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Womens Mental Health
The Women's Mental Health (WMH) Section main purpose is to provide objective research findings and to inform health practitioners, researchers, policy makers, and the public about disparities between women and men in regard to risk, prevalence, presentation, course, and treatment of mental disorders.

The WMH section aims to promote international and interdisciplinary collaboration between psychiatrists , mental health practitioners and government institutions so that appropriate sex- and gender-based interventions can be developed and used to enhance women’s overall wellbeing.

The WMH section has already published a position statements on the role of violence and discrimination in the genesis of mental health problems in women as well as a curriculum to be used in clinical and academic centres. These 2 documents have been approved and published in 5 languages.

Another matter of importance for the WMH section is that women’s mental health issues are always on the agendas of the thematic, regional and world WPA conferences. Finally the WMH targets to ensure a significant presence of women within WPA scientific and executive committees.
Section Officers
Chair
Florence Thibaut
Florence Thibaut
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Psychiatry/Addictive Disorders
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University Hospital Cochin (Site Tarnier) 89 rue d'Assas, 75006 Paris, France
Co-Chair
Mehnaz Zafar
Mehnaz Zafar
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Consultant Psychiatrist and Head of Community Psychiatry Services Al Amal hospital, Emirates Health Services
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Dubai, UAE
Secretary
Krishna Patel
Krishna Patel
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Psychiatrist (SAS Doctor - General Adult)
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North Westminster CMHH, 7A Woodfield Road, London W9 2NW United Kingdom
Section Advisors
Advisor
Natalia Semenova
Natalia Semenova
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Associate Professor
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Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University Moscow, Russia
Advisor
Gail Robinson
Gail Robinson
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Professor of Psychiatry
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University of Toronto, Canada
Section member list can be found here
Past Events
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The WPA Women Mental Health Section held a number of Symposia and meetings at this years WPA 25th World Congress of Psychiatry in Prague. The full details can be viewed here
WPA Congress

WPA Regional Congress, Alexandria, Egypt, 11-14 April 2025

Prof. El Nahas and Prof. Florence Thibaut were involved in two symposia during the last WPA regional congress held in Alexandria, Egypt, in April 2025.

Symposium 16: Scoping Perinatal Psychotropics: Case-based Insights for Safe Prescriptions

Chairs: Gihan ELNahas (Egypt) – Florence Thibaut (France)

  • Florence Thibaut (France): Substance Use Disorder pharmacological treatment during pregnancy
  • Gihan ELNahas (Egypt): Pharmacological treatment of Depression in pregnancy

Symposium 19: Stress in the Womb: Unravelling the Maternal-Fetal Connection

Chairs: Florence Thibaut (France) – Gihan ELNahas (Egypt)

  • Gihan ELNahas (Egypt): Revealing Maternal Stress Transmission to Offspring
  • Heba Elshahawi (Egypt): Is Maternal Nutrition protective against neurodevelopmental disorders
  • Marwa Elmiissiry (Egypt): Mitigation of maternal stress risk for the wellbeing of mothers and offspring
  • Discussant – Florence Thibaut (France)
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EPA 33rd European Congress of Psychiatry, Madrid, Spain, 5-8 April 2025


Plenary Lecture: Women's Mental Health: A Global Perspective
Chair: Martina Rojnic Kuzman (Croatia)
Speaker: Florence Thibaut (France)
Symposium: Current priorities in women's mental health: Resource, policy and training
This session is organised by the Section on Women's Mental Health and included:
  • Recent progress in women's mental health research and future priorities (Speaker: Florence Thibaut (France))

  • The WPA Equality, Development, Inclusion and Transcultural Perspectives (EDIT) strategy - addressing barriers to gender disparity (Speaker: Mariana Pinto da Costa (United Kingdom))

  • The American Psychiatric Association's current priorities for women’s mental health (Speaker: Ludmila De Faria (United States))

  • Opportunities to mainstream women’s mental health in psychiatric training across Europe (Speaker: Angelika Wieck (United Kingdom))

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Webinar: Women, alcohol and substance use disorder (including perinatal period)

Where: Online (see Zoom link below)

When: 10 March 2025, 16:30–18:00

How to join: Join on Zoom

More information: EPA webinar page (opens in a new tab)

Webinar programme

  • 16:30 – 16:40 | Tamas Kurimay – Welcome and introduction
  • 16:40 – 16:50 | Arnt Schellekens – Context and presentation of the speakers
  • 16:50 – 17:10 | Florence Thibaut – Presentation: “Alcohol use disorders during pregnancy and peripartum”
  • 17:10 – 17:20 | Q&A and discussion
  • 17:20 – 17:40 | Jan K Melichar – Presentation: “Long-Acting Injectable Buprenorphine, Opioid Use Disorder and Pregnancy”
  • 17:40 – 17:50 | Q&A and discussion
  • 17:50 – 18:00 | Tamas Kurimay & Arnt Schellekens – Wrap-up and conclusions

Note: The Zoom link will open in a new tab. If your browser blocks pop-ups or new tabs, please allow them for this site.

