Editorial

Colombian psychiatrists are ecstatic. The World Congress of Psychiatry was held in Colombia from 18 to 21 October, a dream come true after several years of tireless work by Colombian psychiatrists, who have strived to make it a reality. Congratulations to the Board of Directors of the Colombian Association of Psychiatry, with special thanks to Dr Rodrigo Córdoba and Dr Carlos López.

The task of internationalising and generating scientific partnerships is not easy for a country like Colombia, suffering as it does from significant restrictions, primarily of a financial nature. Psychiatry in Colombia and in great swathes of Latin America is inhibited by these same limitations. With the exception of countries like Brazil, Mexico and Chile, investment in science and technology throughout the continent is very low.

Short- and long-term planning and strategies are required to ensure that these internationalisation attempts are a success. For psychiatric and mental health institutions and organisations in general (universities, healthcare and research institutions) to achieve this requires a consistent and coherent approach on their part in order to establish partnerships, agreements and relationships with other countries. In this way, psychiatry in Colombia will be driven forward by these countries' scientific developments, while Colombia will also share advances that it has made in certain areas of psychiatric knowledge. This is the only way forward, as what Colombia has achieved to date has been the result of isolated efforts of individuals and institutions which, although commendable, may not be long-lasting unless national policies are established.

Ten years ago, the Revista Colombiana de Psiquiatría (Colombian Journal of Psychiatry) embarked upon a journey to improve its international recognition with the support of various boards of directors, and has made significant strides. Its first achievement was entry in the most important bibliographic databases in the world, improving the quality of its articles and maintaining its efforts, followed by the launch of the journal in English alongside the Spanish version. These two factors gave rise to a significant increase in articles from other countries, initially from Ibero-America and then from Asia and Europe. As a result, the journal’s citation indices have improved and it has achieved a Q3 international journal ranking. This work must continue in order to improve the long-standing professional development of Colombian psychiatrists and to ultimately offer better support to the communities they serve.