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Scientific Programme Information
EPA 2027 offers a wide array of sessions throughout Congress days, covering the latest development in psychiatry.
Plenary Lectures are primarily theoretical and research-oriented, with a strong scientific focus. Delivered by leading psychiatrists, scientists, and mental health professionals invited by the Scientific Programme Committee, these sessions address major topics aligned with the Congress theme. Each Plenary Lecture is 45-minutes long.
Autism: From Genes to Treatment
Chair: Celso Arango (Spain)
Speaker: Matthew State (USA)
Prevention and Early Intervention in Psychiatry: Achievements, Challenges and Future Perspectives
Led by Prof. Fusar-Poli—a leading researcher in evidence-based medicine, clinical prediction, neurosciences, and experimental therapeutics—this plenary session will explore new strategies to improve the early detection and prevention of mental disorders. Prof. Fusar-Poli will draw on his experience as Head of the Early Psychosis: Intervention and Clinical-detection Laboratory (EPIC Lab) and honorary consultant psychiatrist in the Outreach And Support In South-London (OASIS) service.
Chair: Geert Dom (Belgium)
Speaker: Paolo Fusar-Poli (UK)
What's Next for the DSM-6?
The American Psychiatric Association is working on the new edition of the DSM-6, which has as final goal to advance scientific rigor, cultural inclusivity, and adaptability while ensuring that the DSM remains useful to clinicians and remains a trusted, relevant tool for understanding and treating mental disorders. In this plenary lecture, Prof. Oquendo will describe the most prominent innovations of this revised version of DSM.
Chair: Andrea Fiorillo (Italy)
Speaker: Maria Oquendo (USA)
Delivered by top European or worldwide experts, State-of-the-Art sessions have a strong clinical focus, providing a complete update on significant aspects of current clinical treatments in European psychiatry. Each State-of-the-Art session is 45-minutes long.
From Experience Sampling Methods to Just-in-Time Adaptive Interventions: What Are the Benefits for a Personalised Approach?
The Experience Sampling Method (ESM) has become a popular tool in the mental health field for personalized approaches. However, its intensive nature raises critical challenges, such as careless responding where participants fail to pay sufficient attention, which this session will address.
Chair: Martina Rojnic Kuzman (Croatia)
Speaker: Inez Myin-Germeys (Belgium)
GLP-1 Agonists in the Treatment of Antipsychotic-Induced Weight Gain
Antipsychotic-induced weight gain is one of the most common and challenging adverse effects of antipsychotic treatment and remains difficult to manage effectively. Currently approved treatment options are limited and are used infrequently due to their modest efficacy. At the same time, substantial weight gain is associated with metabolic syndrome, increased cardiovascular risk, and poorer overall health outcomes in patients with psychotic disorders. It also contributes to poor treatment adherence and discontinuation of antipsychotic therapy, increasing the risk of relapse and hospitalization. While GLP-1 receptor agonists have demonstrated remarkable efficacy in the treatment of obesity, evidence regarding their effectiveness specifically for antipsychotic-induced weight gain is still emerging.
Chair: Joseph Firth (UK)
Speaker: Peter Falkai (Germany)
Psychedelic Use in Psychiatry
This state-of-the-art lecture will review current evidence on the use of psychedelics in psychiatric treatment. It will examine therapeutic mechanisms, clinical outcomes, and safety considerations across conditions such as depression and trauma-related disorders. The lecture will discuss the implications of psychedelic-assisted therapies for the future of psychiatric practice and research.
Chair: Julian Beezhold (UK)
Sleep as a Transdiagnostic Treatment Target in Psychiatry
Sleep is a fundamental operating state of the central nervous system, occupying up to one-third of the human lifespan.
Chair: Judit Balázs (Hungary)
Substance-Induced Psychosis: An Underestimated and Problematic Diagnosis in Psychiatry
Substance induced psychosis is an increasingly prevalent psychiatric phenomenon with distinct diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. New data show the extremely significant impact of cannabis use and its association with psychosis. Often also associated with transition to chronic psychosis and increased suicide risk. Alongside cannabis, an increasing use of different substances, i.e. stimulant (amphetamine, cocaine, cathinones) and other novel psychoactive substances, impact psychosis risk and present to psychiatrists in all domains (acute care, psychosis care, forensic…) with this complex, often confusing psychotic symptoms. In this State-of-the-Art session summarizes prevalence, diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment, translating them into practical tools for a broad spectrum of clinicians.
