Dear readers,
In this issue of the Newsletter of the WPA Section Religion, Spirituality and Psychiatry you will read about activities organized by the section and about events members of the section have taken part in. First of all Dr. Avdesh Sharma introduces himself to the readers. As member of the section board he represents a subcontinent and a way of thinking which happens to be a meaningful contribution to cultural sensitivity and spirituality.
We all remember the report on the 1st Global meeting on Spirituality and Mental Health (Brazil, Psyche & Spirit 4 (2), 2015), and a year later we are looking forward to the 2nd Global meeting in Cape Town, next November. You will find an extensive program organized by the section, including intersectional activities. Of course special attention will be paid to the Position Statement on Spirituality and Religion in Psychiatry, published in World Psychiatry (15/1/87-88). I would like to draw your attention especially to the Interfaith Round Table program, organized by Dr. Avdesh Sharma.
I would like to bring to your notice the European Network of Research on Religion, Spirituality and Health. The research institute promotes research, training and networking in the field of religion, spirituality and health, both in Switzerland and across Europe, http://www.fisg.ch/en/home. On the website one can find a newsletter and interesting downloads (by Harold Koenig and others). Every two year an international conference is being held. You will find a report and this year’s conference on page 3. The next conference will be held in 2018 in Coventry (UK).
Allow me to remind you that this newsletter is open for your contributions on our special field of interest Spirituality, Religion in Psychiatry: presentations, abstracts, research designs, teaching materials, a summary of your PhD thesis, and so on.
Peter J. Verhagen
Past chair of the Section Religion, Spirituality and Psychiatry