Updates from the WPA Section on Education in Psychiatry

The WPA Section on Education in Psychiatry, which is one of the oldest sections in the WPA, having been established in the 1970s, is committed to improve the quality of education in psychiatry.

In particular, the aims of the Section are the following: a) to improve psychiatric care provided to patients and their carers; b) to update training curricula for residents in psychiatry worldwide, and in particular in low‐ and middle‐income countries; c) to develop educational materials about mental health and mental disorders for clinicians, researchers and academic professionals involved in teaching activities for undergraduate students, trainees in psychiatry, and primary care workers; d) to increase the attractiveness of psychiatry as a profession among medical students; e) to promote the public image of psychiatry among the general population; f) to improve the mental health literacy of the general public.

In many countries, education in psychiatry is still based on a knowledge formed in the last century, while the recent scientific, clinical, social and economic changes require the update of psychiatric training curricula ¹ . In fact, psychiatry is now a modern medical specialty that deals with the structure and function of the brain, the operations of mind (i.e., thoughts, feelings and consciousness), human behaviours and social relationships. Accordingly, the target of psychiatry has also changed, and very often psychiatrists are called to deal with conditions which are not proper mental disorders, but mental health problems associated with high levels of personal burden and reduced social functioning, thus requiring professional help ² . New diagnostic and therapeutic approaches are continuously proposed, and these should be integrated in training curricula. At the same time, some classical psychiatric disorders, which seem almost disappeared from daily practice, should not be disregarded ³ . The Section on Education in Psychiatry has participated in the development, update and revision of the WPA core curriculum for medical students4, 5, 6.

The post‐graduate training curricula of modern psychiatrists should include skills in leadership, administrative and economic management, dealing with media, conflicts of interests, and academic development. The Section has recently carried out a web‐based survey with more than 600 participants from 60 countries in order to assess the levels of training on academic skills and leadership competencies in residency curricula. Respondents reported to have low levels of academic skills, which are not usually taught during residency courses. These findings have been discuss­ed at several international meetings, in­cluding the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association.

The WPA Section on Education in Psychia­try has contributed to the revision of educational materials on depression targeted to the general population, which are now available on the WPA website (wpanet.org) ⁷ , and has participated in the development of educational packages for the general public in order to address misconceptions on people with mental disorders.

Several textbooks have been published in the field of education in psychiatry with the involvement of several members of the Section (e.g., Teaching psychiatry: putting theory into practice edited by L. Gask, B. Coskun and D. Baron; A new era in psychiatric education, a new era for education in the WPA edited by A. Tasman; New directions in psychiatry edited by A. Fiorillo and N. Sartorius). The fifth edition of the Tasman’s Psychiatry is currently in preparation and will be ready by the year 2021, with the involvement of several members of the Section.

Our Section has also recently contributed to the international debate on the need to increase the attractiveness of psychiatry among medical students. In fact, a shortage of medical students choosing a career in psychiatry is consistently reported, which is frequently due to the misconception that psychiatry is unscientific compared to other medical disciplines. This bad image of our discipline negatively impacts on the decision to choose a career in psychiatry. Moreover, in many parts of the world, the skills of psychiatrists are often confused with those of psychologists and other mental health professionals, further reducing the attractiveness of our discipline.

The Section on Education in Psychiatry has participated in several campaigns to erase the stigma of mental health, which have been carried out in different parts of the world in order to improve the public image of psychiatry among the general population. Positive messages on mental health and people with mental disorders have been proposed and conveyed through seminars, informative materials and books, which have been developed and disseminated worldwide8, 9. The Section aims to make this material available, in particular in low‐ and middle‐income countries, where the levels of stigma are much higher compared to other countries.

Finally, members of the Section have participated in the development of informative and educational materials for pa­tients, carers and family members, or have contributed to the adaptation of those already existing, also in collaboration with international associations of users and/or carers10, 11.

The WPA Section on Education in Psychia­try has organized symposia, workshops and educational courses in collaboration with other national and international bodies involved in education. It actively collaborates with other WPA Scientific Sections12, 13, in particular with the Sections on Early Career Psychiatrists and on Psychotherapy, in order to fulfil the educational needs of early career psychiatrists and to fill the educational gaps in crucial areas, such as that of training in psychotherapy.