World Psychiatric Association Scientific Section Psychiatric Rehabilitation hosted their Thematic Congress in Abu Dhabi from the 5th-7th May 2023 with support from regional member societies and other Scientific Sections
During the first week of May, the psychiatry community gathered in Abu Dhabi to join the World Psychiatric Association's (WPA) Thematic Congress. Organised by the WPA Scientific Section on Psychiatric Rehabilitation with the support of regional member societies and other WPA Scientific Sections, the event was a huge success!
With the theme of "Innovations in Treatment and Psychosocial Rehabilitation" it was a highly anticipated and well-attended event, bringing together speakers and moderators from 20 different countries, including: Austria, Bahrain, Egypt, Germany, India, KSA, Kuwait, Lebanon, Lithuania, Oman, Pakistan, Portugal, Qatar, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, the Netherlands, UAE, UK, and USA. Additionally, the congress was joined by a dedicated team of 21 session chairs from the UAE.
During the 3-day congress, 73 speakers offered a diverse range of perspectives covering many of the critical issues in psychiatry and mental health today and in the future. Over 650 delegates from all over the world registered to join us and we were delighted to offer a wide-ranging content programme, incorporating: 9 workshops, 6 plenary sessions, 2 industry symposia, 25 lectures, 29 keynote talks, and 4 poster presentations that ensured a comprehensive exploration of various topics and themes.
As with other recent in-person events, we were delighted to award two travel awards so that Psychiatric Trainees and Medical Students could attend the congress. These prestigious awards were available to all residents and trainees in psychiatry and all medical students from the Gulf / Middle East Region. Sabila Siddiqui (5th-year medical student Dubai Medical College for Girls, UAE} was awarded the WPA Psychiatric Medical Student Travel Award and Dr. Michele Elie Cherro (PGY4 Psychiatry Resident, American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC), Lebanon) won the WPA Psychiatric Residents / Trainee Travel Award. Congratulations to them both!
The WPA Thematic Congress 2023 had become a significant platform for knowledge exchange, networking, and collaboration in our field and we would like to thank the Section on Psychiatric Rehabilitation and all those that supported in the organisation of this great event.
You can read the post event report here.
Author: Prof. Afzal Javed, President, WPA