Welcome to the 22nd WCP Congress Program Scheduling

•Ate, the Greek goddess of mischief, delusion, ‘infatuation and the rash foolishness of blind impulse’, often rooted in guilt, tempted men to do evil, and toeventual ruin. She even entrapped Zeus, but he hurled her down from the Olympus. Now Ate wanders the earth, as a kind of avenging spirit, still working her mischief among mankind, perhaps in the form of delusional disorders which continue to pose epistemological, diagnostic and treatment challenges to 21st century psychiatry. While the term was only coined in 1977, the concept of paranoia has been used for centuries. During the 17th century it was used largely as a generic term for mental illness. In 1863, Kahlbaum introduced the concept of paranoia as "a form of partial insanity, which throughout the course of the disease principally affected the sphere of the intellect" . Kraepelin, viewed paranoia as an uncommon, chronic condition, differentiated from dementia praecox by the presence of fixed, nonbizarre systemized and consistent delusions, often related to real-life events, lack of deterioration over time, preserved thought processes, and relatively minimal involvement of affect and volition. Little has changed since and the diagnosis hovers uneasily on the fringes of psychotic disorders. Given the ability to rationalise their delusions, many patients slip under the radar for years before reaching crisis point when they finally receive treatment, usually after being ‘sectioned’. Epidemiological data are inadequate and major epistemological issues, including treatment and prognosis remain unresolved. It is proposed to review the available evidence and explore future directions.