The WPA Working Group on Intellectual Developmental Disorders: the need for a second paradigm shift

Abstract

327 H. Herrman’s speech dealt with future prospects for women in psychiatry. She emphasized that deep-seated gender biases per sist across the world. The Lancet Commission on Gender and Global Health 2020 6 contends that gender intersects with other social factors to drive health inequities. It notes that, whereas 70% of health workers globally are female, 70% of health-care leaders are male. In psychiatry, women are still relatively scarce in the leadership of the profession, even though they are entering in higher numbers. The full involvement of women is critical for psychiatry. Women can bring a special contribution and different perspectives. However, professional barriers and problems for women persist. Mentoring and support of various kinds, flexible career paths, monitoring needs and experiences, and working with educators, employers, professional societies and policy makers are all needed. The WPA has worked to ensure that women colleagues are invited to participate fully and equally in the Association’s activities. It supports women in different places to share experiences and work together. Above all, it aims to foster an open and optimistic view among women of working in the profession. D. Bhugra’s presentation summarized the outcome of the work of the WPA-Lancet Psychiatry Commission on the future of psychiatry. In six potential themes, the Commission suggested that patients’ needs and treatments are likely to change. Laws supporting patients also need to change, as a survey of laws of 193 countries showed wide spread discrimination. The use of digital technology has been successfully demonstrated in the COVID-19 pandemic and this is likely to continue. However, ethical, confidentiality and privacy issues need to be addressed by the profession. Societal expectations will need to be taken into account when training the psychiatrists of the future. D. Wasserman’s speech dealt with suicidal behaviours during the COVID-19 pandemic. She reported that, compared to previous years, suicide rates have remained largely unchanged globally or declined in the early phase of the pandemic. However, increased suicide rates have been reported among non-white residents and Afro-American groups in the US, as well as among adolescents in China. Among adolescents, there have been no significant changes in suicide rates during the period of school closure, but an increase has been observed in the period after coming back to schools. No change in the number of suicide-related emergency department visits has been reported in many countries in the early phase of the pandemic. However, an increase in suicide-related emergency visits by females and youths has been identified since the summer of 2020 in the US. The assessment of suicidal thoughts and attempts during the pandemic showed significant increases, particularly in females and the young. As suicide attempts are the foremost predictor of completed suicides, vigorous preventive measures should be taken, including both health care and public mental health initiatives. Despite its brevity, the session was lively and informative. I hope that similar panels will be regularly organized within the World Congresses of Psychiatry in the future.