EPA European Mental Health Innovation Summit
Brussels | 27 January 2027, 10:00 – 16:00 CET
Venue | Renaissance Brussels Hotel, Rue du Parnasse 19, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
Places are limited. Registrations will therefore be confirmed individually upon review, with the exception of: the EPA Board, representatives of EPA National Psychiatric Associations and Sections, invited speakers and partner associations.
The European Psychiatric Association is pleased to announce the European Mental Health Innovation Summit, taking place in Brussels on 27 January 2027.
Held as part of the EPA Action Plan 2025–2027, “Leaving no one behind”, the Summit will bring together clinicians, researchers, patient and carer organisations, industry and policymakers around one central challenge: Europe leads in mental health science, yet too little of what we know reaches the people who need it. Across a full day of sessions, speakers will explore the translational gap between discovery and clinical care, the constraints on the innovation pipeline, equity of access, prevention and early intervention, and what a European commitment to mental health innovation could look like.
This page will be updated regularly. Details on the programme, speakers, venue and registration will be published here in due course.
Why now
The European Parliament is currently shaping its Mental Health and Neurological Health Strategy. In parallel, the EU’s next long-term budget, the Multiannual Financial Framework 2028–2034, and its 10th Framework Programme for Research and Innovation will decide how political commitments will turn into sustained investment.
The Summit takes place while stakeholder positions can still shape both. It will gather evidence, patient perspectives and practical recommendations from across the sector, and carry them to European policymakers.
What we will discuss
The day moves from naming the problem to exploring a response. The focus will be on the following areas:
- From discovery to care: why Europe’s research strength reaches clinical practice so slowly, and what would speed it up.
- Equity and access: making sure innovation reaches every population and every member state.
- Innovation at the frontline: precision psychiatry and new treatments delivered where people seek help, from primary care to schools and workplaces.
- Prevention and early intervention: including public and digital mental health.
- Lessons from other health areas: what mental health policy can learn from cancer and cardiovascular health.
- A European commitment: how regulation, funding and implementation can line up behind an actionable strategy.
Who will be attending
- Clinicians and EPA’s National Psychiatric Associations
- Researchers in psychiatry and neuroscience
- Patient, carer and family organisations
- European medical and scientific societies in mental and neurological health
- Civil society organisations
- Industry
- Policymakers from EU institutions and member states
Format
A full-day, in-person meeting. Opening and closing addresses frame the day. Each thematic session brings speakers from different sectors together in moderated panel discussions. The format favours dialogue over lectures, with time to network at registration, lunch and the breaks.
The day will close with a Partners’ Dinner at the Renaissance Hotel (19:00 – 21:00 CET).
Part of the EPA Action Plan
The Summit is part of the EPA Action Plan 2025–2027, “Leaving no one behind – a roadmap for better and personalised mental health care”. Six Presidential Task Forces turn evidence into guidance that clinicians, carers and decision-makers can use:
| Task Force | Focus |
| Treatment delivery and new settings of care | Stigma-free models; care in schools, workplaces and justice settings |
| Precision psychiatry | Multi-domain assessment, biomarkers, staging, targeted treatment |
| Brain and mental health across the lifespan | A brain-health approach from prenatal life to older age |
| Whole person health | Physical health and multimorbidity; closing the 15–20 year mortality gap |
| Public mental health | Prevention and promotion, especially for young people; reducing stigma |
| Stigma and discrimination | Tailored care for people exposed to marginalisation and trauma |
Read more about the EPA Action Plan here.
Programme
The programme spans six sessions, from opening speeches on Europe’s mental health innovation challenge to four panels on discovery, equitable access, frontline care and health-system policy. Every panel includes a European Psychiatric Association leader. The speakers represent the perspective of patient and family advocacy groups, clinical and scientific associations, medicines regulators, and EU and international institutions.
The programme is continuously evolving, and we will share updates regularly on our channels. The detailed programme is available for download.
After the Summit
On Thursday 28 January, the Summit’s key messages go to a Roundtable at the European Parliament, co-organised with Prof. Romana Jerković MEP, Vice-Chair of the Public Health Committee (SANT). Further details on the Roundtable will follow in due course.