WE ARE THANKFUL FOR THE TIME AND TALENT THAT OUR COMMITTEE VOLUNTEERS LEND TO WFSBP. THEIR DEDICATION MAKES OUR WORK POSSIBLE.

The work within the WFSBP is organized in 14 operational and two standing committees. They focus on several categories. To get more information, please click on each committee to open the full information, including:

Chair
Co-chairs
Members
Objectives and deliverables:

STANDING COMMITTEES

Advisory Committee

Chair
Möller, Hans-Jürgen (Germany)

Co-chair
Maj, Mario (Italy)

Members
Gaebel, Wolfgang (Germany)
Heinze, Gerhard (Mexico)
Kasper, Siegfried (Austria)
Okasha, Ahmed (Egypt)
Thibaut, Florence (France)

Objectives

To advise the President and the executive committee as needed on all matters related to the activities of the WFSBP
The chair and members to take on the role of ambassadors to promote the profile of the WFSBP
To undertake specific tasks requested by the president or the executive that will aid the development or profile of the WFSBP
To promote the activities of the WFSBP at meetings of other international organizations such as WPA or CINP

Deliverables

To meet with the president and the executive at the WFSBP biennial congress to provide guidance and advise
To meet at least once every two years at the WFSBP Congress to review the activities of the previous two years and develop a plan for activities for the next two years
To provide a report summarizing the activities of the committee to the president and the executive for review at the WFSBP biennial meeting

Ethics Committee

Chair
Trimble, Michael (UK)

Co-chair
D'Souza, Russell (Australia)

Members
Altamura, Carlo (Italy)
Belmaker, Robert (Israel)
Cosyns, Paul (Belgium)
Osaki, Norio (Japan)
Taneli, Bilgen (Turkey)

Objectives

To be cognizant of the activities of the WFSBP in order to ensure that the president and the executive conduct themselves within the ethical framework
To advise the president and the executive on any ethical issues related to the activities of the WFSBP
To undertake a review or investigation of incidents from an ethical perspective at the request of the president or the executive that involve the officers or members of the WFSBP
To work with the other international organizations to promote ethical standards on practice of psychiatry internationally

Deliverables

To develop an ethical framework for the activities of the WFSBP
To meet at least once every two years at the WFSBP Congress to provide a summary statement to the executive for the previous two years

OPERATIONAL COMMITTEES

Constitution Committee

Chair
Soldatos, Constantin (Greece)

Co-chair
Udristoiu, Tudor (Romania)

Secretary
Tellez-Vargas, Jorge (Colombia)

Members
Bobes, Julio (Spain)
Heinz, Andreas (Germany)
Kasper, Siegfried (Austria)
Takeda, Masatoshi (Japan)
Yatham, Lakshmi (Canada)

Objectives

To ensure that the constitution reflects the current mandate and needs of the WFSBP members
To advise the president and the executive about any amendments required for the constitution
To be cognizant of the activities of the WFSBP in order to ensure that all activities are conducted in accordance with the constitution

Deliverables

To update the constitution as required in collaboration with the president and the executive
To take responsibility for obtaining the membership approval for any amendments to the constitution
To provide a summary statement at the biennial WFSBP congress to the executive for the previous two years.

Nominations Committee

Chair
Yatham, Lakshmi N. (Canada)

Members
Chen, Eric Yu-Hai (Hong Kong)
Kasper, Siegfried (Austria)
Larach Walters, Veronica (Chile)

Objectives

In consultation with the president and the executive, to identify the best candidates for various officers positions in the WFSBP executive
To ensure that the nomination process adheres to the procedures established in the WFSBP constitution
To recommend any amendments to the nomination process in the constitution

Deliverables

To nominate candidates for various WFSBP executive positions
To seek nominations for WFSBP positions from the membership
To verify credentials and ratify the nominations of candidates

Committee on Mentorship

Chair
Udristoiu Tudor (Romania)

Co-chair
Glenthoj, Birte (Denmark)

Secretary
Mikova, Olia (Bulgaria)

