Leadership in a Changing Europe

Abstract

Psychiatry as a medical discipline plays an important role in mental health care (MHC). Hand in hand with increasing demand for MHC transformation toward more individualized, personalized, and patient oriented service, the integrity of psychiatry, the role of psychiatric staff, the stigma, and identity of psychiatry become important questions to be tackled. These questions are related to the leadership role of coming generation of psychiatrists. Is it a challenge or just a myth? We should not deny the fact that in important documents of global importance (e.g., Green paper and other WHO/EU MH documents) there is almost zero occurrence of the word “psychiatry”. So it seems psychiatry is rather marginalized than promoted to be the leading force in MHC policy. EPA YPP program could become a suitable platform to prevent such an undesired process and to formulate ways how to increase motivation, skills and chances of psychiatrists to take control of their own destiny.