Jasna Russo

Jasna Russo is Professor of emancipatory approaches and collaborative methods in social work at ASH Berlin since 2023. Previously, she served as Visiting Professor at Alice Salomon University of Applied Sciences Berlin (2021-2022), Acting Professor and Head of the Department of Women's Studies in Rehabilitation and Pedagogy for People with Disabilities at Technical University of Dortmund (2019-2020), and Research Associate at Brandenburg Theodor Fontane Medical School (2017-2020). Her extensive background includes research positions at King's College London's Institute of Psychiatry (2004-2006) and collaborations with numerous international organizations including WHO, EU Fundamental Rights Agency, and The McPin Foundation.

Dr. Russo earned her Doctorate from Brunel University London, College of Health and Life Sciences in 2019. Her dissertation, "Unmaking madness. Exploring collective first-person epistemology," received the university's Research Excellence Award. She also holds a Diploma in Clinical Psychology from the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Philosophy (1992), and has practical experience working with women's shelters, refugee services, and mental health organizations.

Russo's research centers on Mad Studies, emancipatory research methodologies, and dialogic knowledge production. Her work critically examines psychiatric practices while centering experiential knowledge and marginalized epistemologies. She explores how collaborative methods can transform social work practices and mental health systems, with particular attention to epistemic justice and the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in mental health contexts. Her scholarship consistently challenges power dynamics in knowledge production and advocates for approaches that value diverse ways of knowing.

Analysis of her publication history reveals a clear trajectory toward increasingly sophisticated engagement with epistemic justice frameworks and the political dimensions of knowledge production. Her recent work focuses on de-psychiatrizing research methodologies, exploring alternatives to crisis support through autonomous organizing, and examining the international foundations of Mad Studies as a scholarly field. This evolution demonstrates her commitment to developing theoretically robust yet practically applicable approaches to mental health research and practice.

• Research Excellence Award from Brunel University London for doctoral dissertation
• Co-editor of "The Routledge Handbook of Mad Studies" (2021)
• Co-editor of "Searching for a Rose Garden. Challenging Psychiatry, Fostering Mad Studies" (2016)
• Contributions to numerous international research projects on mental health and social work

Russo's work bridges academic research with community-based initiatives through her longstanding collaborations with mental health service user/survivor movements. She has advised organizations including the German Institute for Human Rights, EU Fundamental Rights Agency, and Oxford University. Her research methodology emphasizes co-production, ensuring that knowledge generation is conducted with, rather than on, marginalized communities. This approach has positioned her as a leading voice in developing research practices that center lived experience while maintaining academic rigor.

Her current work at ASH Berlin focuses on creating educational spaces for dialogic knowledge production that value diverse epistemologies. She is actively involved in developing curricula that integrate Mad Studies perspectives into mainstream social work education, challenging traditional frameworks and creating space for alternative approaches to mental health and social work practice.