Leo Sher, M.D.

The World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) was founded in 1974. Currently, Societies of Biological Psychiatry of Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Columbia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Malaysia, Macedonia, Morocco, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, Uruguay, and Venezuela are members of the WFSBP.

The WFSBP Executive Committee consists of Prof. Florence Thibaut, the President of the WFSBP; Prof. Robertas Bunevicius, a Vice-President of the WFSBP; Prof. Constantin R. Soldatos, a Vice-President of the WFSBP; Prof. Norbert Müller, the Secretary-Treasurer of the WFSBP; Prof. Yoshio Hirayasu, an Associate Secretary-Treasurer of the WFSBP; Prof. Jorge Tellez-Vargas, an Associate Secretary-Treasurer of the WFSBP; and Prof. Siegfried Kasper, the Past President of the WFSBP.

The Principle Objectives of the WFSBP are:

• To foster and encourage scientific research and advancement in the field of Biological Psychiatry
• To improve the quality of training spanning all the biological psychiatry sciences
• To promote education and achieve the highest level of knowledge and understanding within the field
• To provide information and guidance to all institutions, societies or individuals with an interest in biological psychiatry
• To establish, build, and maintain solid collaboration with international and national organizations related to biological psychiatry

The WFSBP publishes the reputable “World Journal of Biological Psychiatry.” The Chief Editor of this Journal is Prof. Siegfried Kasper. Prof. Hans-Jürgen Möller, Prof. Carlos Roberto Hojaij, and Prof. Joseph Zohar are the Founding Editors of the “World Journal of Biological Psychiatry.”

The WFSBP has created multiple Task Forces:

• Addiction Disorders (Guidelines)
• Anxiety Disorders and OCD (Guidelines)
• Biological Markers (Guidelines)
• Bipolar Affective Disorders (Guidelines)
• Brain Imaging
• Brain Pathology
• Brain Stimulation (Guidelines)
• Child Psychiatry
• Dementia (Guidelines)
• Eating Disorders
• Electroconvulsive Therapy
• Genetics
• Heart and Brain
• Imaging Genetics
• Mental Disorders and General Practice
• Nosology and Psychopathology (Guidelines)
• Pain Management
• Personality Disorders (Guidelines)
• Psycho-Geriatrics
• Schizophrenia (Guidelines)
• Sexual Disorders (Guidelines)
• Sleep Disorders
• Suicide: Biological Markers
• Tools for Optimising Pharmacotherapy in Psychiatry
• Unipolar Depressive Disorder

The WFSBP organizes biannual Congresses. The most recent 9th and 10th Congresses were in Paris (2009) and in Prague (2011). The 11th and 12th Congresses will be held in Kyoto (2013) and in Athens (2015). The WFSBP also organizes regional scientific meetings.

The WFSBP unites scholars from different parts of the world in the spirit of friendship and collaboration. It helps to promote cross-cultural understanding and cooperation among researchers from different countries. The open and friendly nature of the WFSBP is commendable.