Committee on Ethical Issues

The EPA Committee on Ethical Issues is responsible for giving its contribution to the EPA position statements on ethical subjects (migration, prisons, assisted suicide, psychedelics, transgender, racism), 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 2024

Prof. Meryam Schouler-Ocak - Chair

Germany

Prof. Eka Chkonia

Georgia

Prof. Silvana Galderisi

Italy

Dr. Luís Madeira

Portugal

Dr. Sofie Bäärnhielm

Sweden

Dr. Mariana Pinto da Costa

Prof. Thomas Pollmächer

Germany

Prof. Jerzy Samochowiec

Poland

Prof. Sam Tyano

Israël

Prof. 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 CME Courses during EPA European Congresses of Psychiatry
Creation and dissemination of the 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 Journal, 63 (1), e82, 1–9”
- 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: “The war in Ukraine: Raising the attention for mental health consequences and call for action“
Surveys:
- Survey on Ethics in Psychiatric Practice to collect information from inpatient treatment settings of individual wards in psychiatric hospitals Europe-wide.
Online Webinars on Ethical Principles and Dilemmas in Psychiatry