Address from the President of the European Psychiatric Association

It is an honour and a privilege for me to take over Cyril Höschl’s mandate as the President of EPA, as previously done by Henning Sass (EPA President 2005-2006) and Mario Maj (EPA President 2003-2004) following a 25 year old tradition started with the founding father of EPA, Léonard Singer in 1983.

Let’s not forget where we come from: when EPA (formerly known as AEP) was created, Léonard Singer had the vision of an association which would promote psychiatric research, improve and establish common standards regarding the treatment and care of psychiatric patients in Europe and establish criteria for a higher education in psychiatry on the European scale.

These three axes are unequivocally complementary: research gives way to the improvement of care; teaching allows the transmission of knowledge about the illnesses and their treatment that are brought on by research and common standards upgrade the credibility and influence of our discipline.

The second objective at that time was to establish an association of psychiatrists that would act as a key mediator between practitioners and official authorities on matters relative to mental health policy. From the very beginning, the founding fathers of EPA were dreaming of laying the ground for an organisation gathering psychiatrists from all European countries, following the political example set up by the Council of Europe and the European Union. EPA was officially granted a participatory status with the Council of Europe in 2003 and the city of Strasbourg, France, was chosen as the headquarters of our society.

I am proud to say that a quarter of a century later, we still honour the principles on which EPA was created, and that we have been capable to nurture the dreams of our predecessors.

The time has come to report on the progress of our society, evaluate where EPA stands today in the field of European Psychiatry and among its peers, and share with you what is my vision, as the President of EPA. Where do we want to go? What are our challenges? What are our priorities? How would we like to proceed in order to consolidate our mission: “Improve the quality of psychiatry and mental heath care in Europe”?

The European Congress of Psychiatry

One of EPA most significant achievements is the consolidation of the annual European Congress of Psychiatry which has been the fastest growing congress in Europe in the last three years: the 15th European Congress of Psychiatry in Madrid was the most successful congress in EPA history with 3.400 participants. In 2008 and 2009, the congress attendance in Nice and Lisbon was very good too with 79 countries represented. I would also like to emphasize our fruitful collaboration with Maria Luisa Figueira and Pedro Varandas, representing the Local Organizing Committee in Portugal, whose influence directly contributed to the exceptionally high participation of Portuguese delegates in Lisbon!

The 18th European Congress of Psychiatry will take place at the International Congress Centre of Munich, Germany from 27 February to 2 March, 2010. We plan collaborating intensely with F. Schneider, as the President of the German Society of Psychiatry (DGPPN), and with Norbert Müller, chairing the Local Organizing Committee. It will be an immense pleasure for us, to welcome you in Munich, a city with more than 100-year-old relationship with psychiatry, represented by the some of the most remarkable researchers and psychiatrists such as Emil Kraepelin and Alois Alzheimer and still hosting a very active psychiatric research scene. As you may already know, Munich has a close link with art and culture and is also very appealing with its beautiful old city centre and the surrounding lakes and mountains.

EPA plans offering you a high-quality, multidisciplinary scientific program that will provide a full review of the most important aspects of diagnosis and treatment in psychiatry and of the latest achievements in this field. The motto will be “Improve the quality of psychiatric research and treatment in Europe”, as a tribute to EPA inner mission in Europe.

Clinicians and researchers of all generation are encouraged to become actively involved in the exchange of knowledge and experience by contributing to the scientific program of our Congress.

Submit your proposals for abstracts before 12 May, 2009, attend workshops, lectures and CME courses, offer oral presentations and exhibit posters, and enjoy interacting with your colleagues from Europe and beyond its borders! Feel warmly welcome to the 18th European Congress of Psychiatry in Munich!

EPA collaborative activities in the field of Psychiatry at the European level

The second axe of growth for EPA consists in developing collaborative projects with other major psychiatric organisations. As an example, joined activities were further reinforced with the European College of Neuro-Psychopharmacology (ECNP) with joint symposia and educational courses organized over the last three years. Our plan in 2009 is to reinforce our partnership with ECNP and present an EPA symposium at the 22nd ECNP meeting in Istanbul (12-16 Sept) on “the consequences of the ICD-11 and DSM-V in preparation for Research and Action”. In addition, an EPA/ECNP joint itinerant course is to be hosted by the Psychopharmacology Section of the Slovak Psychiatric Association in Kosice, Slovakia, on June 25/27, 2009

Our collaboration continues with the German Research Network on Schizophrenia (ECSR) and EPA will participate in the Berlin Meeting 2009 (21-23 September) offering a clinical symposium on “European Schizophrenia Practice Guidelines: Survey and Implementation”.

