletcher, Data Intelligence & Research Officer, and Mark Manders, Casework Manager (Investigations) from the Mental Welfare Commission.
Relational practice: radical or ordinary?
Workshop Room 2
This session will be led by Mick McKeown, Professor of Democratic Mental Health at the University of Lancashire
Workshop 3 - TBC
Our third workshop presenter has unfortunately had to drop out. We are currently arranging a replacement and will update this as soon as we have this confirmed.
Lunch
12:30 - 13:30, Level 2 Mezzanine
Afternoon Sessions
Session 3: Named Persons (and other possibilities)
13:30 - 14:15, Auditorium C
This session will explore changes to named person resulting from the Mental Health (Scotland) Act 2015. It will cover the background before the act and the current position since it came into force. We will then look at current practice including case examples, applications to the Tribunal, and the Scottish Mental Health Law Review.
This session will be led by Ruth Buchanan and Andy Logan.
Session 4: Learning Session - Experts by Experience
14:15 - 15:00, Auditorium C
This session will be led by Christine Muir and Iona MacTaggart from the Scottish Recovery Network.
Break, Networking & Exhibition
15:00 - 15:15, Level 2 Mezzanine
Session 5: Panel - Resourcing and Sustaining Scotland's MHOs
15:15 - 16:00, Auditorium C
James Hogan will chair this closing panel discussing questions from delegates that have arisen over the course of the conference. Panellists include Jamie Aarons, Andy Logan, Mick McKeown, and Christine Muir.
Closing Remarks
16:00 - 16:15, Auditorium C
James Hogan and Jane Shears will close the conference and reflect on the day.
Speaker Bios
Jamie Aarons
Jamie is the recently-appointed Senior Professional Social Work Advisor for Adults within the National Social Work Agency, though she continues to have strong links with Public Protection and Adult Support and Protection practice and policy. Jamie has been a social worker for over 20 years, initially working within clinical and educational settings with children and families affected by trauma, then transitioning to work more specifically with adults across a range of teams and settings. A qualified Mental Health Officer, she has held numerous roles cross-cutting policy and practice areas and working across the lifespan, including as a Social Work Officer within the Mental Welfare Commission, and hospital and locality-based social work teams; as Lead Officer for Adult Support and Protection; and most recently as a Professional Social Work Advisor within the Scottish Government.
Ruth Buchanan
I have worked in mental health since 1979, initially as a nurse at Royal Edinburgh Hospital then as a social worker. I qualified as a Mental Health Officer in 1998 and worked in Midlothian and then West Lothian. I left the ‘day job’ working in the MHO Team in West Lothian in 2020 and now work as a Locum Out of Hours MHO in West Lothian. I have been a general member of the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland since 2005 and am currently on the Board of Management of the Patients’ Advocacy Service at the State Hospital.
Emma Fletcher
Emma Fletcher is Data Intelligence & Research Officer for the Mental Welfare Commission.
Neil Gibson
Dr Neil Gibson is the Adult Social Work Policy and Practice Lead at Social Work Scotland and has been working in the field of social work for over 20 years. His practice background includes residential childcare, hospital and palliative care, substance use, and adult support and protection.
Neil then worked in social work education and, prior to joining Social Work Scotland, was the Associate Dean in the School of Applied Social Studies at Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen.
Neil completed a PhD in 2018 with a focus on the therapeutic use of photographs in group work and in his research, he worked extensively with people with diagnosed mental health issues. He has continued to be involved in teaching and research in this area, and in 2025 he completed a qualification to become a pluralistic therapist.
James Hogan
James Hogan has held senior management roles within Glasgow City Council since 2004, beginning as a Social Work Team Leader and Mental Health Officer within Mental Health and Learning Disability Services. In 2018 he became an Integrated Service Manager, and in 2023 was appointed Lead Mental Health Officer for Glasgow.
Over two decades, James has played a key role in the training, development, and professional governance of MHOs across the city and has acted as Practice Assessor for numerous candidates, contributed to course standardisation and review, and currently serves as Co-chair of the MHO Steering Group for the West of Scotland Learning Network.
As Lead MHO, James provides strategic leadership for Glasgow’s MHO services and chairs the Glasgow City MHO Governance Group, which is key to the city’s response to significant recruitment and retention challenges.
Andy Logan
Mental Health Officer, West Lothian Council
I have been involved in the mental health sector for around 7 years in total, initially as an advocacy worker before training as a Social Worker. I qualified as an MHO around 3 years ago and have a keen interest in rights-based practice and ensuring that individuals subject to compulsion are able to uptake their rights.
Mark Manders
Mark Manders is Casework Manager (Investigations) for the Mental Welfare Commission.
Iona MacTaggart
Iona MacTaggart is the Evaluation and Policy Coordinator for Scottish Recovery Network.
Joanna Macdonald
Joanna Macdonald is the Chief Executive of the National Social Work Agency and Chief Social Work Adviser.
Mick McKeown
Mick is Professor of Democratic Mental Health School of Nursing & Midwifery, University of Lancashire and trade union activist with Unison and UCU. He has taken a lead in arguing the case for union organising to extend to alliance formation with service user/survivor groupings. Mick is interested in connections between workplace and community democracy and coproduction of services. Mick takes a critical view of mental health care and views relational practice as a standpoint and set of skills that are suited to improving services and changing society. He has published widely in the mental health field including co-editing the recent books: Essentials of Mental Health Nursing (2nd Edition) and Coproduction: towards equality in mental healthcare.
Christine Muir
Christine Muir is the Communications and Policy Manager for Scottish Recovery Network.
