Improving education in psychiatry in an evolving scenario: the activities of the WPA Section on Education in Psychiatry

Abstract

Education of mental health professionals should reflect the changes occurring at scientific, clinical and sociocultural levels, and thus it should be continuously updated. However, in many parts of the world, psychiatric education is still based on a knowledge formed in the last century, and the most recent knowledge on the structure and functioning of the brain, human behaviors and social relationships is missing.

Moreover, the mission of psychiatrists has evolved over time, from the diagnosis and management of full-blown mental disorders to the identification of a series of mental health problems which are associated with high levels of personal and societal burden. The involvement of experts by experience in policy, clinical and research activities is now acknowledged as a priority^{1, 2}, and the need for a clinical characterization of individual patients beyond diagnosis in order to personalize treatment is widely recognized^{3, 4}. These changes should be taken into account by current educational curricula, but this is not always the case.

The WPA Section on Education in Psychiatry is committed to improve training and education worldwide, with a special attention to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), since the future of psychiatry as a discipline strongly depends on the education of the new generations of professionals.

The Section is updating the type of educational materials available for mental health professionals, and is keen to disseminate them worldwide⁵. In the last triennium, it has contributed to several educational activities, including the development of informational packages for the general public to decrease misconceptions on people with mental disorders, the update of training curricula for undergraduate medical students, and the organization of educational workshops and meetings for psychiatrists and other mental health professionals.

In the triennium 2020-2023, following the COVID-19 pandemic – which has represented an unprecedent traumatic event with a detrimental impact on education, training and practice worldwide – the Section has been particularly active in developing and producing new tools to improve education in mental health worldwide^6-8.

The Chair of the Section, in collaboration with the WPA Past-President, has promoted a survey targeting the WPA Zonal Representatives, to identify the educational needs and interests of professionals associated with the WPA⁹. The main finding has been that these professionals are mostly concerned with public mental health activities and with primary prevention of mental disorders. The main unmet need is the development, implementation and dissemination of educational activities in languages other than English, in order to broaden their accessibility.

Moreover, the Section has collected experiences on education and training from researchers and scholars working in different parts of the world, with a special focus on the quality of training in LMICs. These contributions have been collected in a special issue of the journal Asia-Pacific Psychiatry¹⁰. This issue also includes the views of early career psychiatrists on the difficulties and advantages of being trained in psychiatry in LMICs, the neglect of education on addiction psychiatry, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on psychiatric training and education, and the relevance of using digital resources and online platforms for facilitating and improving the dissemination of educational programs and activities worldwide.

Moreover, the Chair of the Section has worked closely with the WPA Past-President to highlight the importance of physical health in patients with severe mental disorders, by participating in the Working Group on Physical Activities and Comorbidities¹¹ and in several educational initiatives organized during WPA Congresses and other major conferences.

Based on these activities, together with Profs. N. Sartorius and A. Javed, the Chair of the Section is editing a new WPA educational book on Comorbidity between Mental and Physical Disorders: Identification, Management and Treatment, that will be published during 2024.

Along these lines, the Section has been involved in the preparation of the WPA Action Plan 2023-2026 by the current WPA President, and has actively contributed to the production of educational materials for the Healthy Lifestyles Hub, a dedicated webpage collecting videos and informative packages on nutrition and physical activity. The aim is to further contribute to the creation of a library of resources accessible to colleagues worldwide that can be downloaded for inspiration and application in daily psychiatric practice^12-14.

In March 2021, the Section organized a successful virtual Train the Trainers workshop, which was attended by around 130 participants, including psychiatrists, psychiatric trainees, and other mental health care professionals from 45 countries. The interactive structure of the workshop allowed participants to exchange educational and professional experiences, ask questions and receive advice from experts. Among the keynote speakers, Profs. A. Javed and N. Sartorius shared their experience on how to find innovative solutions for improving training and education in psychiatry, with a specific focus on leadership and communication skills. The success of this workshop confirmed that online interactive educational activities can represent a useful tool in order to reduce organizational and logistic costs.

The Section has been continuously reinforcing collaboration with international organizations committed to improve education and training in psychiatry, such as the Committee on Education of the European Psychiatric Association (EPA) and the European Union of Medical Specialists (UEMS). Moreover, the Chair of the Section has actively participated in meetings held at the European Parliament in Brussels, sharing ideas on educational opportunities in mental health, in collaboration with representatives from UEMS and the World Health Organization.

The number of members of the Section has been expanding regularly, with the recruitment of several early career psychiatrists and the involvement of colleagues from a vast range of countries. We look forward to further opportunities of interaction with all colleagues and other stakeholders interested in upgrading psychiatric education worldwide.