Why Attend

The 21st WPA World Congress of Psychiatry will be the long-awaited meeting, providing a great platform for knowledge exchange, discussions of the hottest topics in our industry and a gathering place of leaders with world-class experience and know-how. Let us come together and tackle the new challenges for psychiatry & mental health!

0 Days

full of exciting scientific content and networking opportunities

0 Sessions

lectures, panels, discussions, presentations, e-posters

0 Speakers

presenting new and exciting scientific content in a personalised online platform

0 Participants

expected attendees at the 21st WPA World Congress of Psychiatry

Program Highlights

Quiz Sessions

Session 01 – 18 October, 14:15-15:15

Session 02 – 20 October, 13:30-14:30

Learn more about the WPA Quiz Sessions here.

WPA Publications

18 October; 11:15-12:15

Various WPA publications will be presented and discussed with their editors

Difficult Cases

Session 1 – 18 October, 12:45-13:45

Session 2 – 19 October, 08:00-09:00 – in Spanish

Session 3 – 21 October, 09:30-10:40

During these sessions, early career psychiatrists, supported by a senior expert from the same continent will present case histories of people with mental disorders whose diagnosis and management presented a number of problems. The speakers will describe the cases highlighting the issues and invite the audience to engage in a discussion and in the search for solutions to the problems which they faced.

3 Minutes Competition

21 October, 11:00-12:00 – in English

20 October, 12:30-13:30 – in Spanish

Learn more about the 3 minute Competition here.

CRPD

Session 1 – October 19, 08:00-09:00
Session 2 – October 20, 08:00-09:00

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CPRD) is the first international treaty which brings the rights of persons with disabilities into the ambit of international law. It specifically mentions people with mental disabilities in its Article 1.

There has been a great deal of controversy regarding the implications of the CRPD on the practice of psychiatry. The CRPD has been hailed as ‘the dawn of a new era’ in disability rights. Some commentators have enthusiastically endorsed the CRPD as providing an invaluable new trajectory and horizon for human rights protection and promotion in mental health. Other experts, while acknowledging the many merits of the human rights framework adopted by the CRPD, have also pointed to the ‘ambiguities’ and ‘inconsistencies’ in the actual text of the convention, or to the fact that the convention is ‘silent’ when it comes to forms of involuntary psychiatric treatment. Still others have claimed that the convention would leave many people with mental health conditions worse off by interfering with efforts to protect them and called it a ‘problem child of international human rights law’.

These symposia will discuss implications of the CRPD on clinical practice of psychiatry. The relevant articles of the CRPD will be presented briefly, along with a description of controversies in their interpretation and implications. This will be followed by the presentation of a number of clinical vignettes to have an interactive discussion and debate on the consequences of the CRPD on practice of psychiatry.

Digital Theatre

20 October; 15:00-16:00

Topic: Burn-out 

What has been the impact on resilience, levels of workforce stress and burnout across the healthcare system?

Digital Interactive Theatre is a novel way of education that provides the audience with the opportunity to direct the scenario using a polling system. ‘Burning Out’ will explore burnout across NHS and social care by identifying how it manifests, how it is assessed, and what are its causes and contributing factors and to what extent are care staff able to balance their working and personal lives? The Delivering core NHS and care services during the pandemic and beyond report set out the concerns that “Some NHS and care staff are suffering from fatigue, exhaustion and a general feeling of being “burnt out” and that the wellbeing of staff (particularly their mental health) is at significant risk”.

This session will begin by presenting a Digital Interactive Theatre followed by a facilitated discussion. During the post-DIT discussion, the international audience can share their insights on the session focusing on the United Kingdom’s experience.

Click here for more details

Mental Health and Illness in Films

21 October, 12:30-13:30

Short films relevant to the field will be introduced.

There will be over 25 sessions and courses in Spanish, both live and pre-recorded. Those sessions will not be translated into English, and they will focus on scientific developments from and towards the Spanish-speaking WPA community.
These sessions will discuss the most relevant, cutting-edge issues and trends in Latin America. They will provide greater insight and overview of the psychiatric climate in the area and will serve as a starting point for future developments in the field.
Learn more here.

SR1

Embrace the virtual experience Watch Now Sneak peek of the WCP21 virtual platform

Learn about New Developments and Best Practices

Get up to speed with the latest trends and emerging scientific discoveries in your sector and prepare to immerse yourself in the developments of tomorrow!
Present your research, learn from the work of others through various key note sessions, panel discussions, e-poster presentations, symposia and plenaries covering topics from all aspects of psychology, including: mental disorders, immunology, linguistics, epidemiology, neuroscience, human rights and mental health, and many more.

Get Inspired

Meet an unprecedented line-up of speakers and hear their stories of defying the odds within the field of psychology and how they have addressed the challenges the sector faces. Meet with established professionals through our personalized virtual platform and make new connections around the world in just few days. Attending live and prerecorded sessions, visiting the congress virtual exhibition and networking hall and joining the WPA TV Channel will give you access to colleagues and leaders from every facet of international psychology.

Join a Community

Connect online with industry professionals for four days of dynamic exchanges and networking opportunities, guaranteed to leave you well-equipped, energized, and ready to revitalize your career. Be among the first to hear from the experts about emerging data and analytics trends. Expand your network with more than 3000 of your peers and gain insights from those who face similar challenges. Analyze, test and compare innovative technology and practices that will add the most value to your professional development.

Be Empowered to Make a Change

Gain the confidence to take action within your own field and advance in your ability to balance people, processes and technology in your everyday. Learn from world leaders about how you can harness best practices and innovations to drive inclusion at all levels of your organization and career advancement. We will be discussing how to close gaps, ideas for talent attraction and retention as well as work-life balance. Our agenda will build an experience, perfect to meet individual needs.

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