Dubai to host world’s largest mental health congress for children

For the first time in the region, Al Jalila Children’s Specialty Hospital will be bringing the world’s leading mental health specialists to the UAE.

From 6-9 December the 25th edition of the World Congress of the International Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions (IACAPAP 2022) will be taking place in Dubai, at the Dubai World Trade Centre, part of the country’s efforts to advance pediatric mental health. 

The World Congress provides a platform for the global community to explore the mental health challenges of children and adolescents and highlight innovations.

Held every two years, the Congress bring together the global community to discuss important topics and promote global advancements in the field. 

IACAPAP 2022 aligns with the UAE National Strategy for Wellbeing 2031, which aims to make the nation a world leader in quality of life through several strategic objectives and initiatives.

In 2016, Dubai became the first Arab city to win the bid to host the world’s largest mental health congress for children and adolescents. The first IACAPAP World Congress to be held in the region in its 85-year history.

The first day of the event is reserved for pre-congress workshops, with the official opening ceremony scheduled for 6 December. 
Over five days, the congress will host 12 workshops, 15 keynote talks, and more than 250 hours of the symposium and lectures. 
The sessions, involving more than 300 experts worldwide, will cover several topics, including anxiety disorders, autism spectrum disorders, policy and advocacy, preventing mental disorders and enhancing well-being, and emerging technologies to improve access to child and adolescent mental health services.

Pressing issues, such as parental concerns regarding parent-child interactions and the effects of Covid-19 on mental health, will also be covered in the programme. 

Thousands of delegates from more than 85 countries are set to attend the sessions, including some of the world’s leading professionals will be in attendance, including Professor Antonio Hardan, Chief Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Stanford University; Professor Bennet L Leventhal, Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry; and the former President of IACAPAP, Professor Bruno Falissard, Head of Public Health and Mental Health Research Lab at Paris-Sud University, among others.