13:00-15:00
In collaboration with the Mediterranean Society on Mental Health supported by the programme QR of the Sardinian Autonomous Region
Chairpersons: Miguel Xavier (Portugal) – Federica Sancassiani (Italy)
Speakes: Thurayya Zreik (Lebanon) – Fatma Charfy (Tunisia) – Laura Loli-Dano (Albania) – Michela Atzeni and Cesar Aviles Gonzales (Italy) – Mohamed Elsheikh (Egypt)
15:30-17:30
In collaboration with the Mediterranean Society on Mental Health and Fondazione di Sardegna
Chairpersons: Mehmet Eskin (Turkey) – Rhym Ghacem (Tunisia)
Speakers: Mehmet Eskin (Turkey) – Antonio Preti (Italy) – Diego Primavera and Massimo Tusconi (Italy) – Dorian A Lamis (USA) – Michele Fornaro (Italy)
08:00-09:00
Eleonora Prina (Italy): Mental health care in Italy after Basaglia
09:30-11:30
In collaboration with the Mediterranean Society on Mental Health and Fondazione di Sardegna
Chairpersons: Fabrizio Bert (Italy) – Oye Gureje (Nigeria)
Speakes: Giuseppe Carrà (Italy) – Serdar Dursun (Canada) – Goce Kalcev (North Macedonia) – Giulia Cossu and Alessandra Perra (Italy)
Michael Ni (Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China): Mental Health during and after Collective Actions
13:15-15:15
This symposium will examine how contemporary political polarization, growing economic inequality, and social uncertainty contribute to psychiatric disorders and psychological distress across diverse populations. Talks will explore the mechanisms linking sociopolitical stressors to mental health outcomes, identify vulnerable groups disproportionately affected by these dynamics, and discuss building individual and community resilience in politically turbulent times.
Chairpersons: Katherine Keyes (USA) – Corina Benjet (Mexico)
Speakes: Seth Prins (USA) – James Kirkbride (UK) – Frank Njenga (Kenya) – Girish Rao (India)
15:15-15:30
15:30-17:30
This symposium will examine approaches to ensuring human rights protections while delivering high-quality mental health care across diverse global contexts and healthcare systems. Talks will explore emerging frameworks for rights-based treatment, address systemic barriers to dignified care, examine international best practices, and discuss novel interventions that simultaneously advance therapeutic outcomes and uphold the fundamental rights and dignity of persons with mental illness.
Chairpersons: Elie Karam (Lebanon) – Solvig Ekblad (Sweden)
Speakers: Elie Karam (Lebanon) – Kimberly Hook (USA) – Lukoye Atwoli (Kenya) – Marianna Purgato (Italy) – Jeremy Kane (USA)
08:30-09:30
Dinesh Bhugra (UK): Human rights perspective
09:30-11:30
This symposium will examine approaches to ensuring human rights protections while delivering high-quality mental health care across diverse global contexts and healthcare systems. Talks will explore emerging frameworks for rights-based treatment, address systemic barriers to dignified care, examine international best practices, and discuss novel interventions that simultaneously advance therapeutic outcomes and uphold the fundamental rights and dignity of persons with mental illness.
Chairperson: Mauro Carta (Italy)
Speakers: Solvig Ekblad (Sweden) – Mvuyiso Talatala (South Africa) – Helen Herrman (Australia) – Soumitra Pathare (India)
11:30-13:00
13:00-15:00
This symposium explores the latest science on methodological approaches in addiction research, including novel techniques for prevalence estimation in diverse contexts, and innovative treatment strategies. Talks will examine prevention strategies and guidelines especially relevant to low- and middle-income countries, discuss advances in data collection and surveillance methods, and present new frameworks for translating epidemiological studies into policy.
Chairperson: Louisa Degenhardt (Australia)
Speakers: Tim Slade (Australia) – William Axinn (USA) – Soraya Seedat (South Africa) – Josh Barocas (USA) – Huang Yueqin (China)
15:00-17:00
08:30-09:30
Tansella Award Winner
09:30-11:30
This symposium will examine how social media and artificial intelligence can and are informing mental health research through enhanced case identification, population surveillance, and epidemiological methods. Sessions will explore innovative research designs on how social media exposures create new risks for mental health outcomes, AI applications in treatment delivery, discuss machine learning approaches for detecting mental health conditions at scale, and evaluate the efficacy and scope of new interventions across diverse clinical and research settings.
Chairpersons: Lukoye Atwoli (Kenya) – Antonio Egidio Nardi (Brazil)
Speakers: Chen Shanquan (Hong Kong) – Joseph Maria Haro Abbad (Spain) – Chibanzi Mwachonda (Kenya) – Antonio Egidio Nardi (Brazil) – Corina Benjet (Mexico)
11:30-13:00
13:00-15:00
This symposium will present new findings in epidemiological research examining mental health patterns and trajectories from adolescence through late life, highlighting critical developmental periods and age-specific vulnerabilities. Sessions will explore emerging findings on adolescent mental health trends, examine mental health challenges in aging populations, and discuss lifecourse approaches that illuminate how experiences across the lifecourse shape mental health outcomes across developmental stages.
Chairperson: Corina Benjet (Mexico)
Speakers: John Pamplin (USA) – Viviane Kovess (France) – Annelieke Roest (The Netherlands) – Josh Barocas (The Netherlands) – Ke Ning (Singapore)