Evidence-based treatments are available for all psychiatric disorders. However, it is imperative to translate academic research into clinical practice as research papers often present a challenge for clinicians in interpreting results due to their technical nature and the time pressure when working on the front lines of patient care. ​

In this Action Plan, the WPA is developing a platform, called The Specialist Corner: Advances of science and their application in clinical practice, that will consistently update clinicians about the latest findings, enabling them to discern and adopt best practices.

This Corner will serve as a hub to summarise advancements in clinical psychiatry, public mental health, and ethics, while fostering diversity and inclusiveness. The platform, dedicated to clinicians, will feature online webinars on different psychiatric diagnoses, where expert specialists will present, in an accessible, categorical approach, state-of-the-art treatments and best practices for daily psychiatric work, covering aetiology, symptoms, comorbidities with physical illness, and rehabilitation strategies from the gender, developmental stage, and cultural perspectives. This introductory categorical webinar (or webinars) will be complemented by a follow-up webinar (or webinars) on the same diagnosis, and will feature Prevention, Healthy lifestyles, Caregiver and family, Digital psychiatry, and Human rights/Ethics perspectives from experts in those fields.

Additional topics that will be addressed in the Specialist Corner include crisis and trauma conditions resulting from armed conflicts, terrorist acts, and other catastrophes, and the mental health of immigrants, refugees, and other vulnerable groups. ​

The lead specialists for each mental disorder will appoint a consultative group of colleagues, representative of all the WPA’s geographical regions, to elucidate the topic from their respective, varied local perspectives and – simultaneously – share the availability of studies, gaps in research, and the potential for adaptations of existing materials to different cultural contexts. Outcomes from these webinars will be summarised in written form for easy comprehension, intended for use as educational resources for patients, their families, and clinical staff. ​

All webinars, along with their associated materials, will be available on the WPA website. ​

The Specialist Corner’s ambition to foster the application of best practices, thereby ensuring that patients receive care based on the most recent and relevant evidence. ​

To achieve this goal, help is needed from all Member Societies to systematically implement the content of the webinars delivered, at both local and national levels, and to translate the written materials into local languages.