A long-term goal of WPA has been to develop and leverage partnerships that will enable psychiatry to have a stronger, clearer voice in the mental health sphere.
Earlier this year, we took our first major steps toward executing this goal when WPA representatives met in Madrid with colleagues from CitiesRISE and the Juan José López-Ibor Foundation to discuss the practical implementation of our 2017-2020 Action Plan.
Many organizations have worked for a long time to tackle the global challenges in mental health that also concern WPA. By utilizing the citiesRISE platform, mobilising the professional knowledge and resources of WPA, and collaborating with the Juan José López-Ibor Foundation among others, we have a very real opportunity to effect change. Community resilience and early action is critical for responding to mental health needs in adversities and emergencies – and through this project WPA will enable psychiatrists to play their critical role as advocates, facilitators, trainers and clinicians.