About the EPA
The European Psychiatric Association
With active individual members in as many as 88 countries and 44 National Psychiatric Association Members who represent more than 80,000 European psychiatrists, the European Psychiatric Association is the main association representing psychiatry in Europe. The EPA’s activities address the interests of psychiatrists in academia, research and practice throughout all stages of career development.
The EPA deals with psychiatry and its related disciplines and focuses on the improvement of care for the mentally ill as well as on the development of
professional excellence.
“Improving Psychiatry and Mental Health Care in Europe”
1983
The Association of European Psychiatrists (AEP) is founded in 1983 by French- and German-speaking psychiatrists, selecting
Strasbourg as the seat of the association
1986
Creation of the European Psychiatry Journal 1st European Congress of Psychiatry
1999
Several former members of the European Federation of Psychiatric Trainees (EFPT) gathered within the framework of the European Congress of Psychiatry and launched the idea to build a network of European young psychiatrists, although being no more trainees in psychiatry. Under the guidance of EPA President, Professor Norman Sartorius, the first programme dedicated to young psychiatrists was planned at the XI World Congress of Psychiatry, held in Hamburg, Germany in 1999.
2004
After 5 years, an EPA initiative established a Young Psychiatrists Programme (YPP), a special scientific track dedicated to young psychiatrists, which was held for the first time within the European psychiatric conference during the EPA Congress in Geneva (Switzerland) under the presidency of Prof. Mario Maj.
2008
The AEP changes its name to the European Psychiatric Association (EPA)
2009
The former Young Psychiatrists Committee became the Early Career Psychiatrists Committee (ECPC; Chair: Iris T. Calliess; Co-Chair: Andrea Fiorillo), the idea of Early Career Psychiatrists Programme is to pay special attention to trainees and young psychiatrists attending international psychiatric conferences.
2011
First EPA Summer School
2011
The ECPC (Chair: Andrea Fiorillo; Co-Chair: Umberto Volpe) launched a specific biennial Action Plan, aimed to improve participation of early career psychiatrists into the EPA Annual Congress, to identify and address problems concerning early career psychiatrists, to promote the participation of early career psychiatrists in the various activities of EPA, to contribute to the design of activities to promote the professional development of early career psychiatrists in Europe, and to propose a new agenda for European early career psychiatrists.
2012
Introduction of National Psychiatric Association members
2015
The EPA opens an office in Brussels to directly address its EU policy objectives
2018
The EPA develops and launches its first Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), “Introduction to Cognitive Behavioural Therapy”
The founding members of the association worked to establish an association that would promote European Psychiatry in the fields of research, treatment and teaching, three axes considered to be unequivocally complementary within the discipline of psychiatry. In addition, they positioned the association as a privileged mediator between practitioners, official councils and public authorities on matters relating to mental health policies.
Today, the EPA continues in the spirit of the founding members, with a focus on collaborating with European partner organisations, lobbying at the European level for the development of standards in care, prevention and education, providing professional support to early career psychiatrists, and translating scientific evidence into the best clinical practice across Europe and worldwide.
Join us!
EPA members are an integral part of our European and worldwide community, actively contributing to the life of the Association and playing a key role in shaping the future of the EPA and of Psychiatry in Europe.