EBC at the 33rd European Congress of Psychiatry

The European Brain Council was pleased to attend the 33rd European Congress of Psychiatry, organised by the European Psychiatric Association (EPA), which was held on 5-8 April 2025 in Madrid, Spain. The Congress took place under the motto “Towards Real-World Solutions in Mental Health” focusing on the clinical translation and the sharing of good practices. It brought together over 5200 participants from over 110 countries, featured more than 290 speakers and saw a record-breaking contribution of over 3000 submitted abstracts,

On 7 April 2025, a joint workshop titled “No Health Without Brain Health & the Brain Health Mission: Raising Awareness & Putting the Brain on the Top of the Policy Agenda” took place. Held in in the main auditorium, the aim of the session was to discuss the urgent need to prioritise brain health in the policy agendas.

The workshop was a collaborative initiative involving the EPA, the European Academy of Neurology (EAN), the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS) and EBC. The session featured presentations from experts including Suzanne Dickson, EBC President, Paul Boon, Past EAN President, Peter Falkai, EBC Treasurer, Tomás Ryan, Neuroscientist at Trinity College Dublin and EBC Board Member and Jana Middelfart-Hoff, EAN Treasurer.

Discussions focused on the socioeconomic impact of brain disorders, the need for increased investment in brain research, strategies for public awareness and health system integration. The No Health Without Brain Health campaign and the Brain Health Mission were highlighted as key frameworks to drive forward these goals.

This workshop reflected the EPA 2025 Congress theme, “Towards Real-World Solutions in Mental Health” and underlined the EPA’s commitment to clinically relevant, evidence-based collaboration for improving brain health across Europe.

Pavel Mohr, EPA Board Member and a co-author of the Rethinking Schizophrenia Study Paper, presented an e-poster titled “Rethinking Pathways: Innovative Approaches to Identify Individuals Experiencing First-Episode Psychosis and Connect Them to Care”. The presentation took place on 6 April 2025 in the e-poster area.

The e-poster highlighted the second phase of the Rethinking Schizophrenia project, a collaboration between EBC and the European Psychiatric Association (EPA). This phase focuses on assessing the health and societal benefits of improved interventions for schizophrenia, compared to current or inadequate care. It also aims to translate data into actionable policy recommendations to strengthen care pathways.

Schizophrenia, often emerging in late adolescence or early adulthood, demands comprehensive, lifelong care. The project addresses significant gaps in early intervention and care coordination, particularly for young individuals facing first-episode psychosis.

By collecting information from over 200 health practitioners, this project conducted an in-depth analysis of patient care pathways across nine European countries (Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Spain, and the UK), aiming to define specific strategies to advance the prevention and treatment of schizophrenia. Results highlight the urgent need for a more coordinated and multidisciplinary care approach to schizophrenia care, which fed into these policy recommendations of the report.