Table of Contents

• President's Letter
• 11th World Congress on Women's Mental Health
• IAWMH Statement Against War
• Elections in November 2026 for the 2027-2029 Executive Committee
• Congratulations to IAWMH President-elect Gihan ELNahas
• Joint Webinar with APAL
• IAWMH Member Activities at the WPA World Congress in Stockholm
• Webinar, 17 September 2026: Gender perspective in Psychiatry and Mental Health Disorders: A need for Human Rights

Webinar,27 October 2026:

Women’s Mental Health: Three Scenarios in a Complex Reality

Jointly with Latin American Psychiatric Association (APAL) 

A perspective from the life course, gender, and clinical practice

Webinar organized by the Latin American Psychiatric Association (APAL) and the International Association for Women’s Mental Health

As part of our “Building Bridges” program, we are pleased to present our second webinar of 2026, which will take place on October 27, 2026.

Although English is the official language for IAWMH activities, this webinar will be presented in Spanish as a nod to our partner, APAL.

We have selected three compelling topics, recognizing that women’s mental health needs to be understood within its own context, across the different stages of the life course, and in relation to biological, sociodemographic, and cultural factors.

Motherhood, trauma, and illness are realities that women may face throughout their lives, and each woman will experience them according to her individual resources and protective factors.

Three specialists will share their clinical experience and research on scenarios that require specific and tailored approaches.

Introduction:

• Silvia Gaviria
  Director, Women’s Mental Health Section, APAL
• Dr. Judith Usall
  President, International Association for Women’s Mental Health

Program:

• Supporting Motherhood in Women with Severe Mental Illness: The Experience of the Co-Elna Project
  Verónica Espinosa, Institut Sant Joan de Déu, Barcelona
• Trauma and Borderline Personality Disorder: An Approach Based on Dialectical Behavior Therapy
  Sonia Botero, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Institute. Medellín
• Emotional Aspects and Coping Strategies in Women Facing Cancer
  María Adelaida Rueda, University of Miami

November 2026 Election for

IAWMH 2027-2029 Executive Committee

Watch for the email ballot that will be sent to every paid IAWMH member in November. The winning candidates take their office on 17 March 2027 at the Closing Ceremony of the IAWMH Congress in Sitges (Barcelona), Spain.

Congratulations to

IAWMH President-elect Gihan ELNahas

• Congratulations to Gihan ELNahas who was elected Co-Chair of the WPA Women's Mental Health Section and WPA Zonal Representative for North Africa for the upcoming triennium.
• She was also appointed as member of the World Health Organization Strategic and Technical Advisory Group of Experts (STAGE) for promoting women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health to serve as a Senior Advisor for the coming biennium
• These roles provide valuable opportunities to further advance women's mental health, strengthen international collaborations, and enhance the visibility of mental health priorities across the world's regions.

IAWMH Member Activities at the

WPA World Congress of Psychiatry

Stockholm, Sweden | 23-26 September 2026

Members of the International Association for Women’s Mental Health contributed to scientific symposia, state of the art sessions, pre congress courses, and a short oral poster at the 26th WPA World Congress of Psychiatry. Their scheduled contributions connected clinical care, research, education, and gender equity across countries and stages of life.

Scientific themes and educational contributions

1. Perinatal psychiatry and psychopharmacology, including treatment during pregnancy, perinatal bipolar disorder, bereavement care, and parent–infant psychotherapy.
2. Gender responsive approaches to addictions, women’s mental health in the workplace, barriers to leadership, and the mental health consequences of gender based violence.
3. Migration and cultural context, suicide risk and protective factors in young people, digital depression narratives, and community approaches to women’s mental health in Latin America. Additional contributions addressed ADHD in women across the lifespan and the needs of mothers with mental illness.

Gihan M ELNahas - IAWMH President-elect/Vice President

• Gihan co facilitated the pregnancy pharmacology course on 23 September with Florence Thibaut and Maria Muzik. Her moduled covered Psychopharmacology in perinatal Bipolar Disorder.
• On 24 September, she co-chaired the symposium on progress in women’s mental health with Gail Robinson and delivered a state of the art presentation on managing perinatal bipolar disorder.

Florence Thibaut - IAWMH Past President

• Florence moderated six sessions: the pregnancy pharmacology course; symposia on addictions in women, women’s mental health in the workplace, and gender based violence; and state of the art sessions on perinatal bereavement and parent–infant psychotherapy, and complex presentations in mood and related disorders.

Prabha Chandra - IAWMH Immediate Past President

Prabha’s program entry lists contributions to three sessions:

• 23 September — Co moderated Course 07 on ADHD in women across the life course with Parul Mathur and Patricia van Wijngaarden Cremers. Her modules covered perinatal management and postpartum neurodivergent experiences, brief outpatient psychosocial interventions, and the closing questions and toolkit session.
• 24 September — Presented on intimate partner violence related traumatic brain injury in women and its effects on mood and cognition, in the interdisciplinary and transcultural symposium on gender based violence.
• 26 September — Presented on psychiatrists’ role in supporting mothers with mental illness who care for their children, in the symposium on caring for carers.

Ruby C Castilla Puentes - IAWMH Secretary

Ruby was listed as the presenter of five contributions spanning service development, gender equity, cultural psychiatry, and digital research:

• 24 September — A state of the art presentation on the design and implementation of perinatal bereavement rooms to improve mental health outcomes.
• 25 September — A short oral poster on structural neglect and perinatal bereavement room practices in Latin America; a symposium presentation on psychiatry’s gender blind spot; and a comparative analysis of online depression narratives across ethnic groups.
• 26 September — A presentation on improving women’s mental health care through the WARMI project in Latin America.

Judith Usall i Rodié - IAWMH President

• Judith Usall i Rodié presented on the prevalence, risk factors, and protective factors for suicidal ideation and behavior among young girls and boys in Catalonia, contributing a gender sensitive perspective on youth suicide prevention.

Silvia Gaviria and Judith Usall i Rodié - IAWMH President

• Silvia and Judith joined Ruby in the symposium on recent developments and transcultural perspectives in women’s mental health on 26 September.
• Silvia Gaviria presented on the feminization of migration and the mental health of Venezuelan migrant women, bringing attention to women’s experiences of displacement and the importance of cultural context.

Together, these contributions illustrated the breadth of IAWMH members’ work, from reproductive mental health and clinical education to migration, prevention, equitable services, and women’s professional opportunities. The program provided a setting for exchanging evidence and approaches across national and cultural contexts.

Promotion of the IAWMH Congress in Sitges

The upcoming IAWMH World Congress on Women’s Mental Health in Sitges, Spain, was promoted during the Stockholm meeting, encouraging colleagues to participate and continue the exchange of research, clinical knowledge, and international collaboration.

Course on Pharmacology in Pregnancy group photo and Faculty: Florence Thibaut, Gihan ELNahas, Maria Muzik

State of Art Session | Chairs: Florence, Ilenia and Speakers: Gihan, Vlasios.

Gatherings and social events

Presential Dinner at Grand Hotel with WPA President Dr Thomas Shultz, WPA Secretary Dr Radwa Said, Gihan ELNahas WPA Zonal Rep, North Africa,  Dr Hasanen Al- Taiar

Consultant, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust&Clinical Tutor, University of Oxford, UK.

President Reception at Stockholm City Hall: Florence, Anusha, Lade Smith, Gihan

From the symposium in collaboration with the Early career section

Florence Thibaut and Ruby Castilla with the elected Treasurer for the WPA Dr. Thelma Sanchez from Mexico

With members of the Semillero WARMI