The Union for Mental Health delivered aSymposium “Approaches to Mental Health Education in Russia” was held on 28 October under the 23rd World Congress of Social Psychiatry.

The Symposium discussed approaches to mental health education in Russia, including practical achievements of the educational process with regard to: (i) professional training for young psychiatrists; (ii) community-based training for non-specialists; and (iii) mental health training for people living with HIV.

The following reports were presented:

I.             How to Attract Undergraduates to Psychiatry?/ Professional training for young psychiatrists )

Prof. Peter V.Morozov, MD, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty for Advanced Medical Studies, Pirogov’s Russian National Medical Research University, Moscow, Russia

One of the core elements of realization of WPA Action Plan is promoting high-quality educational standards around the globe. It is necessary to find effective and sometimes unusual ways to provide young psychiatrists with the up-to-date information in different fields of mental health. It is extremely important for them to support modern trends to create the sense of belonging to a profession and to keep in line with the high standards of professional competency. On this way some new educational approaches in Russia were created which has brought valuable resources for realization of such initiatives.

II.           Mental Health Education for Non-specialists/ Community-based training for non-specialists

Dr. Olga Pazyna (PhD in Economics), Director of the Union for Mental Health of Russia, Moscow, Russia

Prevention of mental disorders, psychosocial rehabilitation and integration into society of persons suffering from mental disorders, and promotion of positive mental health positive attitudes and values allow for increased collaboration among a multi-professional team of specialists and non-specialists. Non-specialists are community services providers including NGOs (non-for-profit or voluntary sector) personnel and their clients – persons with mental disorders and their family members and careers, and other general population voluntary groups who are committed to improving an individual’s mental health and well-being. The report discusses critical issues and applicable approaches in mental health education for non-specialists in Russia.

III.          Mental Health Training for People Living with HIV

Dr. Egor Bachilo (PhD in Psychiatry), Deputy Director, Union for Mental Health of Russia, Moscow, Russia

The report deals with the issues of mental health in children and adolescents with HIV as well as pregnant women with HIV. Variants of therapeutic treatment in the correction of mental disorders in differentiated groups have been suggested. Psychotherapy is viewed as one of the essential components of complex treatment. Different targets of psychotherapy are offered depending on personality specifics, psychopathological symptoms, social and demographic characteristics. The interconnection between psychotherapy, its influence on mental health, and compliance to antiretroviral therapy is demonstrated. Special attention is paid to mental health training for children, adolescents and pregnant women with HIV.

The 23rd World Congress of Social Psychiatry, Bucharest Oct 25-28, 2019 was a grand success with 653 delegates from 66 countries participating. The largest delegations came from Romania-297, India-29, UK-25, Japan-23, Thailand-23, France-21, Australia-18, USA-17, Portugal- 17, Italy -16 and Germany-13.  There were 441 scientific presentations including 12 plenary sessions, 53 symposia, 19 workshops, 97 free papers and 81 e-posters.

Apart from a grand opening ceremony, there were cultural evenings in which the delegates joined with enthusiasm. )

The General Assembly has elected the following new EC. 

1. President- Prof. Rachid Bennegadi, France  digaben@gmail.com

2. President Elect- Prof. Vincenzo Di Nicola, Canada  vincenzodinicola@gmail.com

3. Secretary General- Prof. Rakesh Chadda, India  drrakeshchadda@gmail.com

4. Treasurer- Dr. Andrew Molodynski, UK Andrew.Molodynski@oxfordhealth.nhs.uk  

We would like to especially thank Professor Roy Kallivayalil, the Immediate Past President, for his tremendous contribution in global social psychiatry!