It is a great pleasure for me to extend you a warm invitation to attend the 11th Congress of World Association for Psychosocial Rehabilitation (WAPR), to be held in Milan on 10-13 November 2012.
The Congress title is Change thinking change practice change services. In this congress original foundations, past developments, current vision and future prospects of long-term care and rehabilitation of people experiencing severe mental disorders will be critically reviewed. The scientific program will follow the rich tradition of WAPR past congresses held since 1986.
The program will include:
Keynote lectures in which leading experts from various disciplines and speakers with lived experience of mental health problems will provide a comprehensive and updated view of the most significant aspects of treatment and care of mental disorders.
Meet the expert in which an expert in a specific area will be available for an 1-hr intensive discussion on a selected topic where participants can pose questions or ask for advice.
Plenary sessions matching the theme of the day in which invited speakers will contribute with a short statement and then debate with discussants on a panel to give a lively exchanges of ideas.
Symposia focused on specific issues to spread out perspectives of research and practice, with an active interaction between speakers and participants.
‘What’s new’ workshops in which experts will present new research findings or innovative approaches to practice.
Oral presentations providing an opportunity to participants to present the results of their research or their views on topics of interest to a worldwide audience.
Satellite symposia fostering the partnership with a variety of organizations operating in the field of mental health care.
Poster sessions providing an opportunity for participants to meet the presenters, exchange ideas and contact for further collaboration.
Movie sessions to show videos and other multimedia products related to the experiences of people with mental disorders and to the practices of psychosocial rehabilitation.
Oral and poster presentations will be selected from the abstracts submitted by participants, based on the assessment by expert reviewers.
As in previous WAPR congresses, keynote speakers and participants will represent countries from the five continents and will include all stakeholders involved in mental health care: clinicians and researchers from various disciplines, such as psychiatry, psychology, nursing, occupational therapy, social sciences; administrators and policymakers; consumers and informal caregivers; members of voluntary organizations and advocacy groups. Reduced fees, travel and accommodation grants will help those who may find covering expenses for participation difficult: students, young researchers, consumers and caregivers, people from low income countries.
We are expecting between 1000 and 1500 participants, therefore we selected the Convention Center of Milan City Fair as congress venue. The Center facilities, including a suitable exhibition space, will easily accommodate the highly diversified scientific program and the large number of participants that will characterize the congress.
We are honoured to host the WAPR 11th congress and we are looking forward to meeting you in Milan in 2012.
1st JULY 2012
Abstracts’ submission deadline
