Committee on Ethical Issues

The EPA Committee on Ethical Issues is responsible for giving its contribution to the EPA position statements on ethical subjects, collaborating with the EPA National Psychiatric Associations to promote ethical standards in psychiatric research and care, organising events during the EPA congresses as well as during independent meetings relevant to ethical issues for psychiatry in Europe and actively gathering information through surveys on how ethics in psychiatry is being managed in Europe and elsewhere.

Committee on Ethical Issues Members 2023

Meryam Schouler-Ocak - Chair

Germany

Eka Chkonia

Georgia

Silvana Galderisi

Italy

Luís Madeira

Portugal

Michael Musalek

Austria

Mariana Pinto da Costa

UK

Thomas Pollmächer

Germany

Jerzy Samochowiec

Poland

Sam Tyano

Israël

Simavi Vahip

Türkiye

Activities

The EPA Committee on Ethical Issues is conducting the following activities:

• Participation in lectures, interactive seminars or courses during National Psychiatric Associations’ local conferences
• Organisation of Ethical Courses during EPA Congresses
• Creation and dissemination of an EPA Code of Ethics
• Publications:
  • Compulsory admissions of patients with mental disorders: State of the art on ethical and legislative aspects in 40 European countries.European Psychiatry,63(1), e82, 1–9, available here
  • In June 2022, the EPA and the Committee on Ethical Issues issued a statement and call for action to raise awareness on the mental health consequences of the war in Ukraine. Read the full statement here.
• Online Webinar on Ethical principles and dilemmas in psychiatry
• Surveys:
  • Dissemination of a survey about compulsory admissions laws and practices in the EPA NPAs countries (closed)
  • Survey on Ethics in psychiatric practice to collect information from inpatient treatment settings of individual wards in psychiatric hospitals Europe-wide: complete it here.