Congress Features
Access to the virtual congress is now closed. More than 2,900 people joined us online on 4 – 7 July 2020, for the first ever virtual EPA congress, making the event an amazing success. Some of the biggest authorities in psychiatry from around the world presented the latest developments in the field, discussed burning topics like the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health, and answered questions from participants.
Top Tips
We have compiled the following tips to help you navigate the virtual congress and make the most of the congress experience.
#1 The best internet browser to access the virtual congress is Google Chrome
#2 Use the calendar reminder function to save sessions in your time zone
#3 At the virtual congress, clicking on text and display screens will often take you to further information and features – Do not be afraid to click and explore the venue.
#4 Set up your profile picture in the networking lounge. This will help your colleagues to recognise your profile in the lounge.
#5 Browse the e-Poster library during the congress. Our abstract authors are available to answer questions and collaborate with you during the congress dates.
#6 Make the most of the virtual exhibition area. Our industry partners will have booth reps waiting to chat and content available for download to your virtual bag; a quick way to save information of interest and email documents to yourself.
#7 Enter the EPA raffle and EPA photo contest. A new winner every day, be in for the chance to win free registration to EPA 2021 in Florence.
EPA Forum 2020: How COVID-19 resets the Interaction among Mental Health Workforces in Europe
Saturday 4 July, 9:00 – 12:30 CEST/GMT+2
- The EPA Forum 2020 is free and open to everyone. Registration is not needed to attend.
- Full coverage of the Forum will be available from the virtual congress platform and from the EPA Forum page.
- One of the highlights of the EPA Forum 2020 will be presenting the results of the first EPA Ambassadors survey, focusing on the accumulated experiences of treating patients with COVID-19.
- Take part in the first EPA Ambassador survey. More information and a link to the survey is available here.
EPA 2020 Live Sessions
Below is a list of the sessions that will be live streamed during EPA 2020.
Access to all sessions, including the live sessions will be available through the virtual congress platform. All live sessions will be broadcast according to the scheduled CEST time and available on demand three hours after the live broadcasting. All on demand sessions will be available for three months after the end of the congress.
| Session Title | Session Date | Session Start Time | Session End Time |
| EPA Forum | 04.07.2020, Saturday | 09:00 | 12:30 |
| Symposium: Building the Future of Evidence-Based Medicine: RCT and Beyond | 05.07.2020, Sunday | 08:00 | 09:30 |
| Debate: Antidepressants in Bipolar Depression: Should We Use Them? | 05.07.2020, Sunday | 10:00 | 11:30 |
| Symposium – Mapping Covid 19-2 Pandemic Within European Psychiatry | 05.07.2020, Sunday | 12:30 | 14:00 |
| State of the Art: Bipolar Disorder: Keys to Successful Outcomes | 05.07.2020, Sunday | 15:45 | 16:30 |
| The International Experience with COVID-19 and Consequences for European Psychiatry | 05.07.2020, Sunday | 17:00 | 18:30 |
| Debate: Do We Need Antipsychotics for The Long-Term Treatment of Schizophrenia? | 06.07.2020, Monday | 08:00 | 09:30 |
| Symposium: The Impact of COVID-19 in Public Health, Wellbeing and Mental Health | 06.07.2020, Monday | 10:00 | 11:30 |
| Plenary: The Stepchild of Medicine: Psychiatry’s Notorious Past and Bright Future | 06.07.2020, Monday | 11:45 | 14:45 |
| ECP Symposium: Reached 2020 – But How Online Are We All, and How Much More Are We Going to Be? | 06.07.2020, Monday | 15:00 | 16:30 |
| Symposium: Can quality assurance of psychiatric services reduce stigma and discrimination? | 06.07.2020, Monday | 17:00 | 18:30 |
| Symposium: Clinical Track-Sharing Interdisciplinary Knowledge | 07.07.2020, Tuesday | 10:00 | 11:30 |
| State of the Art: Precision Medicine in Psychiatry: A Roadmap for Future Research and Care | 07.07.2020, Tuesday | 14:00 | 14:45 |
| Will the Opioid Crisis Hit Europe and What to Do? (EPA-EUFAS Joint Symposium) | 07.07.2020, Tuesday | 10:00 | 11:30 |
Live Ask the Expert Sessions
A benefit of going virtual: For the first time, expert faculty will hold Ask the Expert sessions with unlimited capacity and no pre-registration is needed. All Ask the Expert sessions will be streamed live allowing you to contact the specialists directly.
