Joint psychiatry meeting covers the diversity of the specialty

The College of Psychiatrists of Ireland (CPsychI) and Royal College of Psychiatrists in Northern Ireland (RCPsychNI) Winter Conference 2025, which was held in Belfast from 13–14 November, featured a diverse blend of high-quality poster exhibitions, oral sessions, and symposia. Distinguished national and international experts presented on an array of topical subjects and “represented many different aspects of psychiatry” during the two-day event.

Speaking to the Medical Independent (MI), President of CPsychI Dr Lorcan Martin said he was “very excited by the breadth and depth of the presentations”, which included talks on perinatal and neurodevelopmental psychiatry that encompassed lived experiences of patients and clinicians.

“We had a lengthy session on neurodevelopmental psychiatry, including a psychiatrist talking about their own experience of having ADHD [attention deficit hyperactivity disorder], which was very interesting and particularly useful,” Dr Martin said. He also acknowledged the range of research-related talks, and those covering areas like ethics, human rights, and end-of-life care – “particularly topical areas given the new mental health legislation going through at the moment”.

Dr Martin also expressed his delight at both the “informal learning” that took place through networking across the two days, as well as working with his colleagues in RCPsychNI. He commended the “excellent research by up-and-coming psychiatrists” that was portrayed during poster presentations, in particular, adding that “the College is always keen to encourage research from the earliest stages of training”.

“It’s great to hear from the consultants of the future. Overall, there were so many excellent presentations and speakers. It was a very successful conference.”

Also speaking to MI, Chair of RCPsychNI Dr Julie Anderson, Consultant Perinatal Psychiatrist, Northern Health and Social Care Trust, described her delight at the “really solid and relatable” talks throughout the event and the large attendance from both sides of the border and beyond. “It was fantastic to see such a mixture of experts from Ireland, the UK, and even further – from clinicians to researchers – who took time out of their busy schedules to speak or attend the conference. The all-Ireland focus was particularly lovely as well,” she said.

Dr Anderson also emphasised the “much-needed” opportunities for collaboration and networking the conference provided, noting that many clinicians “are finding things hard” professionally in view of the deepening psychiatry workforce crisis in Northern Ireland. “It can feel quite intense and bleak at times,” she told MI.

“It was really edifying to get some time away from work and actually get together, face-to-face with colleagues. It’s always great to connect and learn from each other because there is so little time to do that and it benefits clinical practice so much.”

As a perinatal psychiatrist, Dr Anderson said her personal highlight was the heavy focus on perinatal care at the conference, which included a rich blend of “eminent” clinical expertise and the lived patient experience. “Within perinatal care, we can make a very real difference at key points in an individual’s life, and in the life of a baby, when we get things right,” she said. “Sometimes we need to hear that really strong patient voice to remind us of the realities of not having services like a mother and baby unit. There are so many specialist services we don’t have; the consequences can get lost sometimes.”