The WPA International Congress "Treatments in Psychiatry: An Update".
Authors: Mario Maj
Journal: World Psychiatry (2003)

The WPA International Congress Treatments in Psychiatry: An Update will take place in Florence, Italy, from 10 to 13 November, 2004.

The scientific programme will include update lectures (delivered by top worldwide experts and providing a comprehensive update on the most significant aspects of current treatment in psychiatry); interactive symposia (focusing on specific treatment issues, with an active interaction between speakers and participants); section and zonal symposia (organized by WPA sections and zones); advanced courses (for a limited number of participants, dealing with issues of great practical interest); forums (focusing on controversial or emerging issues in mental health care); new research sessions (offering to psychiatrists from all countries of the world an opportunity to share the results of clinical and basic research efforts); poster sessions (providing an alternative opportunity to present research findings in a very visible way); satellite symposia and other sponsored events (fostering the partnership with industries operating in the field of mental health care).

Abstracts of contributions proposed for inclusion in a symposium, a new research session or a poster session should be sent by e-mail to the Scientific Secretariat (gro.ecnerolf4002apw@tairaterces). The deadline for receipt is 30 September, 2003.


The list of the update lectures is the following:


The context of treatment in psychiatry (N. Sartorius)


Building up therapeutic alliance in psychiatric practice (A. Tasman)


The comprehensive management of schizophrenia (N. Schooler)


Early psychosis: detection and interventions (P. McGorry)


The comprehensive management of recurrent and chronic major depression (G.A. Fava)


Comprehensive long-term management of bipolar disorder (M. Thase)


Understanding and managing the consequences of violence and trauma (A. McFarlane)


Integrating pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy in the management of anxiety disorders (J. Gorman)


New views in the management of dementias (A. Burns)


The multimodal treatment of eating disorders (K. Halmi)


The principles and practice of cognitive- behavioural psychotherapy (P. Salkovskis)


Psychodynamic psychotherapies: evidence-based and clinical wisdom (P. Fonagy)


Integration of services in community mental health care (G. Thornicroft)


The challenge of primary prevention in psychiatry (S. Saxena).





The preliminary list of the interactive symposia is the following:


Ethical and legal aspects of treatments in psychiatry


Partnerships in mental health care


Recent advances in pharmacogenomics


Epidemiology and prevention of suicide


The evaluation of psychiatric treatments


Prevention and management of substance abuse among adolescents


The future of pharmacotherapy for schizophrenia


Economic aspects of mental health care


Difficult children and adolescents: underdiagnosis and overdiagnosis of mental disorder and relevant treatment issues


The future of pharmacotherapy for mood and anxiety disorders


Psychotropic drugs and cognitive functions


Understanding and managing comorbidity in psychiatry


The present and future of rehabilitation in psychiatry


The management of somatoform disorders and medically unexplained physical symptoms


The future of psychotherapies


The current management of obsessive-compulsive disorder


New strategies for the care of the mentally retarded


Management of alcohol-related problems


The contribution of neuroimaging research to clinical psychiatry


The current management of personality disorders


The present and future of consultation-liaison psychiatry


The current management of panic disorder and generalized anxiety disorder


Childhood sexual abuse: what to do in victims and offenders


Cultural issues in mental health care


Diagnosis and treatment of attention- deficit/hyperactivity disorder


New strategies in the management of sexual disorders


Current approaches to sleep disorders


Management of behavioural disorders in patients with brain damage


Assessment and management of social anxiety disorder


Current approaches to autism


Combining medications in psychiatry: advantages and risks


The management of non-schizophrenic psychotic disorders


Management of psychiatric disorders in patients with concomitant general medical conditions


Management of mental disorders in old age


Diagnosis and treatment of impulse control disorders


Non-pharmacological somatic therapies in psychiatry.