Welcome to the 22nd WCP Congress Program Scheduling

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With active individual members in as many as 88 countries and 44 National Psychiatric Association Members who represent more than 78,000 European psychiatrists, the European Psychiatric Association is the main association representing psychiatry in Europe. The EPA’s activities address the interests of psychiatrists in academia, research and practice throughout all stages of career development.

The EPA deals with psychiatry and its related disciplines and focuses on the improvement of care for the mentally ill as well as on the development of professional excellence.

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African Association of Psychiatrists: Our journey, Our Prospects.

Introduction

Mental Health and Psychiatry have come a long way on the African continent. Despite the pre-independence days of the 1950s and the tumultus 1970’s and 1980’s in many African countries there has been growth. The African Association of Psychiatrists and allied Professions then, which evolved into the Association of African Psychiatrists has been part of this growth.

The growth

We describe the birth, growth and current status of the African Association of Psychiatrists and also look at its future prospects. We highlight some of the challenges of African psychiatry in general and the possible role of the Association of African Psychiatrists to mitigate these challenges.

Psychiatry and mental health have become issues of global concern particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic. We highlight some of the efforts by the constituent associations of the AAP during the pandemic to improve and support the mental health of individuals within their respective countries. The African Association of Psychiatrists provides a platform and opportunity to share ideas, technologies and efforts to improve mental health and mental health care in Africa. This opportunity makes the future for Psychiatry and mental Health on the African continent look brighter.

Conclusion

It is time to look into the horizon and move African psychiatry and mental health to the future. The African Association of Psychiatrists is poised to provide the platform and opportunity for this to happen.

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The Pacific Rim College of Psychiatrists (PRCP) is the association of psychiatrists from countries bordering the Pacific. The mission of PRCP is to foster greater national development of mental health services, and to support the improvement of education and research in psychiatry through professional collaboration in Asia and the Pacific-Rim Region. As of 2022, we have the membership of 225 psychiatrists from fifteen countries. The Pacific Rim College of Psychiatrists was founded in Manila on May 15, 1980. The first scientific meeting was held April 14-16, 1982, in Taipei, Taiwan. Fifty-six psychiatrists came from ten countries such as Canada, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, and the USA. PRCP also provides a formal setting for communication among our members through a biennial conference held in one of our member countries. The latest 19th International Congress of the Pacific Rim College of Psychiatrists (PRCP 2021) was held in Seoul, Korea from April 8-10 in 2021. It was held as a hybrid (online and offline) format due to the ongoing challenges from the pandemic. There were 880 participants from twenty-two countries with forty-one sessions and a total of 144 presentations from seventeen countries. The next 20th PRCP meeting will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Oct. 13-15 in 2023 as a hybrid form. Our official journal, Asia Pacific Psychiatry (APPSY), is recognized as a leading international psychiatric journal focused on the Asia and Pacific-Rim region to share research and evidence in mental health.