Chair: Sophia Achab (Switzerland)
The Tyranny of the P-value: Effect Size Matters
Many people mistakenly assume that a P < .05 denotes absolute importance and that a P < .0001 signifies an even more impressive difference, highlighting a general lack of understanding regarding effect sizes in clinical trials. This session will discuss the limitations of relying solely on statistical significance. Additionally, it will demonstrate how simple-to-calculate measures of effect size—such as the number needed to treat (NNT) and number needed to harm (NNH)—help place study outcomes in a more relevant clinical context
Chair: Pavel Mohr (Czech Republic)
Prominent speakers present opposing perspectives on controversial or timely topics in psychiatry, encouraging lively discussion and critical thinking. Guided by an experienced moderator, two invited speakers respond to thought-provoking questions with concise presentations of approximately 4–5 minutes each, with or without slides.
Designed to foster interaction rather than formal lectures, the format encourages spontaneous discussion between the speakers and active audience participation. Interactive voting may be used at the beginning and/or end of the session to capture audience opinions and stimulate further debate.
Each debate lasts approximately 90 minutes.
Antidepressants: Overprescribed, Underutilised—or Misunderstood?
The debate will address the apparent paradox surrounding antidepressant treatment from two contrasting perspectives.
The “overprescribed” position will focus on concerns that antidepressants may sometimes be prescribed too readily, including for milder forms of depression or distress, with insufficient attention to limited individual benefit, adverse effects, withdrawal symptoms, long-term treatment, and non-pharmacological alternatives.
The “underutilised” position will emphasise that many people with clinically significant depression remain untreated or inadequately treated, despite the evidence that antidepressants can be effective, particularly in moderate-to-severe depression. It will also address barriers to access, undertreatment, insufficient treatment duration or dosage, and the consequences of leaving depression untreated.
The broader question — “or misunderstood?” — will allow us to move beyond a simple pro-versus-con framing and discuss whether the real challenge is identifying which patient should receive which antidepressant, at what stage of illness, for how long, and within what combination of pharmacological and psychosocial care.
Should AI Be Used for Psychotherapy?
This debate will critically examine whether Artificial Intelligence should be used in psychotherapy, weighing potential clinical benefits against ethical, relational, and philosophical concerns. Drawing on contrasting perspectives, it will explore issues such as empathy, trust, accountability, and the limits of automation in therapeutic care. The session will invite reflection on the future role of AI in mental health practice.
Tailored by the Scientific Programme Committee, Core Symposia are 90-minute sessions that delve into specific topics in psychiatry, offering multiple perspectives. Each symposium includes 2 chairs and four presentations by international speakers who are invited to chair and speak at the Congress by the EPA, and concludes with a discussion segment at the end of the session.
Are New Outcome Measures Needed for Schizophrenia-Spectrum Disorders?
The symposium will illustrate an international effort to develop a new outcome scale for schizophrenia-spectrum disorders (SSD). Motivated by the recognized limitations of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale in terms of the present conceptualization and models of SSD, the initiative aims to develop a rating scale in which all relevant psychopathological dimensions, as well as cognitive impairment, can be assessed in SSD.
Are We Facing an Epidemic of Mental Health Disorders?
This symposium, chaired by Dr. Boyce, will present large-scale data on trends in mental health disorders. Prof. Penninx will present evidence from repeated longitudinal cohort data that establish the prevalence of mental disorders based on systematic psychiatric interviews in the general population. Assistant Prof. Momen will discuss trends in health care registry data in Scandanavia. Dr. Bertuccio will present WHO data to illustrate trends in suicide mortality. Prof. Broome will broadly discuss sources of determinants that contribute to mental disorder trends patterns over time. This symposium fits well with the plan to start a Lancet commission on trends in mental health, stimulated by Lancet.
Beyond Social Determinants: Geopolitics and Mental Health
This symposium will examine how geopolitical determinants affect the social determinants that impact mental health. It will explore climate change, natural disasters (such as earthquakes, tsunamis, and typhoons), and man-made disasters (such as wars and conflicts). Additionally, it will address political determinants (political ideologies and the nature of governments), commercial determinants (alcohol, gambling, ultra-processed foods, and tobacco), and geographical factors that shape mental health and wellbeing.
Exercise Interventions Across Stages of Psychosis: Implementation at Prodromal, First Episode and Later
This symposium will provide a comprehensive overview of the latest evidence and real-world initiatives related to exercise interventions across all stages of schizophrenia. Speakers actively engaged in this field will present research and clinical experience spanning the prodromal phase (Dr. Ruiz), first-episode psychosis (Prof. Firth), and later stages of schizophrenia (Prof. Falkai), alongside implementation in diverse clinical and community settings (Prof. Van Damme).
