Beneath the banner “Building a New Ecosystem for Psychiatric Services, Charting the Course for Healthy China,” the 2nd Oriental Congress of Psychiatry was grandly convened in the luminous Zhangjiang Science Hall on morning of September 11, 2025. Organized by the Shanghai Medical Association and its Psychiatry Branch, and orchestrated by the National Center for Mental Disorders together with the Shanghai Mental Health Center, the annual conclave drew more than eight hundred delegates and a constellation of global thought-leaders for two days of exchange and discovery.
The congress meticulously curated a series of high-impact keynote lectures and premium dialogue sessions, convening an authoritative constellation of academic leaders. Mu-Ming Poo, CAS Member and Director of the Institute of Neuroscience, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences of CAS, lit the horizon with “Progress on Mesoscale Brain Atlas of Primates,” gifting psychiatry a fresh neural map. Fu Qiang, Director of the National Center for Mental Health and Psychosocial Prevention and Treatment, led an in-depth discussion on “Optimizing the Allocation of China’s Mental-Health Clinical Service Resources”, providing the field with a crystal-clear roadmap for distributing assets across the country. In a subsequent high-level dialogue on “Challenges, Opportunities, and Future Pathways in Brain Science and Major Brain Disorders”, Poo, Zhu Dongya, Liu Fang, Wang Yizheng, Zheng Ping and Wang Kai converged on the promise and peril of brain-science frontiers, unanimously heralding cross-disciplinary synergy as the key accelerator of tomorrow’s breakthroughs.
Professor Néstor Szerman (Complutense University of Madrid), in his lecture “Dual Psychosis with cannabis use disorder: A conceptual and therapeutic challenge”, unraveled the enigma of dual psychosis braided with cannabis-use disorder, offering attendees with authoritative insights into cutting-edge, cross-disciplinary treatment perspectives on synergistic strategies that integrate pharmacologic intervention with psychotherapeutic support.
Xiao Shuiyuan, Director of Department of Public Health and Epidemiology, Institute of Mental Health, Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, rooted the conversation in China’s soil under the theme “Reflections on the Development of Public Mental Health in China”, proposing a pragmatic roadmap on promoting the high quality development of public mental health.
Following the call for papers, manuscript submissions—both academic articles and science-communication pieces—surged to record-breaking levels. To recognize outstanding work in a timely manner and unleash the sector’s creative energy, the organizing committee presented prestigious awards for best papers, best science-communication pieces, and best outreach organizations. From the exceptionally large pool of submissions, 56 papers were selected for poster display and, after rigorous expert review, 28 were designated “Outstanding Posters.” These carefully crafted elements created an intuitive, high-efficiency showcase for results, accelerated wide dissemination and in-depth discussion, and—by pairing visible honors with visible outputs—further stoked innovation across the field. In doing so, the congress deepened the integration of rigorous research and public science communication, injecting sustained momentum into the high-quality development of China’s mental-health undertakings.
By fostering cross-disciplinary integration and multi-sector collaboration, the congress vigorously advanced the profound transformation of psychiatry from a traditional disease-centered model to a population-wide mental-health service paradigm. Looking ahead, the field must deepen the application of cutting-edge technologies such as AI and neuromodulation, continuously refine the community psychosocial support system, and ensure that academic achievements translate into tangible benefits for the mental well-being of the public.
The triumphant convening of the 2nd Oriental Congress of Psychiatry not only honored the spirit legacy of its inaugural edition but also anchored China’s next stride toward forging a new service ecosystem for Chinese psychiatry and steering the Healthy China initiative forward, hence unleashing formidable momentum for the vigorous development of the nation’s mental-health undertakings and the elevation of psychological well-being for all.
