KHOBAR: The first international conference on psychiatry in the Eastern Province started on Tuesday in Al-Khobar entitled “Mental health from a socio-cultural perspective”. Prince Jalawi Bin Abdul Aziz, Deputy Emir of the Eastern Province, officially inaugurated the conference on Tuesday evening on behalf of Prince Naif Bin Abdul Aziz, Second Deputy Premier and Minister of Interior. Among the delegates are world-renowned specialists in psychiatry and mental health from Italy, Holland, United States, Sweden and the Arab world. The three-day conference has been organized by the Saudi Psychiatric Association and the University of Dammam, in coordination with King Faisal University, the World Psychiatric Association and British Arab Psychiatric Association. Dr. Mahdi Abou Madini, President of the Saudi Psychiatric Association, told Saudi Gazette the conference will discuss important issues related to treatment of psychiatric patients, recent advances in psychopharmacology, latest research, family violence and childhood protection, drug-use disorders in the Gulf countries, socio-cultural and religious dimensions of mental health and psychological assessment and management. Madini said the conference will provide a superb platform for international experts to share their research and experience. The more than 500 participants include psychiatrists, neurologists, neurosurgeons, psychologists, medical students, nurses, social workers, occupational therapists and other mental health professionals. The Saudi Psychiatric Association was established five years ago and has more than 150 active members and more than 600 associate members.
