February 21, 2008
13th International Congress Bridging the Gaps, Integrating Perspectives in Child and Adolescent Mental Health: August 2007, Florence
Psychologist Ana Maria Pap
University of Bucharest
The 13th International Congress of the European Society for Child and Adolescent Psychology occasioned a series of discussions and presentations on the most recent and important developments in the field of Child and Adolescent Psychology as it heads towards a new scientific and cultural approach for European Child and Adolescent Mental Health. The Congress Venue was Palazzo dei Congressi and Palazzo degli Affari, Florence, Italy.
Photo 1. Palazzo degli Affari, Florence.
This ESCAP Congress has been created by the work of each participant, clinician or researcher, working in the field of the welfare and mental health of children and adolescents. “Each of them” – states the Congress President, Prof. Ernesto Caffo – “has a genuine interest in developing a contemporary and appropriate culture for children, focused on the individual rights and environmental needs of each child”. The Congress program was sensitive to the fact that the developmental periods of childhood and adolescence represent a crucial time for early diagnostic evaluations and the implementation of effective actions. At the same, having in mind that the new knowledge and the collective experience of each participant will offer extraordinary opportunities for prevention.
The aim of the conference was to “bridge” widely disparate knowledge and disciplines by sharing models and developing integrated perspectives. Perhaps, the most demanding challenge was to bridge the gaps between mind and body and between differing approaches and professions, to arrive at a common pathway for research and clinical practice.
At this event participated 2.500 delegates from 84 countries and all the continents. In total, there were around 200 sessions, including 35 State of Art Lectures, 60 Symposiums, 30 “Meet the Expert” and more... The Main Lectures had a strong scientific focus, being mainly theoretical and research-oriented, delivered by leading psychologists, basic scientists or other mental health professionals invited by the Scientific Committee. Also, there were State of the Art Lectures, that presented the most recent developments in a certain areas. Here are some of the lectures presented: Learning and Memory; The Impact of Child Trauma on Adult Development; Psychosomatic Disorders in Children and Adolescents; Who, Role and Responsibilities Related to Children and Families; Suicide; Substance Use and Abuse – New Developments in Research and Interventions; Cognitive Behavior Therapy: Past, Present and Future; Ethics.
The Symposium sessions focused on clinical issues and constituted the central element of the Congress. These high-quality symposia brought together people from different backgrounds and encouraged an active and enriching interaction between speakers and participants, being data-driven and presenting perspectives of different aspects of a topic or different views of the same topic. The themes presented were: Models of Attachment and Communicative Style in Early Mother-Child Relationship; Treatment of Urban and Delinquent Youth; Personality Disorders in Children and Adolescents; Neuroscience and Psychoanalysis: from Models to Clinics; Psychopathology in Language and Learning Disorders.
Photo 2. Professor Caffo with Professor Bollea.
The Training Courses and Half-Day Courses were programs that provided a review of a topic area rather than new research information. They also focused on “how to do it” with respect to academic areas, clinical problems or a blending of the two. These didactic formats provided interaction and/or discussion between presenters and participants. Here are some examples: “The Value of Psychotherapy in Child Psychiatry: A Training Course in Psychotherapy”, Chaired By Professor Peter Fonagy (United Kingdom); “Understanding and Intervening with Children, Families and Communities Exposed to Trauma and Disaster”, Chaired By Dr. William Yule (United Kingdom) and Dr. Nathaniel Laor (Israel); “ADHD: Difficult Questions and Practical Answers”, Chaired By Professor Eric Taylor (United Kingdom), etc.
The Debates were 120-minute events that included brief presentations lasting a total of more than sixty minutes, followed by a minimum of sixty minutes of broad interactive discussions with topics including important and controversial issues such as the specific roles of various professionals in mental health care and the role and prospects of special treatment. These includes themes such as: The Ethical Relationship Between Scientific Journals And Commercial Interest; Conflict of Interest.
Clinical Consultation Breakfasts on Autism; Genetics; ADHD; Trauma, etc. lasted for one-and-a-half hours and provide a forum for experts to share clinical knowledge and discuss difficult cases with attendees.
The Workshops dealt with topics of special interest to child and adolescent mental health, such as: Integrating Spirituality into the Model of Strengths Based Psychotherapy in Working with Traumatized Children; Research to Practice. Integrating Perspectives in Adolescent Prevention of Eating Disorders; School Integration as Community Care: The Italian Model; Working With Children in Systems of Care; Evidence Based Family Therapies for Behavior Disordered Adolescents in the Netherlands: First Results.
During the 120-minute Clinical Case Conferences, the presenter described a clinical case and discussed with the audience possible diagnoses and treatments. This format gave clinicians the opportunity to present difficult cases or new treatments, such as: The Adolescent and his Parent: A Community of Suffering Psychotherapeutical Perspectives.
Photo 3. Auditorium, Palazzo Congressi.
In the Meet the Expert sessions, a leading child and adolescent psychologist interacted freely with a group of generally younger and less experienced members of the same field. The session focused on the expert’s career, research interests and experience, as well as a on perspectives on future research. Facilitators of each session will be other experts in the field.
The Poster Presentation Sessions presented new research findings or important ongoing research.
At the Congress also participated the ERICE group (Empowerment and Resilience in Children Everywhere), an international collaborative project aimed at improving the lives of Israeli and Palestinian children. It includes Israeli, Palestinian, European and American child mental health professionals, and is supported by Foundation Child and Yale University and affiliated with a number of leading Israeli, Palestinian, Italian and American Universities.
Photo 4. Prof Flora M Vaccarino, Child Study Center Yale University.
Founded in 2004, ERICE has many important goals including the support of research on the prevalence and nature of childhood disorders in this region of conflict, the implementation of treatment programs and the establishment of training and degree programs. It is guided by the belief that children everywhere are to be cherished and that protection of children - as well as kindness - is a shared human value. Since its first meeting in Jerusalem in 2004, this group continues to meet both in the region and in Europe. The last two Italian meetings were in Sicily (2005) and in Rome (2006), where the ongoing results from the first funded joint project were presented.
Also the Child Helpline International (CHI) was present at the Congress as a global network of telephone helplines and outreach services for children and young people. Working in over 150 countries, CHI was founded on the belief that children and young people have rights, and that they alone are the best individuals to identify their problems.
As an organization devoted to securing children’s rights, CHI is committed to maintaining the spirit of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Its main concern is to respond to children in need of care and protection and voice their concerns to policy and decision-makers by establishing a global network of children’s helplines and providing support to individual helplines for children.
During the ESCAP Congress CHI took part in the symposium “Helplines and Internet: innovative intervention in child and adolescent mental health.” This symposium was aimed at analyzing the role of helplines in the European countries and promoting the exchange of data and experiences, particularly regarding the issue of quality standards and professional skills.
In summary, the 13th ESCAP Congress was a wonderful opportunity to learn, to meet old friends and to know new colleagues. It was a superb celebration for Child and Adolescent Psychology in Europe that ended with the official “Declaration of Florence” – an essential position statement for the future of Mental Health of children, adolescents and their families in Europe.