Early Career Psychiatrists

Bylaws of the Early Career Psychiatry section of World Association of Social Psychiatry

1.  Introduction and Vision
   
   1.1 This early career psychiatry section will function as a section of the World Association of Social Psychiatry and will abide by the statutory and bylaws of the World Association of Social Psychiatry (WASP)
   
   1.2 The section will be called Early Career Psychiatry (ECP) Section of WASP and will include early career psychiatrists from member societies and individuals that are willing to work in accordance with the statutory, bylaws, vision and ethos of the World Association of Social Psychiatry.
   
   1.3 The vision for which the section is organised are:
   
   • (a) to promote the professional interests of its members in Social Psychiatry
     (b) to improve the treatment, rehabilitation, and care of persons with mental disorders (including mental retardation and substance-related disorders);
     (c) to focus on innovation in research, services, education & policy and to foster brief research projects among early career psychiatrists;
     (e) to foster the cooperation and collaborative work of early career psychiatrists interested in social psychiatry;
     (f) to safeguard the interest of early career psychiatrists across the world
     (g) to create opportunities for early career psychiatrists to attend the conferences organised by WASP;
     encourage conferences to have representation of early career psychiatrists and sessions specific for early career psychiatrist;
     (h) to facilitate opportunities for mentoring;
     (i) to create partnerships with professionals of other scientific disciplines, international agencies and NGOs working in fields related to social psychiatry.

2. Definitions
   
   2.1 For the purpose of this section an early career mental health professional will be defined as a clinical psychology trainee or psychiatric social worker trainee, occupational therapist trainee accepted into an approved training program and is in training or clinical psychologists or psychiatric social workers or occupational therapists who have completed training and has been accepted as a clinical psychologist or psychiatric social worker or occupational therapist in their country of training/country of practice and is within 7 years of completion of training.
   
   2.2 A full member is an early career psychiatrist with a membership of the regional association of social psychiatry affiliated to the WASP.
   
   2.3 An honorary member is an early career psychiatrist/early career mental health professional willing to work in accordance with the statutory, bylaws, vision and ethos of the World Association of Social Psychiatry for the betterment of the cause of social psychiatry.
   
   2.4 The executive committee of the section will include the members selected at the inception of the section by the WASP EC through a transparent and competitive nomination process and elections. A total of seven (7) seats will be created and composed of the following roles:
   
   2.4.a ECP Section Chair
   2.4.b ECP Section Co-chair/Researcher Committee Head
   2.4.c Three (3) ECP Subcommittee Heads
   2.4.dTwo (2) EC Advisors

3. Membership and functioning of the Section 
   
   3.1 The membership of the section will start from the day, the executive committee approves the membership on the basis of the documentary evidence of eligibility.
   
   3.2 The documentary evidence of eligibility can include but will not be restricted to evidence of registration as a psychiatrist/mental health professional in the country of training or country of practice, evidence of completion of training, or evidence of being in training which the executive committee deems as valid.
   
   3.3 The membership to the early career psychiatry section of the WASP will terminate at the end of 7 years from the completion of training
   
   3.4If a member is part of the executive committee he will serve the role till his tenure is over even if the 7 year membership period has lapsed.
   
   3.5 All executive members and the chair of the section will be elected for a term of 3 years and will hold office only once during their tenure of full membership of the section. No member will be allowed to contest for more than one post at the same time.
   
   3.6 If a member of the executive committee who is not the chair or co-chair decides to step down during their tenure, the person assuming leadership of their subcommittee shall fill the seat. If either the chair or the co-chair shall decide to step-down, a vote shall be called during the next meeting for their replacement. The most senior member of the committee shall act as officer-in-charge during the interim.
   
   3.7 The executive committee members of the section shall meet at least 4 times in a year physically or electronically.
   
   3.8 A member of the ECP section is obliged to accept the rules and bye laws of the society and follow them.
   
   3.9 Any amendment to the bye-laws of the section may be made at the World congress of Social Psychiatry and has to be approved by a statistically significant majority of the total members attending the meeting and approved by the executive committee of the section and the Executive Committee of WASP.
   

4. Advisory Committee:
   
   4.1 The Section may consult senior members from the World Association of Social Psychiatry for advice and mentorship.

5. Section sub-committees
   
   • 5.1 The ECP section will have its own subcommittees to plan and enact all of its projects and activities. An elected team leader will be the subcommittee’s representative in the ECP Executive Committee. The team leader will be assisted by a deputy team leader in the administrative work of their subcommittee.
     
     5.2 The subcommittees and their roles are as follows:
     
     5.2.a Programs Development and Scientific Committee is tasked with the development of activities, programs, and other events to be enacted by the ECP. They shall propose the topics, experts, and other matters of relevance that may be addressed by the section.
     
     5.2.b Events Organizing Committee is tasked with the logistics and execution of all events, projects, etc. the ECP section endeavours to create each year. This shall include both online and onsite activities. In addition, members of the section may represent the ECP along with the Chair in the events related meetings with the EC.
     
     5.2.c Research Committee supervises the conduction of research by members of the ECP. Networking and collaboration assistance may be provided by members of the committee. In addition, the committee will take lead with any internal research projects conducted by the section.
     
     5.2.d Publicity and Social Media Committee is tasked to create publicity materials and ad campaigns for the projects of the ECP. In addition, members of the committee shall act as the custodians of the section’s social media accounts.

6.  Disciplinary Concerns
   
   6.1 The ECP section shall follow the standards of ethics and conduct set by the WASP by-laws. All disciplinary concerns shall be decided based on these by-laws.
   
   6.2 If a member has been found to commit behaviours that are not within the standards of WASP as verified by an objective review of the executive committee, termination of membership shall be implemented.

World Association of Social Psychiatry (WASP) Early Career Fellowship Bursaries

WASP is delighted to announce that ten bursaries for free registration will be made available for early career psychiatrists from around the world to attend our 25 th congress in Marrakesh, Morocco on the 15-17 th January 2026.

Ten young psychiatrists will be offered free registration for the congress. Two of the ten spaces will be reserved for residents of Morocco.

Individuals can nominate themselves or be nominated using the congress portal and by submitting a brief CV (2 pages maximum) and a statement of no more than 400 words explaining why they believe they are suitable for the scheme, what they would hope to contribute, and how they might hope to benefit from the experience. A judging panel of members of the WASP executive committee and others will decide on those finally selected.

To be eligible, one must be a trainee psychiatrist or a qualified psychiatrist within 7 years of qualification at the time of the congress. Applications are warmly welcomed from all. 

The closing date for applications is 20 th August 2025. 

For further information see the conference portal or contact:

andrew.molodynski@oxfordhealth.nhs.uk