The <scp>WPA</scp> Section on Preventive Psychiatry: report on 2014‐2024 activities
Authors: Nikos Christodoulou, Olga Karpenko
Journal: World Psychiatry (2025)

Preventive psychiatry is a comprehensive field within psychiatry that encompasses the prevention of mental disorders and the promotion of mental health. Clinically, it applies across the lifespan, at any stage of illness, and across the bio-psycho-social framework. It transcends psychiatric subspecialties and is equally relevant to fields such as public health and health policy. The significance of preventive psychiatry is profound: estimates based on the 2019 Global Burden of Disease study suggest that mental disorders account for up to 16% of global disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), with associated costs ranging from 4 to 8% of national gross domestic product, depending on the region. A considerable portion of this burden is potentially preventable, with secondary and tertiary preventive interventions capable of reducing clinical progression and disability, thereby also alleviating economic impact. Mental health promotion, arguably even more critical than prevention of mental disorders, addresses the entire population, focusing on enhancing quality of life rather than being nosocentric. These considerations explain why preventive psychiatry is a central focus of the current WPA Action Plan1, as it has been in all WPA Action Plans from 2014 to 2024. The WPA Section on Preventive Psychiatry seeks to increase the visibility of preventive psychiatry and promote its adoption in clinical practice, research, education and policy. Between 2014 and 2024, the Section has made significant progress toward these aims. First, the Section has organized symposia at all World Congresses of Psychiatry since 2014, and contributed over 50 presentations at WPA co-sponsored and other international meetings. The themes addressed included "International issues in preventive psychiatry" (World Congress, Madrid 2014), "Preventive psychiatry, substance misuse, and early intervention" (WPA co-sponsored meeting, Athens 2015), "Disasters – mental health context and responses" (WPA co-sponsored meeting, Belgrade 2016), "Preventive psychiatry in the community" (World Congress, Berlin 2017), "Preventive psychiatry in primary care" (World Congress, Lisbon 2019), "Mental health in emerging adulthood: the facets of prevention" (World Congress, Bangkok 2021), "Diagnostics, treatment and prevention of eating disorders" (WPA co-sponsored meeting, Moscow 2022), "Prevention and early detection of psychosis" (WPA thematic conference, Athens 2022), "Preventive psychiatry in Alzheimer's disease", "Non-pharmacological strategies for maintaining mental health in older adults", and "Psychosis prevention: the latest updates of real-life practice" (World Congress, Vienna 2023). The Section has also conducted research projects, such as the Education and Prevention Intersectional Project (EPIC), in collaboration with the WPA Section on Education, which reviewed the teaching curricula of medical schools worldwide. This project surveyed 530 medical schools, revealing that the vast majority did not include preventive psychiatry in their curricula, with less than 3% mentioning the subject at all. These findings, though not entirely surprising, underscored the urgent need to promote preventive psychiatry. We then explored the potential of using preventive psychiatry as a conceptual foundation for medical school curricula. This perspective was elaborated in a book chapter in WPA's Advances in Psychiatry, Vol. 4 (2019)2, where it was argued that preventive psychiatry offers distinct educational advantages due to its relevance across psychiatry and medicine, its alignment with key educational outcomes (especially attitudes), and its inclusion of essential clinical skills such as communication, reflective capacity, and empathy. The integrative bio-psycho-social and anti-stigma potential of preventive psychiatry further reinforces its educational value. Guideline development has also been a key focus for the Section. It contributed to the European Psychiatric Association (EPA) guidance on mental health and economic crises in Europe (2016)3, which provided evidence-based recommendations on the mental health effects of financial crises; and to the international guidelines on the role of exercise in the prevention of dementia (2023)4, a large consortium initiative that emphasized the necessity of mental health for effective dementia prevention. Guidelines on preventing psychosis in individuals at clinical high risk are currently under review. We published over 20 journal papers and book chapters in the past decade, covering the interface of preventive psychiatry with other areas in psychiatry, including consultation-liaison psychiatry5, psychosis and schizophrenia6, substance misuse7, financial crises8, person-centered medicine9, and child and adolescent psychiatry10, among others. Finally, the Section participated in two consortia for European Union Horizon 2020 projects. Overall, it has been a productive decade for the WPA Section on Preventive Psychiatry. Its active members and dedicated leadership are well equipped to continue advancing the clinical application of preventive psychiatry, supporting its integration into medical education and psychiatric training, and promoting its adoption by policy makers.