International Early Intervention and Prevention in Mental Health Association

Last updated

International Early Intervention and Prevention in Mental Health Association
Formation1998
Type Professional association
President
Alison Yung (Australia)
Key people
  • Patrick McGorry - Treasurer
  • Sung-Wan Kim - VP Asia Pacific
  • Maria Michail - VP Europe
  • Shannon Pagdon - VP Lived Experience Research
  • Uta Ouali - VP Middle East & North Africa
  • Kate Hardy - VP North America
  • Pablo Gaspar - VP South & Central America
  • Naeem Dalal - VP Sub-Saharan Africa
Website www.iepa.org.au

The International Early Intervention and Prevention in Mental Health Association (IEPA), is a professional body and international network for those with an interest in early intervention in mental health and early psychosis intervention. The organisations headquarters are located in Parkville, a suburb of Melbourne, in Victoria, Australia. [1]

Contents

History

The need for a professional network was proposed at a conference in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, in June 1997, and the association was formed in 1998. With an initial focus on early intervention in psychosis the organisation was originally named the International Early Psychosis Association. From 2016-2024 the association was known as the International Early Intervention in Mental Health Association. This change in name reflected a shift in focus, broadening the influence of early intervention beyond psychosis to mental health. [2]

Executive group and membership

The IEPA is governed by a group of officers, elected by members every two years. Membership of the association is free and open to anyone with an interest in early intervention. Membership may be applied for online. [3] There are over 8,500 members as of 2024. [4]

Executive and members

As of February 2024 the executive and members consist of the following people: [5]

Conferences

Following the inaugural conference in Melbourne in 1996 (Verging on Reality), international academic conferences have been held every two years in New York City (2000), Copenhagen (2002), Vancouver (2004), Birmingham (2006), Melbourne (2008), Amsterdam (2010), San Francisco (2012), Tokyo (2014), Milan (2016) and Boston (2018). [6] In 2020 the conference was held for the first time in virtual format. [7]

A second virtual conference was held November 8–12, 2021. IEPA's 13th International Conference on Early Intervention in Mental Health was to be held in Singapore in 2022, however was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The IEPA's most recent conference, IEPA14, the 14th International Conference on Early Intervention in Mental Health, was held in Lausanne, Switzerland (2023). [8] IEPA's next biennial conference IEPA 15 will be held in Berlin, Germany in September 2025. [9]

The association has awarded the Richard J. Wyatt Award, named for Richard Jed Wyatt, to key contributors to the field of early psychosis since 2004. The recipients of this award have been: [10]

Peer reviewed journal

The association has endorsed [11] the Early Intervention in Psychiatry, a peer reviewed journal. [12] The inaugural issue was in February 2007 with Patrick McGorry as editor-in-chief.

Related Research Articles

Psychosis is a condition of the mind that results in difficulties determining what is real and what is not real. Symptoms may include delusions and hallucinations, among other features. Additional symptoms are incoherent speech and behavior that is inappropriate for a given situation. There may also be sleep problems, social withdrawal, lack of motivation, and difficulties carrying out daily activities. Psychosis can have serious adverse outcomes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schizophrenia</span> Mental disorder with psychotic symptoms

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by reoccurring episodes of psychosis that are correlated with a general misperception of reality. Other common signs include hallucinations, delusions, disorganized thinking, social withdrawal, and flat affect. Symptoms develop gradually and typically begin during young adulthood and are never resolved. There is no objective diagnostic test; diagnosis is based on observed behavior, a psychiatric history that includes the person's reported experiences, and reports of others familiar with the person. For a diagnosis of schizophrenia, the described symptoms need to have been present for at least six months or one month. Many people with schizophrenia have other mental disorders, especially substance use disorders, depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, and obsessive–compulsive disorder.

The Hearing Voices Movement (HVM) is the name used by organizations and individuals advocating the "hearing voices approach", an alternative way of understanding the experience of those people who "hear voices". In the medical professional literature, ‘voices’ are most often referred to as auditory verbal hallucinations. The movement uses the term ‘hearing voices’, which it feels is a more accurate and 'user-friendly' term.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim van Os</span> Dutch psychiatrist and epidemiologist

Jim van Os is a Dutch academic and psychiatrist. He is Professor of Psychiatry and medical manager of the Brain Center at Utrecht University Medical Center, the Netherlands.

Dr. Thomas McGlashan is an American professor of psychiatry at Yale University, well known for his academic contributions to the study of schizophrenia and other mental illnesses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rethink Mental Illness</span>

Rethink Mental Illness Is a British charity that seeks to improve the lives of people severely affected by mental illness through their networks of local groups and services, information and campaigns. Its stated goal is to make sure everyone severely affected by mental illness has a good quality of life.

The Chinese Society of Psychiatry is the largest organization for psychiatrists in China. It publishes the Chinese Classification of Mental Disorders ("CCMD"), first published in 1985. The CSP also publishes clinical practice guidelines; promotes psychiatric practice, research and communication; trains new professionals; and holds academic conferences.