Members
Halaris, Angelos (USA)
Holsboer-Trachsler, Edith (Switzerland)
Larach, Veronica (Chile)
Shen, Winston (Taiwan)
Tang, S.W. (Hong Kong)

Objective

To facilitate mentoring of young psychiatrists in biological psychiatry

Deliverables

To establish a database of mentors in biological psychiatry
To connect young psychiatrists with mentors to ensure that the mentorship needs of young psychiatrists in various countries are met
To identify opportunities for young psychiatrists to work with their mentors
Establish a forum for international mentor-mentee exchange. This could be web-based and/or in-person at meetings. The idea would be to have a database of international mentors with expertise in a specific field who are willing to mentor early career investigators. This could stimulate new thinking both on the mentor's and the mentee's side.
To provide a summary statement at the biennial WFSBP congress to the executive for the previous two years.

Committee on Scientific Publications

Chair
Kasper, Siegfried (Austria)

Co-chair
Rupprecht, Rainer (Germany)

Secretary
Nishikawa, Toru (Japan)

Members
Falkai, Peter (Germany)
Gattaz, Wagner F. (Brazil)
Lee, Chang Uk (Korea)
Möller, Hans-Jürgen (Germany)
Yatham, Lakshmi (Canada)

Objectives

To enhance the profile of the WFSBP journal
To seek and identify opportunities to publish the work of WFSBP task forces that potentially have high impact for the field in the WFSBP journal
To seek scholarly reviews that have potential high impact from the membership for publication in the journal
To develop a strategy and framework for publication of WFSBP guidelines on various topics
To advise and assist on the opportunities for publication of books summarizing the activities of WFSBP committees or Task Forces or Members

Deliverables

To develop strategies to increase the impact factor for the journal
To develop a standard template that contains essential ingredients
(such as how evidence is evaluated, and what factors are taken into account in developing 1^st , 2^nd and 3r^d line recommendations etc) for publication of WFSBP guidelines
To develop a template for publication of the work of WFSBP task forces
To identify publication opportunities for young psychiatrists to work with their mentors
To provide a summary statement at the biennial WFSBP congress to the executive for the previous two years

Committee on Education

Chair
Thibaut, Florence (France)

Co-chair
Yatham, Lakshmi (Canada)

Secretary
Hosak, Ladislav (Czech Republic)

Members
Castle, David (Australia)
Garcia, Frederico (Brasil)
Herpertz, Sabine (Germany)
Lamy, Sandrine (France)
Mital, Anu Kant (India)
Yu, Xin (China)

Objectives

To facilitate training and education on various aspects of biological psychiatry
To advise the president and the executive on establishment of various WFSBP task forces to develop guidelines / consensus statements in order to address specific knowledge gaps
To work with various WFSBP task forces on guidelines to facilitate the development of guidelines / consensus statements
To promote the use of empirical methodology in guideline development

Deliverables

In collaboration with the national SBP presidents, to identify the educational needs in the field of biological psychiatry in individual countries
To develop a framework in collaboration with the national presidents to address the specific identified needs for each country
To implement specific activities to address the identified needs (eg. to assist the national SBP to organize local workshops or symposia or a meeting on a given topic; organize educational symposia on relevant topics at WFSBP congresses or WFSBP endorsed congresses; to work with various WFSBP task forces to facilitate publication of guidelines on various topics; to seek reputable authors to write review articles on the relevant topics for the World Journal of Biological Psychiatry)

Committee on Research

Chair
Yatham, Lakshmi (Canada)

Co-Chair
Courtet, Philippe ( France)

Secretary
Kapur, Shitij (UK)

Members
Alexopoulos, George (USA)
Berk, Michael (Australia)
Bernardo, Miguel (Spain)
Heinz, Andreas (Germany)
Udomratn, Pichet (Thailand)
Vaquez, Gustavo (Argentina)

Objectives

To facilitate research in biological psychiatry through supporting research training opportunities for talented investigators with an interest in biological psychiatry
To work with the WFSBP affiliated national societies to facilitate networking of researchers in order to conduct global multi center biological studies
To work with the WFSBP affiliated national societies in order to enhance funding opportunities for biological studies

