Early Career Psychiatrists (ECP) Programme
The EPA invites recent graduates to participate in a specialist programme designed to meet the needs and interests of Early Career Psychiatrists. The ECP Programme features a networking evening and a dedicated track of sessions throughout the Congress.
Please note: The networking evening is a paid event and thus requires registration, which can be completed through the registration platform.
EPA 2026 offers a wide array of sessions throughout the congress, covering the latest developments in psychiatry.
Burnout in Early-Career Psychiatrists: Systemic Stressors, Personal Impact, and Institutional Solutions
Co-Chair: Dr. David Gurrea Salas, Switzerland
Co-Chair: Dr. Willys Cantenys
Presentations:
Institutional Accountability – Creating Supportive Environments Through Policy, Culture, and Leadership
Speaker: Dr. Willys Cantenys, France
The Emotional Toll – Personal and Professional Consequences of Burnout in Young Psychiatrists
Speaker: Dr. Egor Chumakov, Russia
Effective Strategies for Preventing and Managing Workplace Burnout
Speaker: Dr. Sara Medved, Croatia
Building Resilience From the Start – Integrating Well-Being and Coping Skills Into Psychiatric Training
Speaker: Dr. Melike Toparlak, UK
Double Standards, Token Roles, and Leaky Pipelines: An Early-Career Psychiatrists’ Guide to Champion Gender Equality at Work
Chair: Dr. Asilay Seker, UK
Co-Chair: Dr. Anna Szczegielniak, Poland
Presentations:
Training in Psychiatry and Gender Equality: How to Improve It?
Speaker: Dr. Marisa Casanova Dia, UK
Working On Gender Equality in the Organisation of the Psychiatry Association: Can We Do What We Say?
Speaker: Prof. Serap Erdoğan Taycan, Türkiye
Gender Equality and Women’s Health At the Workplace: Where We Stand?
Speaker: Prof. Tamas Kurimay, Hungary
Journey of Women in Psychiatric Leadership Through Decades: Mistakes Not to Repeat
Speaker: Prof. Anita Riecher-Rössler , Switzerland
The Intersection of Emotion Dysregulation and Multimorbidity in Youth Mental Health: Clinical Presentations, Risk Pathways, and Intervention Opportunities
Chair: Prof. Gaia Sampogna, Italy
Co-Chair: Ass. Prof. Ivona Šimunović Filipčić, Croatia
Presentations:
Dead End?: Suicide as a Crossroads of Emotion Dysregulation and Illness Burden
Speaker: Prof. Philippe Courtet, France
Borderline Personality Disorder and Multimorbidity: Evidence for a Clinical Pattern
Speaker: Dr. Tomasz Gondek, Poland
Oxidative Stress as a Key Mediator Linking Maternal Diet to Offspring Neurodevelopment
Speaker: Mrs Chiara Musillo, Italy
Developmental Trajectories: How Emotion Dysregulation Shapes Comorbidity in Youth
Speaker: Dr. Asilay Seker, UK
How to Start the Rest of Your Career as a Psychiatrist: A Few Words With Those Who Made It
Chair: Dr. Giulio Longo, Italy
Chair: Prof. Federico Mucci, Italy
Presentations:
Start Your Own Research Group (Without Losing Your Mind) Speaker: Prof. Sinan Guloksuz, Netherlands
Coffee Breaks Over Lectures: Starting a Committee in the EPA
Speaker: Dr. Cecile Hanon, France
Becoming A Clinical Director
Speaker: Dr. Fabian Kraxner, Switzerland
What No One Tells You About Leading a Training Programme
Speaker: Prof. Pavel Mohr, Czech republic
How To Become Leaders in Psychiatry
Each session features one representative from each ECPC Task Force, who will deliver a 3-minute presentation on strategies to advance the future of Early Career Psychiatrists (ECPs) in Europe. Senior chairs will provide feedback on both the content and presentation skills.
Chair: Dr. Julian Beezhold, UK
Co-Chair: Prof. Andrea Fiorillo, Italy
Co-Chair: Prof. Norman Sartorius, Switzerland
Presentations:
Speaker: Dr. Marton Asztalos, Denmark
Speaker: Dr. Mehtap Az Genc, Türkiye
Speaker: Dr. Agata Todzia, Poland
Speaker: Dr. Giulio Longo, Italy
Integrative Approaches in Severe Mental Illness
The Blitz X Factor is designed as a live interactive session featuring a series of short presentations. Its aim is to foster the active involvement of Early Career Psychiatrists (ECPs) in the annual congress.
