Welcome to the 22nd WCP Congress Program Scheduling

Telepsychiatry can be defined as the delivery of health care and the exchange of health care information for purposes of providing psychiatric services across distances. While it has advantages like accessibility, availability, convenience, etc., it also has certain challenges such as the digital literacy of the population, confidentiality issues, management in crisis or emergency situations. With the advent of COVID-19 pandemic, telepsychiatry has got integrated into the clinic in most of the countries worldwide. In the current symposium, early career psychiatrists from Asian Region (India, Nepal and Thailand) will bring to the audience their experiences about initiation and continuation of telepsychiatry services in their countries during COVID-19. They will also recommend strategies for addressing the challenges and issues of telepsychiatry services

Our symposium presents the latest evidence on the relationship between mental health and intimate partner violence (IPV). ROXANNE KEYNEJAD presents a meta-analysis investigating whether IPV victimisation moderates the effectiveness of brief psychological interventions for common mental disorders in low and middle-income countries. Data from 15 randomised controlled trials were meta-analysed. Anxiety symptoms of women experiencing IPV (five interventions, n=728) reduced more following intervention than in women not experiencing IPV. Similar but non-significant effects were found for post-traumatic stress (eight interventions, n=1436), depressive symptoms (12 interventions, n=2940), and psychological distress (four interventions, n=1591). KATHERINE SAUNDERS presents an individual participant data meta-mediation analysis of four datasets (n=12,679) investigating the association between depression and past-year physical IPV perpetration and whether the association is mediated by alcohol misuse or past year IPV victimisation. There was a 7.4% and 4.8% proportion increase in IPV perpetration among women and men with depression compared to those without, respectively. Among women, past-year IPV victimisation mediated 45% of the effect of depression on past-year IPV perpetration. There was no mediation by alcohol misuse in either sex. GERI McLEOD presents data from a New Zealand birth cohort of 1265 babies (630 females) born in 1977, the Christchurch Health and Development Study. IPV (victimization, perpetration, combined) and mental health information was gathered for approximately 1000 cohort members from ages 25-40 years. Trajectory models identified IPV patterns; regression methods described the people who clustered onto each trajectory. Regression analyses focused on mental health as both a predictor and an outcome of IPV.

CANNABIS IS BEING USED FOR MEDICAL BENEFITS IN MANY COUNTIES AND MANY WAYS. THIS SESSION WILL SHARE EXPERIENCE OF USING CANNABIS IN SEVERAL MEDICAL SETTING IN CANADA, PSYCHIATRIC ASPECTS INCLUDING STUDYING EVIDENCES AND RESEARCH, PRECAUTIONS WHEN USING CANNABIS FOR SAFE USING GUIDELINES.

Globally population is rapidly ageing due to reduced fertility as well as mortality. The proportion of older persons (age greater than 60 years) across the world is expected to double by 2050. There are multiple dimensions to human rights in the older persons which include the right to freedom, right to health as well as reproductive/sexual rights. Lack of dignified healthcare, neglect, discrimination in healthcare and elder abuse are the predominant ways in which rights are deprived in them. Healthy ageing and human rights are closely related. The promotion and the protection of the basic human rights is a necessary prerequisite for aging in good health. Human Rights protect people against any kind of stigma and discrimination because of age, promote the development of good health policies, programmes and services and assure the access to health and social care. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has further been an ‘eye-opener’ widening the health and human rights inequalities in older people. Thus, global action is urgently needed to ensure that older people can fulfil their full potential in dignity, equality, in a healthy environment, essential for sustainable development and just and peaceful societies. With this background, this Section Symposium jointly organized by the WPA-SOAP, IPA and WFMH highlights how promotive, preventive, curative and rehabilitative mental health services can be fostered in older people through the anchor of human rights and the involvement needed at various levels.

While HIV/AIDS has become a chronic, manageable illness for people with access to HIV medical care and treatment with antiretrovirals, there is ample evidence of an ongoing pandemic, with 36.9 million persons living with HIV, even though HIV and AIDS are entirely preventable. Symposium presenters are academics from the WPA HIV Psychiatry Section. They will underscore the importance of a comprehensive biopsychosociocultural approach to HIV/AIDS care and psychiatric care. Dr. Pereira will review advancements in HIV treatment and consequent increase in life expectancy. He will review challenges with current HIV treatment, including drug-drug interactions and neuropsychiatric side effects of ARVs. Dr. Sales will describe overlapping features between COVID-19 and HIV pandemic responses. He will review similarities and differences between long COVID syndrome and HIV associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND). He will address HIV stigma, the COVID antivaccination movement, and the risk of moral injury while treating the pandemic of the unvaccinated. Dr. Siste will present her research findings from a cross sectional study in Indonesia showing that lifetime suicidality in persons with HIV was associated with depressive and anxiety symptoms, non-marital status, CD4 count < 500 cells/μl, and efavirenz use. She will discuss relevant suicide prevention strategies. Dr. Thisayakorn will describe the development of an innovative collaborative care model between psychiatry and primary care for persons with HIV in Thailand that could be replicated in underserved areas. This symposium will provide useful guidance for psychiatrists, mental health professionals and trainees as they face ongoing challenges in working with persons with HIV.

