The 14th World Congress of Psychiatry (Prague, September 20–25, 2008)
Authors: JIRÍ RABOCH, JAN LIBIGER
Journal: World Psychiatry (2008)

The World Congress of Psychiatry in Prague, with the motto “Science and humanism: for a person-oriented psychiatry”, is an opportunity for psychiatrists of various countries, affiliations and ways of life to meet in that beautiful city in the middle of Europe and discuss the challenges psychiatry is expected to address. There will be Plenary and Special Lectures, delivered by distinguished specialists in the field, such as Felice Lieh-Mak, Juan José Lopez-Ibor, Mario Maj, Juan Mezzich, Ahmed Okasha, Norman Sartorius and Costas Stefanis. Also, the presentation of the mayor of the city of Prague, Pavel Bém, a psychiatrist specialized in addictology, will bring some more views and experiences. Controversial and globally important issues will be the content of Special Symposia, the chairpersons of which were invited by the WPA Executive Committee. Topics like “Psychiatric services: meeting professionals’ demands or patients’ needs” (G. Lucatelli) or “Issues of concern in the rehabilitation of severely traumatized” (M. Kastrup) will be of great interest. The most frequent format will be Regular Symposia, which will deal with issues of interest for the worldwide psychiatric community, problems that may be usefully discussed at a broad forum like the World Congress of Psychiatry. Naturally, all the WPA Scientific Sections have been invited to present the development in their field of inquiry and interest at Section Symposia. In addition to that, the Organizing and Scientific Committees decided to extend invitation to major international or regional organizations in psychiatry, neurology, primary care, psychopharmacology, biological psychiatry, social psychiatry and mental health. The participants in the Congress will have an opportunity to hear news on the latest developments in psychopharmacology (S. Kasper), reviews of the present state of classification efforts (G. Christodoulou, J. Mezzich, C. Mundt, B. Ustun), and a discussion of the problems of violence and its control in psychiatry (J. Alboreda-Florez, Z. Rihmer). They will attend lectures and discussions on adequate services in various settings (Y. Chen, W. Rutz, N. Shinfuku), and on provision of services for minorities and special groups (M. Amering, J. Copeland, P. Ruiz). Further contributions will deal with the complex relationship between an individual and his environment (J. Aarli, R. Cloninger, K.W.M. Fulford, A. Jablensky). Posters and oral communications at the Congress will provide for the mainstream of the information flow necessary to make all the contemporary hot issues of psychiatry a topic of global effort for professional understanding and consensus. The participants in the Congress will also be informed of the latest results in research in biological psychiatry, psychiatric epidemiology and other areas in New Research Sessions. In order to ensure the access to the latest results, the deadline for submissions of new research will be later than the deadlines for all other formats (February 29, 2008). Last, but not least, there will be an opportunity to discuss practical issues of psychiatric care at Workshops and Master Clinical Case Conferences. Also, Video and Film Sessions will help to expose and clarify practical problems, and to understand the ways to deal with the stigma towards psychiatric patients and psychiatry. The Organizing Committee is also preparing a unique cultural and social program divided in special days, which should enable foreign participants to be acquainted with some interesting events from the local history. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed the opera Don Giovanni for “the people of Prague who understand me” and completed it during his stay in the Czech capital. The world premiere of this opera was conducted by Mozart himself in the Estates Theatre of Prague in 1787. We have already made a reservation for two nights, September 21 and 22, and the participants in the Congress will be able to attend this opera in the original Estates Theatre. Franz Kafka lived and wrote in Prague at the beginning of the 20th century. His grave can be found in the New Jewish Cemetery in Zizkov, one of Prague's quarters. During the Congress, a thematic trip will be organized to Kafka's museum and other relevant places in Prague. Modern Czech psychiatry developed under the influence of German psychiatry. One of the oldest German psychiatric departments was set up in Prague at Charles University in 1886. The most important representative of German psychiatry in Prague was Arnold Pick (1851–1924). He served as the first head of that Department for the incredible length of 35 years. At the same time when Alois Alzheimer in Munich studied presenile dementia, Pick described in Prague his fronto-temporal dementia (Pick's disease) in 1892. During the Congress, there will be an opportunity to visit the Department, which houses modernized patient wards, day care as well as rehabilitation centres and modern biochemical laboratories. It will also be possible to admire the Department's guest book, dating back to 1834. It is not commonly known that Sigmund Freud was born on the territory of the present-day Czech Republic. It was on May 6, 1856 in Pﬁíbor, a small city in Moravia. The house of his birth, where he spent the first three years of his life, has been recently reconstructed and at present houses a museum with an exhibition that follows Freud's whole life. During the Congress, it will be possible to visit this house. For further information about the Congress, please visit the website www.wpa-prague2008.cz. The Congress in Prague aspires to help psychiatry in confirming its position of respected medical discipline with many special insights and skills to offer to medicine in general. Come and take part in the World Congress of Psychiatry in Prague!