The format challenges participants to explain their chosen topic clearly and succinctly, while engaging the audience and capturing attention. Topics may address clinical issues as well as research methodology.
The session will feature six ECP presenters and two senior speakers, who will provide feedback and judge each presentation (up to 10 minutes per presentation). At the end of the session, the senior speakers will select the best presenter.
Chair: Prof. Gaia Sampogna, Italy
Co-Chair: Dr. Asilay Seker, UK
Speaker: Prof. Celso Arango, Spain
Speaker: Dr. Julian Beezhold, UK
Speaker: Dr. Alejandro Compaired Sánchez, Spain
Emotional Abuse and Positive symptoms in Patients With Schizophrenia
Speaker: Dr. Renato De Filippis, Italy
Drug Re-purposing in Psychiatry
Speaker: Prof. Riccardo De Giorgi, UK
rTMS combined with psychopharmacotherapy
Speaker: Dr. Theodoros Koutsomitros, Greece
Women Mental Health
Speaker: Dr. Beren Özel, Türkiye
Sports As Mental Health Therapeutics
Speaker: Dr. Anna Szczegielniak, Poland
Trauma-related Disorders
These sessions focus on in-depth discussions of three presentations by Early Career Psychiatrists (ECPs), inspired by real-life clinical complexity. Each presentation is explored from two perspectives: a senior field expert and an ECP specialising in the topic, fostering a dynamic exchange of insights and experiences.
Chair: Ass. Prof. Martina Rojnic Kuzman, Croatia
Speaker: Dr. Ilaria Riboldi, Italy
Speaker: Ms. Anastasia Sikora, Poland/Ukraine
Speaker: Dr. Cristina Tapoi, Romania
Speaker: MR Sara Medved, Croatia
Know How: Integrating Research, Philanthropy and Mental Health Care Trauma-Related Disorders
Know How sessions provide an in-depth look at the real-world implementation of research or clinical models and concepts. Designed especially for Early Career Psychiatrists (ECPs), these sessions offer practical insights into widely used or innovative methodologies through real-life case studies.
Each session includes:
*A conceptual introduction – presenting the fundamentals of the featured model, method, or approach.
*Two use case examples – demonstrating concrete outcomes, challenges encountered, and lessons learned from successfully executed projects.
Delivered by a single research or clinical team, these sessions offer a cohesive, in-depth, and inspirational example of translating concepts into practice. The session is interactive throughout, encouraging active engagement from participants.
Chair: Prof. Celso Arango, Spain
Co-Chair: Dr. Asilay Seker, UK
Presentations:
Conceptual Introduction – Concept of the Partnership, Its New Home at the Pears Maudsley Centre, and How It Aims to Embeds the Research Process Within Clinical Care Pathways
Speaker: Dr. Philip Shaw, UK
Use Case: How Cutting-edge Advances in Genomics, Neuroimaging, and AI at the PMC Will Reach Children and Young People Often Under-represented in Research
Speaker: Prof. Gustavo Sudre, UK
Use Cases: How Philanthropic Involvement Has Shaped the Partnership, Opening New Opportunities to Bring Clinician and Academics Together, and to Facilitate Active Involvement of Children, Young People and Families.
Speaker: Ms Sara Saunders, UK
Emerging Treatments in Psychiatry
This innovative interactive session brings together two teams for a lively scientific competition: Team Senior, composed of experienced experts, and Team Early Career, represented by Early Career Psychiatrists (ECPs).
The teams will face a series of multiple-choice questions on key psychiatric topics such as psychopathology and emerging treatments. The fastest team to answer correctly will then explain the scientific background behind their response.
Audience members will also play an active role by voting live from their devices, supporting their preferred team and contributing to the final score. After a round of questions, the team with the highest score will be declared the winner.
Chair: Prof. Gaia Sampogna, Italy
Co-Chair: Dr. Cristina Tapoi, Romania
Presentations:
Team senior: Prof. Geert Dom, Belgium
Team senior: Prof. Dr. Umberto Volpe, Italy
Team senior: Prof. Dr Judit Balazs, Hungary
Team early career: Dr. David Gurrea Salas, Switzerland
Team early career: Dr. Anja Krupa, Poland
Team early career: Dr. Dorottya Ori, Hungary
Team early career: Dr. Mario Santos, Portugal