[Our visit in the Czech National Institute of Mental Health - experiences and impressions].

Abstract

In late April 2024, we visited the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) with our psychiatry residency class in Klecany, near Prague, the Czech Republic. There is no similar institution in Hungary, so it was worthwhile to learn not only about the research being conducted there, but also how the successful integration of preclinical and clinical research, patient care, and education is achieved in a psychiatric institute. In this article, we briefly describe the history and professional profile of the institute, its capacities, and the work of the research groups and departments that were presented to us during our visit: the Ward of Sleep Disorders, the Psychedelic Research Centre and the Center for Virtual Reality Research. It was instructive to see that in a Central European country of similar size and history to our own, an institution has been created that can provide highly progressive care, with appropriate modern diagnostic facilities (EEG, MRI), allowing detailed differential diagnosis and high quality clinical and translational research.