GOALS

The Pacific Rim is a region of great diversity. It contains several of the largest and most populous countries in the world, as well as some of the smallest. Our member countries are undergoing a variety of levels of socio-economic development, and thus the organisation of general health and mental health services differs greatly among our member countries. The PRCP aims to foster greater national development of mental health services, and to support the improvement of education and research in psychiatry through greater professional collaboration in the Asia-Pacific region.

The College also provides a formal setting for communication among our members through a biennial conference held in one of our member countries. The conferences provide an opportunity for the presentations of scientific papers, discussions on important issues in psychiatry, and consideration of the variety of clinical, social, political and ethical issues that concern psychiatrists in clinical practice, administration, and teaching and research in the Asia-Pacific. The 2008 congress will be held in Tokyo , Japan Oct 30- Nov 2, 2008. Colleagues from Shanghai have expressed an interest in holding the 2010 congress, and the decision regarding this will be finalized shortly. The PRCP Bulletin, distributed quarterly via email, has expanded its focus to include reports on programs at national and international meetings of general interest, scholarly work by members, and other information focused on improving international professional exchange. Further, members of the College also conduct seminars and support collaborative research and education projects in various areas of psychiatry. PRCP members are active in a variety of other professional organizations, such as IAPA, AFPMH, South Asia Forum, AFPA, RANZCP, CPA, APA, and WPA, among many other national and international groups, and thus provide a variety of informal linkages to foster greater inter-organizational collaboration for the advancement of psychiatry among our members' home countries.