Deliverables

To identify research training opportunities for investigators in different parts of the world
To organize workshops at WFSBP congresses on research training related topics such as grant writing, publication of papers, research techniques etc
To organize early career sessions at WFSBP congresses chaired by established investigators
To work with the WJBP to develop a dissemination strategy for publication of work by young investigators (eg. by creating a new investigators' section with a review process focused on guidance to, rather than criticism to, new investigators and advertisement of their work in summary sections and alerts)
Establish stipends for early career investigators to support research stays at a lab in another WFSBP member country.

Committee on Budget and Resources

Chair
Müller, Norbert (Germany)

Co-chair
Bourin, Michel (France)

Secretary
Lee, Min-So (Korea)

Members
Ceskova, Eva (Czech Republic)
Jakovljevic, Miro (Croatia)
Kanba, Shigenobu (Japan)
Lam, Raymond (Canada)
Tellez-Vargas, Jorge (Columbia)
Wegener, Gregers (Denmark)

Objectives

To provide oversight on budget and finances of the WFSBP
To advise the WFSBP executive and Treasurer of opportunities to enhance the financial position of the WFSBP

Deliverables

To review the budget prepared by the Treasurer once a year and advise him as appropriate
To assist the Treasurer and WFSBP executive on budget related matters of the society activities
To provide a summary statement to the WFSBP executive of the committee activities once every two years for a review

Planning Committee

Chair
Takeda, Masatoshi (Japan)

Co-chair
Yatham, Lakshmi (Canada)

Secretary
Dikeos, Dimitris (Greece)

Members
Boutros, Nashrala (USA)
Halaris Angelos (USA)
Hatzinger, Martin (Switzerland)
Krishnawamy, Soraja (Australia)
Valdez, Victoria (Ecuador)

Objectives

To advise on the opportunities for future WFSBP activities
To work closely with the president and the executive in planning for the WFSBP policies
To collaborate with the WFSBP affiliated societies to identify opportunities for WFSBP endorsed meetings and other meaningful activities

Deliverables

To provide a list of locations for future WFSBP congresses
To work with the WFSBP affiliated societies to assist them with the WFSBP bids
To assist the WFSBP executive with the review of WFSBP Congress bids
To provide advice on planning strategies to the WFSBP executive to increase the scope of goals and related activities
To work closely with the CPO Hanser to assist with the WFSBP Congresses
To assist national presidents and executive with the planning of WFSBP endorsed meetings and related activities

Committee on Membership

Chair
Takeda, Masatoshi (Japan)

Co-chair
Soldatos, Constantin (Greece)

Secretary
Valdez, Victoria (Ecuador)

Members
Gorelick David (USA)
Lam, Raymond (Canada)
Levkovitz, Yechiel (Israel)
Marcolin, Antonio (Brasil)
Relvas, João (Portugal)
Siever, Larry (USA)
Yu, Xin (China)

Objectives

To recruit a national society with a focus on biological psychiatry from as many countries as possible to join WFSBP
To increase the individual membership of the WFSBP

Deliverables

To develop and execute a strategy to increase the number of societies and individual members joining the WFSBP each year
To advise the president and the executive on strategies that might enhance the value of the membership to make it attractive for societies and members to join the WFSBP
To meet at WFSBP congress and to provide a summary statement to the WFSBP executive every two years

Committee on Awards

Chair
Yatham, Lakshmi (Canada)

Co-chair
Takeda, Masatoshi (Japan)
Wegener, Gregers (Denmark)

Secretary
Hatzinger, Martin (Switzerland)

Members
Berk, Michael (Australia)
Falkai, Peter (Germany)
Kato, Tadafumi (Japan)

Objectives

To provide recommendations to the executive of the names of members for various awards
To advise the Executive on establishing new awards

Deliverables

To take responsibility for the nomination and review process to recommend the members for various awards
To develop specific criteria and adjudication process for various awards
To provide a business case to the executive for establishing any new awards