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The 10th World Congress of Women's Mental Health, Bangalore, INDIA

Date: 5–8 March 2025

Venue:
Convention Centre, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences,
Bangalore, INDIA

Theme: Inclusion and Integration across the Lifespan

Abstract Submissions: Open for Oral and e-Posters until 30 September 2024

Early Bird Registration: Available until 31 October 2024

Congress Highlights

  • Special program for Early Career Professionals, including Registration Fee Bursaries for LAMIC
  • Lived Experience presentations and discussions
  • Multiple session formats highlighting recent themes in Women's Mental Health — Plenary talks, Ask the Expert, Panel Discussions, Workshops, Case Conference, Films, and Conference Fringe with book readings and art workshops

Website: www.iawmh2025.org

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World Congress of Asian Psychiatry

which was held in conjunction with WPA and attended by Dr. Danuta at Bali, Indonesia from 4-7th December, 24. It was World Congress of Asian Psychiatry which was held in conjunction with WPA and attended by Dr. Danuta at Bali, Indonesia from 4-7th December, 24. It was Menaz Zafar’s honor, co-chair of the WPA women’s mental health section to voice the issues pertaining to the mental health of women across lifespan and the challenges for accessing mental health care for vulnerable women.
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The WPA Women Mental Health Section will be running a number of Symposia at this years WPA 24th World Congress of Psychiatry in Mexico The full details can be viewed here
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WFP Regional Congress – Psychotherapy, Creativity, and the Arts

Where:
Palazzo Marco Polo, Aula Magna, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy

When: 18–19 October 2024

Theme: Psychotherapy, Creativity and the Arts

Website

Visit the event website

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October 2023 – Scientific & Education Programme on International Collaboration in Healthcare and Neuropsychiatry

Supervised by

Republican Specialized Scientific & Practical Medical Center for Mental Health of the Ministry of Health of Uzbekistan
and
The International Centre for Education & Research in Neuropsychiatry (ICERN) of the FBSEU Samara State Medical University of the Ministry of Health of Russia

The programme included

  • Women’s mental health challenges in the 21st Century – Prof. Florence Thibaut (Chair of the Women's Mental Health Section of the WPA, University Paris Cité, University Hospital Cochin (AP-HP), Institute of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, Paris, France)
  • Women and Addiction – Prof. Florence Thibaut (Chair of the Women's Mental Health Section of the WPA, University Paris Cité, University Hospital Cochin (AP-HP), Institute of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, Paris, France)
30th October 2023 - Varenna Foundation's event on the topic of Female behavioural addictions in Milan, Italy. To download the slides by Marc Potenza (Yale University (USA) professor) click  here.​​​
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14th November 2023 - Ruby Castilla was invited as a Keynote Speaker at the U23 Fest at Alma Mater in Colombia: Universidad Industrial de Santander. Her conference title was: "Glass ceilings: why despite our advances does the gap persist?" 
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8 April 2024 – Scientific Meeting during the 32nd Congress of the EPA, Budapest

In collaboration with the Women’s Mental Health Section of the European Psychiatric Association

The programme included

  • Welcome and Introduction by Prof. Tamas Kurimay (Chair of the Women Mental Health Section of the European Psychiatric Association; Head of the Buda Family Centered Mental Health Centre, Department of Psychiatry and Psychiatric Rehabilitation, Teaching Department of Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary)
  • Women’s mental health is everybody’s business: current challenges, some solutions by Prof. Florence Thibaut (Chair of the Women's Mental Health Section of the World Psychiatric Association; University Paris Cité, University Hospital Cochin (AP-HP); INSERM U1266, Institute of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, Paris, France)
  • UEMS and opportunities to mainstream women's mental health across Europe by Dr. Marisa Casanova Dias (President of the European Union of Medical Specialists Psychiatry Section; Secretary of the European Psychiatric Association Section of Women and Mental Health; Consultant Perinatal Psychiatrist, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK)
Section Activities

Ruby Castilla is delighted to share a recent WARMI publication, titled "Perinatal bereavement rooms: a narrative review of physical space in perinatal grief." which has been published in the esteemed Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics

Access the full publication here

If you or your respective institutions are interested in exploring collaborative opportunities, we are collaborating with a multidisciplinary WARMI team that provides a comprehensive range of resources, including technical expertise, architectural planning, design support, and educational materials.

Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or would like to discuss potential collaborations further.

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Online Educational Course Run by the International Association for Women’s Mental Health on Perinatal Mental Health Course title: Psychotropic Medications in Pregnancy and Lactation
Course description:

The course provides you with in-depth and up-to-date information and practical tips. It also offers 15 CME credit hours granted by the American Association of Continuing Medical Education (AACME). As a self-learning online course, it allows you to study at your own pace, review content as needed, and complete a knowledge assessment test to receive certification upon successful scoring.

These extensive modules were developed by
  • Dr. Gihan Elnahas, M.D. — IAWMH Secretary and Member of the WPA Women’s Mental Health Section; Professor of Psychiatry, Head of Liaison Psychiatry Unit, Head of Women Mental Health Program, Head of Tobacco Control and Cessation Unit, Chair CME Committee, Institute of Psychiatry, Ain Shams Medical School, Cairo, Egypt
  • Florence Thibaut, M.D., Ph.D. — IAWMH Immediate Past President and Chair of the WPA Women’s Mental Health Section; Professor of Psychiatry, University of Paris Cité, University Hospital Cochin, INSERM U1266, Institute of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, Paris, France
Learn more & register

Orientation Video:
Watch the orientation video

Registration page:
Register for the course

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