Violence against women is widely recognised as a violation of human rights and a public health problem. The most common forms of violence against women are domestic abuse and sexual violence, and victimisation is associated with an increased risk of mental disorders. Sexual violence, and domestic violence affect women more than men worldwide. Furthermore, the high prevalence of sexual violence suffered by women and the correspondingly high rate of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) makes women the largest single group of people affected by this disorder. Thus, gender-specific risk factors for common mental disorders that disproportionately affect women include socio-economic disadvantage, low or subordinate social status and rank, dependence on men. The effects of long-term, cumulative psychosocial adversity on mental health have not been sufficiently studied. The mental health of women is still not sufficiently taken into account although. Despite clinical guidance on the role of mental health professionals in identifying violence against women and responding appropriately, poor identification persists and can lead to non-engagement with services and poor response to treatment. The first speaker will talk on „What are the consequences of violence against women?“, the second on „How to prevent violence against women – the role of professionals in mental health?“, while the third speaker will present on „How to prevent violence against women – the role of professional associations?“ and the fourth speaker will give an overview on „The role of institutions: How to improve prevention against violence against women?”. All presentations will be discussed with the plenum.

Global disasters can lead to a wide range of deleterious health effects, including mental health problems. Psychiatrists have important roles in disaster mitigation and management. Psychiatrists provide valuable medical experience and expertise for preparing and responding to disasters and mass traumas. It is important to understand how psychiatric care can be integrated into disaster response systems to effectively fulfil the needs of the affected parties. In this symposium session, the speakers will present the implementation of mitigation and disaster management in Indonesia, Malaysia and India. The four subtitles that will be presented include: Minding Mental Health Mitigation Gap in Disaster Risk Reduction and Management: Learning from Semeru Eruption in Indonesia, Psychological First Aid (PFA) Training For Health Cadre in Areas Affected by the eruption of Mount Semeru in Indonesia, Therapeutic approach to survivors of the second wave of Covid-19 Delta Variant in India and "2015 Sabah Earthquake: Understanding & responding to children's view in disasters"

Global and local crises pose major challenges for mental health systems that need to be tackled through well-designed, evidence-based, and tailored solutions where digital tools are part of a patient-centered approach. The symposium presents examples of the innovative use of different mental health care technologies during the current pandemic in different regions of the world. However, local use has proven to be globally applicable. In light of the implementation of precision medicine in personal health care, pharmacogenetic tests have recently been introduced in clinical practice. In Greece, colleagues invented a new pharmacogenetic panel applicable to the European Caucasian population as a valuable tool to support therapeutic medical decisions. In developing countries e.g. Pakistan, e-Mental Health has shown its potential as a solution to global problems, especially during the COVID19 pandemic. The Danish "Transcultural Telepsychiatry Model" is the only such a service in the EU for the assessment and treatment of ethnic minorities with limited language skills through bilingual clinicians, ie. without the help of an interpreter. The model is a prototype for an international cooperation network, so much needed in times of current and future (global) crises.

In this symposium, four psychiatrists explore the mental health impacts of the climate and ecological emergency considering their different global perspectives. They will consider the intersection of social and racial justice and climate justice, with particular relevance to the mental health impacts of climate change and climate activism and the particular concerns of young people. They will discuss the implications for clinical practice and the contribution psychiatrists can make to climate solutions. About the speakers: Lynne Jones OBE is a Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, writer, researcher, relief worker and activist. She has been running mental health services in disaster and post-conflict settings around the world since 1990. In 2001, she was made an Officer of the British Empire for her work in conflict-affected areas of Central Europe. Nishanthie Dolage is a Consultant Psychiatrist with experience working in Sri Lanka and the UK. She will talk about the impacts of environmental destruction on community mental health in Sri Lanka and their efforts to restore nature and address mental health needs in the process. Kirsten Shukla is a Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist and part of a taskforce on climate within the German Psychiatric Association. Eleanor Cooke is a Psychiatry trainee in London. She is part of a number of activism groups and is interested in strategies to tackle the climate and ecological emergency, including non-violent direct action, economic activism, and using art as a medium to effect change.