Social Psychiatry in the Age of Informatics

We are pleased to present the abstract e-book of the II European Congress for Social Psychiatry. Launched by the Swiss Society of Social Psychiatry with the support of a number of associations (i.e. the World Association of Social Psychiatry, the European Association of Psychiatry, the Swiss Society of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, the Minkowska Center), the congress was held in Geneva (1-3 July 2015). The first meeting, in 2012, also took place in Geneva. The Scientific Committee of the congress chose to focus on the developments and challenges in mental health in the digital age. Unsurprisingly, two of the main topics (“The digital age: opportunities for treatment of mental disorders” and “Internet-related disorders”) were related to developments and concerns in the growing field of e-mental health. Another topic (“New interventions and new models for better mental health care”) covered improvements in care models and processes that aim to empower patients in relation to their own care and their full inclusion in society. In consideration of the worldwide and European economic and political crises, an important part of the congress was to address the challenges of such crises for mental health. The congress allowed rich interactions between researchers, clinicians, and associations from more than 30 countries. This European Congress intends to promote and highlight the developments in the field of social psychiatry in Europe.