Education and publications in psychiatry: from strategy to implementation

The WPA Committee on Education and Scientific Publications coordinates and leads the WPA's global strategy for psychiatric education, training, and scientific dissemination. The Blueprint for Advancing Psychiatric Education and Scientific Publications set out a six‐year strategic framework to strengthen education and publications globally through integration, innovation and collaboration ¹ . During the past triennium, this strategy has been implemented with a clear focus on integrating education and publications in psychiatry and translating this into coordinated action.

An important focus has been the consolidation and expansion of publication activities. World Psychiatry has been further strengthened as the WPA flagship journal, with the Editor and editorial leadership continuing to maintain its position as the most prominent journal in psychiatry, and the journal with the highest impact factor in the field. World Psychiatry provides a global platform for research, clinical practice developments, and perspectives on policy development.

The WPA e‐journal Education and Psychiatry was launched as a peer‐reviewed, open‐access platform dedicated to psychiatric education and international knowledge exchange, achieving rapid global engagement with contributions from all regions. Of special note, this platform has strong participation from early‐career professionals and colleagues in low‐ and middle‐income countries ² , providing confidence that they, too, have a voice in this important area.

Collaboration with journals linked to WPA Scientific Sections has been systematically reviewed, ensuring clearer alignment with WPA priorities, improved coordination, and support for joint initiatives and special issues ¹ . New external collaborations are also being developed, including a forthcoming special issue of BMC Medical Education on “Global Training in Psychiatry – Inclusion, Equity, and Shared Learning”. This will mark a strategic effort by the WPA to move beyond educating psychiatrists alone into the active engagement of the wider medical education community.

Publishing activities have further expanded through books and educational materials, including handbooks and thematic volumes, culminating in the WPA Books Triennium Forum within the 2026 World Congress of Psychiatry, which will provide a platform for advancing scholarly publishing and international collaboration.

Substantial progress has also been made in education. The WPA Global Study on Psychiatric Training addressed the core questions about what elements of psychiatry are being taught by medical schools worldwide. The study collected data from more than 100 countries represented by WPA Member Societies, providing the most comprehensive global overview of psychiatry in medical education to date ³ . It examined curriculum structure, clinical exposure, and training challenges, offering an evidence base for improving education and workforce development.

Extensive in‐person educational opportunities have been delivered at the World Congresses of Psychiatry and other scientific meetings, all with the focus on supporting professional development and international exchange. The Committee on Education and Scientific Publications has also advanced a structured approach to continuing professional development, including accreditation of WPA educational activities, as well as co‐sponsored meetings, contributing to the standardization and recognition of high‐quality psychiatric education.

Significant efforts have been invested in the development of the WPA Education Portal as a central digital infrastructure for global e‐learning. The platform provides multilingual access to courses, clinical resources, and educational materials, and continues to undergo substantial technical and content development. The creation of this Portal required considerable time, energy and coordination. Its full impact will become clearer as it is fully implemented and more widely used.

The WPA Committee on Education and Scientific Publications has been very active in the past triennium. The above‐mentioned initiatives demonstrate that publications and educational activities have created resources that can be integrated into mental health policy and practice worldwide, while also establishing a coherent system to support global training, knowledge dissemination, and capacity building.