Committee on History of Biological Psychiatry

Chair
Trimble, Michael (UK)

Co-chair
Krieg, Christian (Germany)

Secretary
Ciprian-Ollivier, Jorge (Argentina)

Members
Germanavicius, Arunas (Lithuania)
Ibanez, Jorge (Venezuela)
Möller, Hans-Jürgen (Germany)
Sato, Mitsumoto (Japan)
Silva, Enrique Galli (Peru)
Udomratn, Pichet (Thailand)

Objectives

Preservation of the memories of past events within WFSBP
Dissemination of information related to the evolution and past activities of WFSBP
Creation of databases related to the past of WFSBP for the purpose of reinforcing a sense of continuity to its future officers and/or members

Deliverables

To collect significant pictures and any other audiovisual material capturing historical moments of WFSBP
To make historical material available to WFSBP members through printed or electronic means
To prepare the presentation of historical material for special occasions, i.e. anniversaries, commemorations etc

Committee on Industrial Relations

Chair
Takeda, Masatoshi (Japan)

Co-chair
Wegener, Gregers (Denmark)

Secretary
Yatham, Lakshmi (Canada)

Members
Belmaker, Robert (Israel)
Boyer, Patrice (France)
Gattaz, Wagner (Brasil)
Kasper, Siegfried (Austria)
Vieta, Eduardo (Spain)

Objectives

To increase the profile of the WFSBP with the Industry
To establish a close but ethical relationship with the Industry in order to increase the success of WFSBP congresses

Deliverables

To develop a key contact list for each company with frequent updating
To ensure that the Industry is aware of the vision and mission of WFSBP
To consult regularly with the Executive Director of WFSBP and the person-in-charge at the WFSBP headquarters for contacting prospective sponsors
To work with the WFSBP executive and industry contacts closely in order to increase sponsorship for the WFSBP Congresses
To meet at WFSBP congresses and to provide a summary statement of the activities to the WFSBP executive

Committee on International Relations

Chair
Zohar, Josef (Israel)

Co-chair
Papadimitriou, George (Greece)

Secretary
Heinz, Andreas (Germany)

Members
Belfort, Edgard (Venezuela)
Dean, Brian (Australia)
Schulze, Thomas (Germany)
Moussaoui, Driss (Morocco)
Rujescu, Dan (Germany)

Objectives

To bolster the growth and understanding of biological psychiatry throughout the world with a particular focus on developing countries
To establish working relationships with the other major international organizations such as WPA, ECNP, CINP, ISBD etc

Deliverables

To work with national Societies to try and bring international speakers to their meetings at a reasonable cost
Provide a continuously updated list on the WFSBP website of WFSBP endorsed and other major biological psychiatry meetings in WFSBP member countries
To facilitate promotional opportunities for WFSBP meetings at congresses of other major international organizations such as CINP, ISBD
Establish country-specific focus days at an international meeting. For instance, at the WFSBP in Athens, a given National Society could present its structure, its work, its activities etc. This could allow for a “cross-fostering” of ideas/strategies that have proven successful.

Committee for the Advancement of Biological Psychiatry in the Developing World

Chair
Valdez, Victoria (Ecuador)

Co-chair
Mital, Anu Kant (India)

Secretary
Krishnawamy, Soraja (Australia)

Members
Ayuso-Guttierez, Jose Luis (Spain)
Okasha, Tarek (Egypt)
Seedat, Soraya (South Africa)
Tanra, Andi (Indonesia)
Udomratn, Pichet (Thailand)

Objectives

To identify the challenges for advancement of Biological Psychiatry in the developing world
To work with the national societies to develop a strategy to address the barriers for advancement of biological psychiatry

Deliverables

To prepare a report that describes challenges for biological psychiatry in various countries
To develop strategies to address unique challenges for each country
To encourage all national societies of biological psychiatry, including the societies from the developing world, to meaningfully participate in the scientific program of any World Congress of Biological Psychiatry
To design courses or workshops to provide psychiatrists from the developing countries with a better understanding of biological psychiatry methods and treatments