The European Psychiatric Association (EPA), the most visible psychiatric association in Europe, has granted patronage for the Congress on Mental Health: Meeting the Needs of the XXI Century.

 About the European Psychiatric Association (EPA)

With active individual members in as many as 88 countries and 39 National Society/Association Members who represent 78,000 European psychiatrists, the European Psychiatric Association is the main association representing psychiatry in Europe, basing its growth on the development of collaborative projects with other major psychiatric organizations, such as the European College of Neuro-Psychopharmacology (ECNP), the German Research Network on Schizophrenia (ECSR), the International Society of Neurobiology and Psychopharmacology, the European Brain Council (EBC) and the European Union of Medical Specialists (UEMS). The President of EPA is Professor Wolfgang Gaebel.

The mission of EPA is to improve Psychiatry and Mental Health Care in Europe. Its activities address the interests of psychiatrists in academia, research and practice throughout all stages of career development. EPA deals with psychiatry and its related disciplines and it focuses on the improvement of care for the mentally ill as well as on the development of professional excellence. The association’s official journal is European Psychiatry.

The EPA was founded in October 1983 as the Association of European Psychiatrists (AEP), in the library of the Psychiatric Clinic of the University Hospitals of Strasbourg, by twelve French- and German-speaking University Psychiatrists. The first objective of the new organization was to “promote European Psychiatry in the fields of research, treatment and teaching, three axes considered to be unequivocally complementary”. Another objective was to establish an Association of psychiatrists that would act as a privileged mediator between practitioners, official councils and public authorities on matters relating to mental health policies.

In order to reach these goals, AEP gradually set up the organization of the annual European Congress of Psychiatry, as well as other regular scientific meetings, the publication of a scientific international journal, the awarding of research grants and the creation of sections, as working groups corresponding to sub-disciplines in psychiatry. An inauguration Symposium was held in May 1984. In 1989, the AEP was granted consultant status at the Council of Europe followed by a participatory status in 2003. Strasbourg was selected as the seat of the Association. In 2003, participatory status was gained. In 2008, the Extraordinary General Assembly brought about important changes to Association’s statutes and future. A notable evolution applies to the new name of the organization, called “European Psychiatric Association” (EPA) from then on.

EPA Web-site: www.europsy.net

Please visit the Congress’s website to access online registration for the congress program, including detailed information and registration options: www.mental-health-congress.ru/en/