In the same spirit, it is our pleasure to organize together with Dr. Kostas N. Fountoulakis, from the International Society of Neurobiology and Psychopharmacology, the 1st International Congress on Neurobiology and Clinical Psychopharmacology and the European Psychiatric Association Conference on Treatment Guidance Dual which will take place in Thessaloniki Greece, on 19-22/11, 2009. On this occasion EPA representatives will offer a large panel of symposia on Treatment guidance/guidelines covering among others, schizophrenia and bipolar/mood disorders.

EPA is also affiliated to the European Brain Council (EBC) as a Board member and partially supported in 2008 the European Brain Policy Forum and the CUBE Study. This affiliation is to be considered as tremendous asset in the long run for our society to develop its interaction with the European Commission, European Parliament and other relevant EU and international organisations.

EPA is actively involved in the WPA/WHO/UEMS/EPA Task Force of the European Leaders in Psychiatry and massively attended the meeting held in Prague and hosted by the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) in 2008. The last meeting of the Task Force was organized by EPA in Lisbon, as a hearty convivial dinner during which the form of this working group was questioned in depth. Our partners agreed upon the idea that revitalizing and boosting synergy between the four members could generate more concrete projects in future. We hope that more exchanges will take place during the WPA International Congress in Florence (1-4 April, 2009).

EPA position statement supported by ESC and EASD

A solid joint venture with other medical fields was initiated recently with major European Scientific societies. Together with the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), the European Psychiatric Association has developed a Joint Position Statement on the “prevention of cardiovascular disease and diabetes in people with severe mental illnesses”, designed to show how current European CVD prevention and diabetes guidelines can be optimally applied to patients with severe mental illnesses, and how psychiatrists can incorporate cardiovascular risk assessment into their routine practice.

Psychiatrists will play a valuable role in the somatic care of patients with severe mental illnesses. Such an approach is likely to reduce cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality, reduce the accompanying direct and indirect burden to patients, their families and healthcare services, and improve the overall health and well being of psychiatric patients. Our intention is to initiate co-operation between the different health care professionals and to increase the awareness of psychiatrists caring for patients suffering from severe mental illness to screen and treat increased cardiovascular risk factors and diabetes.

Once the EPA/ESC/EASD position statement is publically released in European Psychiatry and in the respective journals of ESC and EASD, as well as in our website www.europsy.net, a cascade of educational activities conducted by Marc De Hert will follow at the European level. This important topic will also be highlighted during the ESC Congress in Barcelona on “Prevention and risk factors identification” (29/08-2/09, 2009) and at the EASD 45th Meeting in Vienna (29/09-2/10, 2009), in continuity with the Presidential Forum that was organized with Ulf Smith (ESC President) and David Wood (representing R. Ferrari, EASD President) and myself, in Lisbon.

EPA Guidelines and Guidance

Following this example, European guidelines shall be a master key in the future to raise our visibility and ensure that EPA plays a key role in our profession. We plan collaborating closer in 2009 with the Italian Psychiatric Association on collecting all the laws that govern the psychiatric and mental health care in the different European countries, assess their similarities, identify their contradictions and inconsistencies in order to present a detailed report not only to various scientific journals, but also to address this issue to the European Parliament and to the national governments.

EPA cooperation and partnership with the National Psychiatric Societies in Europe

The European Platform of Psychiatrists launched by EPA in 2007 in order to develop a basis of exchange with the national psychiatric societies in Europe, to build a spirit of belonging to the European Psychiatry community and to implement common projects, was followed by a second successful edition in Nice, in 2008.

The third edition in Lisbon consolidated the ground for an even closer collaboration under the format of an EPA corporate membership status now opened for the national and international psychiatric associations willing to support our mission on the long run with concrete collaborative projects in the fields of Education, Research funding, Guidelines and more lately, on sharing our vision about the role of Psychiatry, as a profession, in the broader scope of Medicine.

EPA is now launching an official call for partnership through letters of intent circulating among the national societies which have been involved in the European Platform of Psychiatrists over the last 3 years. Should you wish to join EPA as a corporate member, you are welcome to contact our EPA Headquarter, 15 Avenue de la Liberté, 67000 Strasbourg, France.

Education

Education is one of the core missions of EPA. In total, 590 psychiatrists were trained in 2008, under the direct influence of EPA. We feel that EPA is qualified to upgrade further its influence in this field; this is why EPA decided to launch in 2008 the programme “Academia for Excellence in European Psychiatry”. The pipe line of start-up projects is filled in with innovative activities: CME courses online, skills based training, peer groups meeting for Continuous Professional Development, supported by an active search for diversified sources of funding.

The position of Secretary for Education has been created within the EPA Executive Committee, and will be endorsed by Henning Sass. Among various partnerships under construction, the Royal College and EPA plan signing a Memorandum of Understanding aiming to strengthen joint activities between the two societies in the field of Education.

