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The 33rd European Congress of Psychiatry, held recently in Madrid, Spain, focused on mental health care and prevention strategies for healthcare professionals at different stages of their careers.

Egor Chumakov, MD, PhD, adult psychiatrist and head of the Day Psychiatric Clinic in St. Petersburg Mental Health Hospital No. 1, St. Petersburg, Russia, emphasized the need to initiate burnout prevention early in medical education. He also highlighted the urgency of seeking help at the first signs of burnout or depression.

Risk Factors

Laura Orsolini, MD, senior researcher at the Unit of Clinical Psychiatry, Polytechnic University of Marche, Ancona, Italy, identified several mental health risk factors affecting healthcare professionals. The key issues included high workloads, inadequate mentorship, and lack of interest. She also highlighted financial pressures and limited social support as critical, nonprofessional factors.

Orsolini expressed concerns about fundamental imbalance in the profession — high effort is often met with low reward.

“There is a heavy workload and little time for oneself, against a lack of personal development, lack of esteem from both peers and colleagues, lack of recognition of status, and not feeling respected both in the professional environment and in future job prospects,” she said.

She listed social and emotional support, self-esteem, and a sense of belonging as the key protective factors. Professional satisfaction, meaningful personal experiences, and effective mentorship also play crucial roles in safeguarding mental health.

Post-Pandemic Challenges

David Gurrea Salas, chief physician at the Department of Addictive Disorders, Psychiatric Services Aargau, Brugg, Switzerland, warned that the pandemic has exacerbated stressors within the profession.

“With an increase in patient demands, longer work shifts, and a global health crisis that has led to burnout and heightened concerns about mental health.”

He urged professionals to recognize the signs of stress and burnout and address them through mindfulness techniques, exercise, social support, safe environments, and other strategies. Regarding resilience, he stressed the importance of fostering a positive attitude and seeking professional help when necessary.

“Mental health must be prioritized, commitment to self-care is essential, and one should utilize the resources of one’s own workplace. Additionally, a supportive and proactive community with strategies that allow moving forward will help in developing a professional career. Psychiatry remains a profession with many relationships, requiring an interest in people, empathy, concern for others, and a caregiving role,” he said.

Organizational and Governmental Role

Dinesh Bhugra, PhD, former president of the World Psychiatric Association, concluded the session with recommendations for addressing burnout from personal, organizational, and governmental perspectives. On a personal level, he advised visiting the primary care physician before problems arise, using support organizations — joining them if necessary — and setting personal boundaries.

“One must admit vulnerability; you are as human as your patients,” he emphasized.

Other recommended initiatives include identifying and prioritizing activities, maintaining a healthy lifestyle with good sleep, exercise, and healthy eating, maintaining good relationships and supportive friendships, having a sense of humor, taking regular breaks, enhancing emotional intelligence, and finding a voice among professional organizations.

Regarding self-help, he advocated for understanding one’s own mind through training in mindfulness, knowing one’s strengths and weaknesses, developing self-compassion, and knowing who to rely on.

Organizations should make their support resources publicly available and ensure that they are confidential and meet the required standards. Reflective practice formats, such as Balint groups and Schwartz Rounds, both used in healthcare to address the emotional and social aspects of patient care, can help recognize and prioritize doctors’ well-being. Governments should fund, promote, and drive training, research, and evaluation.

“It is important to take care of oneself and seek confidential support if necessary. There is no need to feel ashamed. These reflections will make you a good doctor,” Bhugra concluded.

Chumakov, Orsolini, Gurrea Salas, and Bhugra declared no conflicts of interest.

This story was translated and adapted from El Medico Interactivo using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.