Women's Mental Health - Letter of Invitation

LETTER OF INVITATION 

We warmly welcome you to participate in the 3rd International Congress on Women’s Mental Health, to be held Sunday 16 – Thursday 20 March 2008 in Melbourne, Australia.

Building on the success of the two previous Congress' held in Berlin (2000) and Washington (2004), this multidisciplinary Congress is expected to attract in excess of 1000 mental health professionals, researchers, educators, healthcare workers, administrators, policy makers, academics, consumers, carers and field workers from across the globe.

Under the sponsorship of the International Association for Women’s Mental Health and other Associates, and hosted by the Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre, we will present an innovative program focusing on the psychosocial, biological and clinical sciences of women’s mental health from individual, family, society, community and global perspectives.

Through a series of keynote lectures, symposia, plenaries, paper sessions, posters and workshops, we will explore the psychosocial, economic and cultural contexts of women’s mental health as well as the genetic, cellular, neural, hormonal, pharmacologic and other basic science aspects. Clinicians of all disciplines including psychiatry, psychology, obstetrics, gynaecology, family healthcare, social work, nursing and community health will contribute their knowledge on best practices and innovative developments to improve women’s mental health across the lifespan. Epidemiologists and health policymakers are urged to contribute to facilitate our understanding of prevalence and health system issues. Social issues such as war, violence, poverty, famine, discrimination, social roles, aging, education, work and relationships, so vital to understanding women’s mental health, will be examined from international perspectives. Presentations on specific psychiatric illnesses across the lifespan of women are welcomed. We urge you to submit abstracts on all aspects of the field of women’s mental health!

To be held at the Melbourne Convention Centre, the program will be complemented by an extensive trade exhibition featuring the latest developments, publications and innovations in the field.

The 4-day program will be further enhanced with social events allowing valuable networking opportunities and an insight into Melbourne at its finest. As Australia’s business, sporting and events capital, Melbourne is famed for its cultural richness, cosmopolitan lifestyle and devotion to sports. The city offers a sophisticated mix of style, warmth and informality with its shops, restaurants, bars and cafes in wide leafy boulevards and tiny atmospheric laneways.
Come to Melbourne and stay on to sample Australia in autumn! It will be a great opportunity to mix work with a holiday. We look forward to catching up with you at the 3rd International Congress on Women’s Mental Health in Melbourne in March 2008.

See you soon, 


Donna Stewart, MD
IAWMH President


Susan G. Kornstein, MD
IAWMH Vice President & Scientific Program Chair


Jayashri Kulkarni, Prof
Congress Convenor & Host