Access to the Ask the Expert sessions will be available by clicking on “Live Sessions” from the virtual congress platform lobby.
| Session Title | Session Date | Session Start Time | Session End Time |
| Ask The Experts – Prof. Sartorius | 05.07.2020, Sunday | 15:00 | 16:30 |
| Ask The Experts – Prof. Nordentoft | 05.07.2020, Sunday | 15:00 | 16:30 |
| Ask The Experts – Prof. Cuijpers | 05.07.2020, Sunday | 15:00 | 16:30 |
| Ask The Experts – Prof. Morozov | 05.07.2020, Sunday | 15:00 | 16:30 |
| Ask The Experts – Prof. Koutsouleris | 05.07.2020, Sunday | 15:00 | 16:30 |
| Ask the Experts – Prof. Treasure | 06.07.2020, Monday | 10:00 | 11:30 |
| Ask the Experts – Prof. Gaebel | 06.07.2020, Monday | 10:00 | 11:30 |
| Ask the Experts – Prof. Craig | 06.07.2020, Monday | 10:00 | 11:30 |
| Ask the Experts – Prof. Zemishlany | 06.07.2020, Monday | 10:00 | 11:30 |
| Ask The Experts – Prof. Lieberman | 06.07.2020, Monday | 17:00 | 18:30 |
| Ask The Experts – Prof. Murray | 06.07.2020, Monday | 17:00 | 18:30 |
| Ask The Experts – Prof. Falkai | 06.07.2020, Monday | 17:00 | 18:30 |
| Ask The Experts – Prof. Goudriaan | 06.07.2020, Monday | 17:00 | 18:30 |
| Ask The Experts – Prof. Correll | 06.07.2020, Monday | 17:00 | 18:30 |
| Ask The Experts – Prof. Apter | 06.07.2020, Monday | 17:00 | 18:30 |
Thematic Chat Channels
EPA 2020 will host thematic chat channels with moderators that will be live according to the listed schedule below. The channels will remain online beyond the stated times if there are ongoing discussions, and if availability allows.
Access to the thematic chat channels will be available by going to the “Networking Lounge” from the virtual congress platform lobby and clicking on “Lounge Chat”.
Sunday, 5 July
9:30 – 10:00 Mental health professionals wellbeing during COVID-19 outbreak (Moderator: Egor Chumakov)
11:30 – 12:00 Community psychiatric care challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic (Moderator: Egor Chumakov)
16:30 – 17:00 Digital Mental Health (Moderator: Mariana Pinto da Costa)
Monday, 6 July
13:30 – 14:00 Perinatal mental health (Moderator: Olga Kazakova)
14:30 – 15:00 Adult attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (Moderator: Ozge Kilic)
16:30 – 17:00 Suicide and its prevention (Moderator: Olga Kazakova)
Tuesday, 7 July
13:00 – 13:30 How to create and develop a local association for psychiatric trainees and early career specialists (Moderator: Tomasz Gondek)
15:00 – 15:30 Management of patients with Borderline Personality Disorder (Moderator: Tomasz Gondek)
COVID-19 Sessions
Saturday, 4 July
09:00 – 12:35 EPA Forum – How COVID-19 resets the Interaction among Mental Health Workforces in Europe
13:30 – 15:45 Course 2 – COVID-19: How to Cope With Emergency and Build Resilience Among MeNtal Health Professionals *
16:30 – 18:45 Course 1 – COVID-19: How to Implement Telemental Health Care During Pandemics *
Sunday, 5 July
12:30 – 14:00 Symposium – Mapping COVID 19-2 Pandemic Within European Psychiatry
17:00 – 18:30 ECP Symposium – The Impact of COVID-19 in Public Health, Wellbeing and Mental Health
17:00 – 18:30 Live Session – The International Experience with COVID-19 and Consequences for European Psychiatry
Monday, 6 July
10:00 – 11:45 ECP Symposium – The Impact of COVID-19 – The Role of Digital Mental Health
Tuesday, 7 July
10:00 – 11:30 Symposium: Clinical Track-Sharing Interdisciplinary Knowledge
* See below for information on how to register and attend the EPA Courses.
Live EPA Courses
The live specialised courses at EPA 2020 will provide an opportunity to expand your skills in all aspects of psychiatry. The courses will only be available during their scheduled time and will not be available for on-demand viewing. Course participants will receive a unique link via email to access each course.
Only 60 places are available per course and pre-registration is required, make sure to book your seat in advance.
Click here to view the full list of courses and book your seat.
Take a look at the two newly added COVID-19 Courses:
Course 1 (NEW): COVID-19: How to Implement Telemental Health Care During Pandemics
Saturday, 4 July, 16:30 – 18:45
Course Director: Donald Hilty
After the course the participants shall be able to acquire evidence-based knowledge about telemental health care, identify clinical changes from in-person care to telemental health care, combine types of care, ensure quality telemental health care services in routine settings, manage privacy and other regulatory challenges in telepsychiatric settings, get skills and know-how on telemental health care delivery, and evaluate outcomes.
Course 2 (NEW): COVID-19: How to Cope With Emergency and Build Resilience Among Mental Health Professionals
Saturday, 4 July, 13:30 – 15:45
Course director: Wulf Rössler
After the course the participants shall be able to acquire evidence-based knowledge about key concepts in resilience, especially specific to the COVID-19 situation. They will be able to identify the clinical symptoms related to stress response, get skills and know-how on reducing stress at the workplace and increase resilience after traumatic experiences.