8th EPA Forum
The 8th EPA Forum took place virtually on Saturday 4 June 2022, preceding the opening of the 30th European Congress of Psychiatry.
With the title “Mental Health in Europe: Care, research and response in times of crisis“, the 2022 Forum was focused on the role of research to improve mental health care and response in times of emergency.
More than 600 participants joined the virtual Forum 2022 and were welcomed by the two Chairs, the EPA President, Peter Falkai, and the President Elect, Geert Dom.
The event was opened by the keynote address of Mr Stelios Kympouropoulos, Member of the EU Parliament, who stressed the importance of establishing networks and raising awareness on mental health in Europe. His keynote address was followed by three sessions on the theme of the 2022 Forum.
The first session of the Forum was centred around the role of research in the field of mental health. The second session of the Forum was focused on mental health policies and priorities in times of crisis, opened by a video-message of Prof. Nataliya Maruta, President of the Association of Neurologists, Psychiatrists and Narcologists of Ukraine. During this session, the third edition of the EPA Ambassadors Survey was presented by the EPA Past President, Philip Gorwood. As a last session, speakers were invited to participate in a roundtable discussion on the call for a European Year for Mental Health, a campaign launched by the MEP Alliance for Mental Health and GAMIAN-Europe.
The three EPA Forum sessions saw the participation of an exceptional panel of speakers from international and EU organisations (the full agenda can be found below).
PROGRAMME
9:00 – Welcome and introduction, Peter Falkai, EPA President
9:05 – Keynote address, Stelios Kympouropoulos, Member of the EU Parliament (EPP, Greece)
SESSION 1 – Mental Health research in Europe: challenges and opportunities
9:15 – Presentation on the needs in psychiatric research, Peter Falkai, President, EPA
9:25 – Presentation on How to support young scientists in neuropsychiatry research, Szabolcs Kéri, Professor, Department of Cognitive Science, Budapest University of Technology and Economics
9:35 – Presentation on ICD-11, Robert Jakob, Team Leader, Classifications Terminologies and Standards, WHO
9:45 – Landscape analysis on brain research: the EBRA project, Frédéric Destrebecq, Executive Director, European Brain Council (EBC)
9:55 – Roundtable on the needs in brain research, moderated by Philip Gorwood, Past President, EPA. With the participation of Jean-Antoine Girault, President, Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS); Elena Moro, Secretary General, European Academy of Neurology (EAN); Judit Balázs, Representative, Hungarian Psychiatric Association.
10:10 – Q&A Session 1
10:20 – Coffee Break
SESSION 2 – Mental health policies and priorities across Europe in times of crisis
10:25 – Video-message from Nataliya Maruta, President, Association of Neurologists, Psychiatrists and Narcologists of Ukraine
10:30 – Presentation of EPA Solidarity Network and its activities, Peter Falkai, President, EPA
10:40 – Mental health and psychosocial support in emergencies and forced displacement, Ledia Lazeri, Regional Adviser for Mental Health, WHO Europe
10:50 – Presentation of “Help for Helpers” Webinars, Martina Rojnic Kuzman, Secretary for Sections, EPA
11:00 – The importance of best practices in times of crisis, Silvana Galderisi, Member of Ethical Issues and Publication Committees, EPA
11:10 – Presentation on the EPA Ambassadors Survey, Philip Gorwood, Past President, EPA
11:15 – Coffee Break
SESSION 3 – Roundtable discussion on the call for a European Year for Mental Health
11:20 – Roundtable discussion on the call for a European Year for Mental Health – moderated by Peter Falkai and Geert Dom
Participants:
- Alviina Alametsä, Member of the EU Parliament (Greens, Finland)
- Ana Maria Tijerino Inestroza, Technical Officer, Mental health Flagship Programme, WHO Europe
- André Decraene, Representative, EUFAMI
- Hilkka Karkkainen, President, GAMIAN-Europe
- Andrew Brittlebank, President, UEMS Section of Psychiatry
11:45 – Q&A Session 3
11:55 – Closing remarks, Geert Dom, President Elect, EPA