Education is a life long process; this is why EPA renewed in 2008 the concept of its Scholarship programme designed for Young Psychiatrists, in addition to its now well-established Young Psychiatrists Programme within the annual EPA Congress since the last 4 years. The idea is to reward five Young Professionals, as promising future leaders in psychiatry and involve them as active members of our society.

EPA also distributes every year four Research Prizes rewarding the best papers published by Young Researchers. Together with the European Federation of Psychiatric Trainees (EFPT), and with national Young Psychiatrists networks, EPA aims to gain more influence among the young generation. As an example, Psychiatric Training questionnaires have been circulated in our Congress in Lisbon, in order to collect the most accurate information about training and education standard in home country.

The EPA Alumni Mentors Luncheon, Lisbon, January 2009

For the first time, EPA organized in Lisbon an Alumni-Mentors Luncheon, aiming at encouraging networking between EPA leaders and young professionals. This initiative was so stimulating that we plan duplicating this event in our future Congress edition.

Journal

The European Psychiatry Journal’s impact factor is in continuing progress. Moreover, EPA has enabled its members to publish in the European Psychiatry journal free communication pages and promote projects and activities developed in relation with our association. This tool has been highly appreciated in 2008, especially by our sections which published announcements and statements and contributed to the publication of supplements.

Membership

To consolidate the feeling of belonging to EPA, our association organized its first Round Table of EPA Members in Lisbon. The members were invited to discuss specific topics such as “Ethics with industry”, “EPA website”, “How to recruit new members” in a joyful atmosphere. The outcomes of these discussions were very creative and will lead to projects follow up in the near future. Should you wish to join EPA, visit our membership page on our interactive website: www.europsy.net before sending your application to Marianne Kastrup, EPA Secretary General.

In joining EPA, you will also have access to our network composed on 18 active EPA sections, coordinated by Michael Musalek, as the EPA Secretary for Sections, namely: Alcoholism and Drug Addiction, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Consultation Liaison Psychiatry, Cultural Psychiatry, Emergency Psychiatry , Epidemiology and Social Psychiatry , Forensic Psychiatry, Geriatric Psychiatry, Neuroimaging, Personality and Personality Disorders, Philosophy and Psychiatry, Prevention of Mental Disorders, Psychopathology, Psychopharmacology, Psychotherapy, Schizophrenia, Suicidology and Suicide Prevention, Women’s Mental Health.

Under my presidential mandate, I will be supported and advised by prominent European colleagues, recently elected or selected as per follows, and I would like to thank them for their involvement and active contribution to the success of our association!

Executive Committee

Philip Gorwood, Michael Musalek, Marianne Kastrup, Cyril Höschl, Hans-Jürgen Möller, Patrice Boyer, Henning Sass

President: HJ. Möller

Past President: C. Höschl, President Elect: P. Boyer (France), Secretary General: M. Kastrup (Denmark), Treasurer: P. Gorwood (France), Secretary for Sections: M. Musalek (Austria), Secretary for Education: H. Sass (Germany)

Members of the Board

Chair: HJ. Möller

J. Angst (Zürich), I. Bitter (Budapest), J. Beezhold (Norwich), J. Bobes (Oviedo), P. Boyer (Paris), W. Gaebel (Düsseldorf), S. Galderisi (Napoli), P. Gorwood (Paris), C. Höschl (Prague), S. Kasper (Vienna), M. Kastrup (Copenhagen), JP. Lépine (Paris), K. Mann (Mannheim), M. Musalek (Vienna), H. Sass (Aachen), D. Wasserman (Stockholm), G. Zalsman (Petah Tikva)

Scientific Programme Committee

Chair: HJ. Möller

P. Boyer (Paris), W. Gaebel (Düsseldorf), S. Galderisi (Napoli), P. Gorwood (Paris), C. Höschl (Prague), S. Kasper (Vienna), M. Musalek (Vienna), H. Sass (Aachen), S. Frangou (London)

Advisors: N. Sartorius (Geneva) and M. Kastrup (Copenhagen)

Local Organizing Committee Munich

Chair: N. Müller

Committee on Education

Chair: H. Sass

D. Bhugra (United Kingdom), A. Malik (United Kingdom), N. Maric Bojovic (Serbia), P. Munk Jörgensen (Denmark), JP. Lépine (France), M. Hermans (Belgium), N. Sartorius (Switzerland)

Young Psychiatrists Committee

Chair: I. Calliess (Germany)

C. Hanon (France), A. Fiorillo (Italy), U. Volpe (Italy), M. Rojnic Kuzman (Croatia)

A. Nawka and S. Gerber (associates)

Industry Liaison Committee

Chair: HJ. Möller

S. Kasper (Austria), C. Höschl (Czech Republic)

Editors in Chief

S. Frangou (United Kingdom), P. Gorwood (France), R. Heun (United Kingdom)