In medicine, a prodrome is an early sign or symptom that often indicates the onset of a disease before more diagnostically specific signs and symptoms develop. It is derived from the Greek word prodromos, meaning "running before". Prodromes may be non-specific symptoms or, in a few instances, may clearly indicate a particular disease, such as the prodromal migraine aura.

Early intervention in psychosis is a clinical approach to those experiencing symptoms of psychosis for the first time. It forms part of a new prevention paradigm for psychiatry and is leading to reform of mental health services, especially in the United Kingdom and Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick McGorry</span> Australian psychiatrist

Patrick Dennistoun McGorry is an Irish-born Australian psychiatrist known for his development of the early intervention services for emerging mental disorders in young people.

At risk mental state is the clinical presentation of those considered at risk of developing psychosis or schizophrenia. Such states were formerly considered treated as prodromes, emerging symptoms of psychosis, but this view is no longer prevalent as a prodromal period can not be confirmed unless the emergence of the condition has occurred.

Dilip V. Jeste is an American geriatric neuropsychiatrist, who specializes in successful aging as well as schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders in older adults. He was senior associate dean for healthy aging and senior care, distinguished professor of psychiatry and neurosciences, Estelle and Edgar Levi Memorial Chair in Aging, director of the Sam and Rose Stein Institute for Research on Aging, and co-director of the IBM-UCSD Artificial Intelligence Center for Healthy Living at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. after serving for 36 years, he retired from UC San Diego on July 1, 2022.

Patricia Therese Michie is Emeritus Professor of Psychology, and co-director of the Schizophrenia Program of the Priority Research Centre in Translational Neuroscience and Mental Health at the University of Newcastle.

Prevention of mental disorders are measures that try to decrease the chances of a mental disorder occurring. A 2004 WHO report stated that "prevention of these disorders is obviously one of the most effective ways to reduce the disease burden." The 2011 European Psychiatric Association (EPA) guidance on prevention of mental disorders states "There is considerable evidence that various psychiatric conditions can be prevented through the implementation of effective evidence-based interventions." A 2011 UK Department of Health report on the economic case for mental health promotion and mental illness prevention found that "many interventions are outstandingly good value for money, low in cost and often become self-financing over time, saving public expenditure". In 2016, the National Institute of Mental Health re-affirmed prevention as a research priority area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aggrey Burke</span> British psychiatrist and academic (born 1943)

Aggrey Washington Burke FRCPsych is a British retired psychiatrist and academic, born in Jamaica, who spent the majority of his medical career at St George's Hospital in London, UK, specialising in transcultural psychiatry and writing literature on changing attitudes towards black people and mental health. He has carried out extensive research on racism and mental illness and is the first black consultant psychiatrist appointed by Britain's National Health Service (NHS).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paolo Fusar-Poli</span> Italian medical doctor, psychiatrist

Paolo Fusar-Poli is an Italian and British medical doctor, psychiatrist, and Professor at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College, London and at the Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia.

Larry J. Seidman was an American neuropsychologist who served as a professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School starting in 2004, and as vice chair for research in the Massachusetts Mental Health Center Public Psychiatry Division at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center starting in 2005. His research focused on the neuropsychology of epilepsy and schizophrenia. On September 7, 2017, he died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 67. Since 2018, the International Early Psychosis Association (IEPA) has awarded the annual Larry J. Seidman Award for Outstanding Mentorship in his honor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Farooq Naeem</span> British psychiatrist

Farooq Naeem is a British academic who is known for his work on cultural adaptation of cognitive behaviour therapy. He is also the founder of PACT. He is a professor of psychiatry at the University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.

Beverley Raphael was an Australian psychiatrist and academic. She was the first woman to be appointed professor of psychiatry in Australia.

References

  1. "IEPA - International Early Intervention and Prevention in Mental Health Association" . Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  2. "Is early intervention research stuck in its psychosis prediction paradigm?" . Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  3. "Join our community" . Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  4. McGorry PD, Killackey E, Yung A (October 2008). "Early intervention in psychosis: concepts, evidence and future directions". World Psychiatry. 7 (3): 148–56. doi:10.1002/j.2051-5545.2008.tb00182.x. PMC   2559918 . PMID   18836582.
  5. "Who we are" . Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  6. "Past IEPA Conferences" . Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  7. "IEPA 12 Virtual" . Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  8. "IEPA14: Lausanne, Switzerland July 10th -12th 2023" . Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  9. "IEPA 15 Promotional ToolKit" . Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  10. "Richard J. Wyatt Award" . Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  11. "Consider Publishing with Early Intervention in Psychiatry Journal" . Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  12. McGorry, Patrick, ed. (2007). "Early Intervention in Psychiatry". Blackwell. ISSN   1751-7893. OCLC   196298829 . Retrieved 13 February 2024.