Welcome Message

Dear Colleagues,

The 29th European Congress of Psychiatry, organised by the largest international association of psychiatrists in Europe, will take place on 10-13 April 2021 in Florence, Italy. On the occasion of the 700th anniversary of Dante Alighieri’s death, no location could be more inspiring than the wonderful city of Florence, the capital city of the Tuscany region, where the famous poet, writer, philosopher and father of the Italian language was born.

The theme of the Congress, “Personalising and integrating mental health care in the digital era”, reflects the current shift towards new models of care in psychiatry, characterised by the attempt to leave behind “one size fits all” approaches and replace them with personalised diagnostic and therapeutic models. In the digital era, assessments and treatments can be delivered by remote specialised centres, bridging existing gaps in the access to high-quality care and reducing costs and inequalities. Appropriateness of prevention and treatment plans may be improved by matching plans with individual’s neurobiological and psychosocial characteristics. An increased effectiveness and safety of therapeutic strategies may be achieved by fully exploiting the available digital tools. Clinical decision making can be enhanced by machine learning methods, increasingly enabling the simultaneous processing of demographic, anamnestic and clinical characteristics, combined with genomic, epigenomic, neuroimaging, proteomic, transcriptomic and metabolomic markers. A full range of prompt and integrated interventions can be provided by smart wearable accessories, such as smartphones, watches, jewelry, and patches that may multiply the opportunities for careful assessment of mental states, symptoms and side effects of treatments.

The Congress will be an opportunity to discuss advantages and challenges of new models and tools in different settings and cultural contexts, to share knowledge and experiences among professionals and other stakeholders, to discover new research frontiers, and to generate new ideas, plans and collaborations.

We are confident that the 29th European Congress of Psychiatry will represent for all participants an unforgettable personal and professional experience, and look forward to welcoming you to Florence.