The Latin American Psychiatric Association (APAL) came into being thanks to the initiative of distinguished Latin American psychiatrists in 1950. It became a full reality in 1960, with the goal of creating an organisation that would permit the development of a school of thought to express the ideas of Latin American psychiatry globally, to promote education and research, and to “issue guidelines in disease description, detection, treatment and rehabilitation”.
On this long path, from which difficulties have not been totally absent, APAL has become the organisation that brings together psychiatric societies from 21 countries on the continent. It has also become an adviser on the mental health policies of the governments in many of them.
A few grey periods in APAL history have been left behind and recent administrations have taken up the renewal of the organisation with special enthusiasm and commitment. Strengthening the democratic spirit under the premises of institutional structure, transparency and visibility, they have begun developing a series of actions to strengthen the different way of functioning in academic and association spheres and consulting organisms on policies. It is for that reason that the APAL Journal has been publishing every trimester, under the direction of Professor Juan Carlos Stagnaro, pages such as “APAL Comunidad/APAL Community”, uninterruptedly offering updated information on our continent's psychiatric activity and notifying us of meetings in different countries. This dissemination of information promotes wide discussion about themes such as primary health care, mental disorders, models of health care and the latest in the various matters inherent to our profession.
Colombia has had the honour to preside over APAL, with two outstanding figures of Colombian psychiatry, Professor Humberto Roselli Quijano (R.I.P.) and Professor Horacio Taborda Palacio, who so successfully carried out the APAL Congresses in 1968 and 1990 respectively. On this occasion we will host the XXVIII session of the APAL Congress in Cartagena de Indias, 22nd – 26th November, under the theme INTEGRATING KNOWLEDGE IN CLINICAL PRACTICE. We are proud to announce the attendance of speakers of the standing of Giacomo Rizzolatti (Italy), Jim Van Os (Holland), Robert Post (USA) and a hundred of the most eminent leaders in world psychiatry. This academic event makes it possible to present the development of Columbian psychiatry, the quality of the people and the beauty of our country. That is why I am sure that we will all build a Congress together that will be remembered with pleasure by our brother colleagues. It is a key event to which we all should go, because it is by and for all Columbian psychiatrists.
Over the period 2014-2016 we will be responsible for the Chairmanship of APAL. In these two years we must make the most of this opportunity to generate policies in topics which require our opinion and consensus, such as violence, addictive diseases, the current state of psychotherapy, learning processes, the imperious and unavoidable discussion on psychiatric training and recertification, fostering the increasing development of research on common topics to all our countries, promoting management guidelines for psychiatric diseases according to the needs of our patients and acting as a consultancy body for governments and multilateral institutions.
See you soon in Cartagena de Indias.