From Renaissance Humanism to Artificial Intelligence: Rethinking Suicidal Trajectories in Precision Psychiatry
This symposium will explore suicidal trajectories through an integrative framework combining humanistic assessment, clinical staging, and emerging technologies. Rooted in the legacy of Florence, it emphasizes the central role of the therapeutic relationship alongside biological and digital markers of vulnerability. Inflammation and exposome-related factors are examined as mediators of risk and illness progression. Digital psychiatry enables real-time monitoring of trajectories, while tools such as ChatGPT support structured clinical reasoning. Together, these approaches outline a model of augmented psychiatry for more precise and preventive suicide care.
Flip the Script: Multidisciplinary Perspectives to Personalised and Integrated Care in Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar disorder is a chronic condition associated with substantial clinical, cognitive, and functional challenges that often persist beyond acute mood episodes. Supporting individuals to live meaningful and fulfilling lives despite these challenges is a central goal of contemporary mental healthcare. Achieving this requires a personalised and integrated care approach that incorporates the perspectives of people with lived experience, clinicians, caregivers, and researchers. This symposium brings together multidisciplinary perspectives to address key gaps in the understanding and delivery of recovery-oriented care in bipolar disorder.
First, D. Clougher will present research examining the concept of resilience in bipolar disorder, drawing on both qualitative and quantitative studies informed by patient perspectives. This work explores how individuals with bipolar disorder define resilience and highlights the implications for assessment and intervention. Second, G. Anarsdottir, a lived-experience expert, will reflect on navigating psychiatric care systems and the importance of collaboration, autonomy, and shared understanding in recovery. Her presentation will highlight the distinction and interplay between clinical, functional, and personal recovery, emphasizing that while symptoms may fluctuate over time, maintaining a meaningful life aligned with personal values and goals is often of greatest importance. The role of learning, self-determination, and individual choice in fostering recovery will also be discussed. Third, H. Speyer will present emerging research on the use of virtual reality in psychiatric training to enhance clinicians’ understanding of patient autonomy, identity, and shared decision-making in medication management. Drawing on pilot data, this work challenges traditional assumptions about professional expertise and explores how greater recognition of patients’ experiential knowledge may improve understanding of medication ambivalence and adherence-related challenges. Finally, J. Zarp will discuss cognitive and emotional mechanisms that contribute to functional recovery in bipolar disorder. Drawing on contemporary neurocognitive research, this presentation will explore how insights into cognition, emotion regulation, and everyday functioning can inform more personalised interventions and support long-term recovery.
By integrating lived experience, clinical perspectives, innovative educational approaches, and cognitive science, this symposium offers a multidisciplinary roadmap for advancing personalised, integrated, and recovery-oriented care in bipolar disorder. The session aims to stimulate dialogue on how healthcare systems can move beyond symptom reduction toward supporting autonomy, participation, and meaningful recovery.
The European Congress of Psychiatry supports the EPA’s educational mission by offering high-quality courses that cover a broad spectrum of psychiatric topics. Each course comprises two 90-minute sessions and requires a separate registration fee.
Workshops are devoted to a specific topic and bring together experts in this field for an intensive discussion. These are 90-minute working sessions, with 30 minutes devoted to discussion and interactivity.
The EPA invites recent graduates to follow its specialist Programme, which is tailored to the needs and interests of Early Career Psychiatrists. The ECP Programme is composed of a Networking Evening and a special track of sessions throughout the Congress.
Ask the Experts sessions provide participants with the opportunity to meet in small groups with outstanding researchers and clinicians. The format is designed to encourage informal discussions, allowing participants to present their questions and gain new perspectives. Sessions are held at round tables, with a limited number of participants per session, and advanced sign-up is required. Each session lasts 90 minutes in total, with 5 experts and two groups of participants. Each group has 40 minutes with the experts, with a 10-minute break between the two groups.
Registration for the sessions will be available at the registration desk on-site.
The EPA Forum brings together members of the EPA Council of National Psychiatric Associations (NPAs), individual members, European organisations, stakeholders, and policymakers. It serves as a platform to discuss topics of European relevance in mental health and mental health care.
Sponsored sessions such as Satellite Symposia or Product Theatre sessions are entirely designed, produced and driven by the pharmaceutical industries, though subject to approval by the Scientific Programme Committee. These sessions are scheduled outside the main CME accredited EPA Scientific Programme.