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March 19, 1999
Not only will attending the World Congress of Psychiatry this summer in Hamburg, Germany, give members a memorable vacation but also it will key them into practicing their profession in the larger arena made inevitable by today's global orientation.
To make registration as convenient as possible, APA members attending the annual meeting in May in Washington, D.C., can register at a special booth sponsored by the WPA. (Additional registration information appears at the end of this article.) Lufthansa is providing a 40 percent discount on airfare.
The congress's 1999 theme is "Psychiatry on New Thresholds," which was chosen, according to WPA President Norman Sartorius, M.D., Ph.D., "because psychiatric societies all over the world have to cross a new threshold in their manner of operation and in the definition of their responsibility. The explosive growth of knowledge about mental health and illness, the growing emphasis on economic aspects of health care, as well as the changes in involvement of government authorities in the provision of mental health care all impose new roles on psychiatric societies," he pointed out.
The congress will be the first one held in Germany. While English will be used in all of the sessions, simultaneous translations will be available in German, Spanish, French, Japanese, and Russian. A few sessions may be conducted in a language other than English.
One particularly interesting feature of this year's meeting will be an art exhibit of works that pertain to mental illness. The goal of the exhibit, according to congress organizers, "is not to simply show the work of patients, but to present how the artistic production of patients helped to clarify the diagnosis, to establish a better patient-doctor relationship, or enhance the rehabilitation and social integration of patients."
The gathering, Sartorius noted, "will provide an opportunity to learn from the experience gained during the past hundred years and to examine new research findings. . . .It will enable us to join hands, minds, and hearts in stepping over the threshold into a better future for our patients and our discipline."
The advance registration fee is 800DM (about $450). After March 31 the fee is 950DM (about $535 U.S.). There is a special reduced fee for trainees and students. Registrants can pay the fee with a major credit card. Other forms of payment must be in deutsche marks.
Additional information about the congress and registration forms are available on the WPA's Web site at Copies of the third and latest announcement about the congress can be obtained by contacting the APA Office of International Affairs at (202) 682-6126; fax: (202) 789-8882.