History of the Nordic Psychiatric Cooperation

History of the Nordic Psychiatric Cooperation LARS von KNORRING Nord J Psychiatry Downloaded from informahealthcare.com by Lars von Knorring on 02/19/12 For personal use only. von Knorring L. History of the Nordic Psychiatric Cooperation. Nord J Psychiatry 2012; 66 Suppl 1:54–60. The Nordic countries include Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden as well the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Svalbard and Åland. The countries share much common history as well as common traits in their respective societies. As early as 1906, a Scandinavian Psychiatric Association was suggested. The first Nordic Psychiatric Congress was held in Copenhagen 1913. After the First World War, at the 6th Nordic Psychiatric Congress in Stockholm 1935, a Nordic Psychiatric Association was founded and it was decided that a Nordic Journal of Psychiatry should be founded. After the Second World War, at the 8th Nordic Psychiatric Congress in Copenhagen 1946, the Nordic Psychiatric Association was terminated. At this time, the most important task of the Association, to found a Nordic Journal of Psychiatry, had been achieved. After 1946, there has been a close cooperation between the Nordic countries but no common Nordic Psychiatric Association. Today, the Nordic Psychiatric Cooperation is active and ongoing. The 30th Nordic Psychiatric Congress is scheduled to be held in Tromsö, in 2012. The Nordic Journal of Psychiatry is publishing its 64th volume. The Journal is indexed in the important international databases and the impact factor is increasing. The Joint Committee of the Nordic psychiatric associations has established itself as the owner of the Journal and the organizer of the congresses. There are also a series of Nordic cooperations in a series of different fields, such as the Scandinavian Societies of Biological Psychiatry, the Scandinavian College of Neuropsychopharmacology (SCNP), the bi-annual Nordic Psychoanalytical Congresses, the Scandinavian Psychoanalytic Review, the Nordic Association of Psychiatric Epidemiology, NAPE, and so on. • Nordic cooperation, Nordic Journal of Psychiatry, Nordic Psychiatric Congresses, Psychiatry. Lars von Knorring, Department of Neuroscience, Psychiatry, Uppsala University, SE-75185 Uppsala, Sweden, E-mail: Lars.von_Knorring@neuro.uu.se; Accepted 7 March 2011. T he Nordic countries include Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden as well the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Svalbard and Åland. The countries share much common history as well as common traits in their respective societies, such as political systems and what has been called “the Nordic model”. Furthermore, there are similar structures and cultural traits in the societies. This results not only from similar environmental realities but also from a shared history. All Nordic countries have large tax-funded public welfare sectors (1). All the Nordic countries have flags including the Nordic Cross. The Nordic Cross originates from the Danish flag. According to the legend, the flag originates from the Battle of Lyndanisse, near Lyndanisse (Tallinn) in Estonia, on 15 June 1219. The battle was going badly, and defeat seemed imminent, but then, right when the Danes were about to give up, the flag fell from heaven. Grasping the flag, the king took it in his hand, and proudly waved it in front of his discouraged troops, giving them hope and leading them to victory. The myth is clear. The flag was given to the Danes from God himself (2). © 2012 Informa Healthcare The cross design of the Danish flag was subsequently adopted by the other Nordic countries—Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands. During the Danish–Norwegian Union, the Danish flag was also the flag of Norway and continued to be so until Norway adopted its current flag in 1821. The Danish flag was also the flag of Iceland until 1918. The Danish flag is the oldest state flag in the world still in use by an independent nation. Politically, the Nordic countries do not form a separate entity, but they cooperate in the Nordic Council. The Nordic Council and the Nordic Council of Ministers is an intergovernmental forum for cooperation between the Nordic countries. It was established following the Second World War, and its first concrete result was the introduction in 1952 of a common labour market and free movement across borders without passports for the countries’ citizens. The Nordic countries have approximately 25 million inhabitants spread over a vast land area, where Greenland accounts for around 60% of the total area. DOI: 10.3109/08039488.2011.570375 Nord J Psychiatry Downloaded from informahealthcare.com by Lars von Knorring on 02/19/12 For personal use only. HISTORY OF Although the area is linguistically heterogeneous, with three unrelated language groups, the common linguistic heritage is one of the factors making up the Nordic identity. The continental North Germanic languages—Danish, Norwegian and Swedish—share a degree of mutual intelligibility with each other. These languages are taught in school throughout the Nordic countries. Besides these and the insular North Germanic languages Faroese and Icelandic, all belonging to the Indo-European languages, there are the Baltic-Finnish and Sami branches of Uralic languages, spoken in Finland, northern Norway, Sweden and Finland, and Greenlandic, an Eskimo-Aleut language. After being Christianized around the year 1000, Denmark, Norway and Sweden were established as separate kingdoms. Iceland was an independent commonwealth from 930 (the establishment of Althing) until 1262–1264, when it lost its independence to the king of Norway. The country today known as Finland became part of Sweden in the mid-13th century, whereas Iceland, the Faroe Islands, the Shetland Islands, Orkney and Greenland belonged to Norway. All Nordic countries followed the Protestant Reformation during the 16th century and adopted Lutheran state churches—which still have large membership counts, although their state affiliation varies. In the 14th century, Denmark, Norway (with Iceland) and Sweden (with Finland) were united under one regent, in the Kalmar Union. However, in the early 16th century, Sweden re-established itself as a separate kingdom. Denmark’s domination over Norway lasted until 1814 when the king was forced to cede Norway to the king of Sweden. Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands remained Danish. In 1809, Sweden lost its eastern part, mainly today’s Finland. In the midst of the Russian revolutions, Finland emerged for the first time as an independent nation, orienting for a Nordic community. Iceland became independent as a sovereign state of Denmark in 1918 and as a republic in 1944. Scandinavia is sometimes used as a synonym for the Nordic countries, although within the Nordic countries the terms are considered distinct. Usually, Scandinavia is restricted to the countries on the Scandinavian Peninsula. The distinction between Scandinavia and the Nordic countries was discussed in the Editorial Board at the time “Nordisk Psykiatrisk Tidsskrift” changed its name to the Nordic Journal of Psychiatry. It would have been easy to follow the examples of a series of other scientific journals from the area, e.g. Scandinavian Cardiovascular Journal, Scandinavian Journal of Infectious Diseases, Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, Scandinavian Journal of Nephrology and so on. However, Nordic was regarded as more inclusive of all the Nordic countries and the name was chosen. Estonia is often grouped in Eastern Europe, but many Estonians consider Estonia to be Nordic rather than Eastern European or Baltic. The Estonian language is closely NORD J PSYCHIATRY·VOL 66 NO S1·2012 THE NORDIC PSYCHIATRIC COOPERATION related to the Finnish language, and Estonians, as an ethnic group, are a Finnish people. Estonia had close contacts with Scandinavia in the Viking Age. With the rise of Christianity, centralized authority in Scandinavia and Germany eventually led to the Northern crusades. The northern part of Estonia was part of medieval Denmark during the 13th–14th centuries. The name of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, is thought to be derived from the Estonian taani linn, meaning “Danish town”. Parts of Estonia were under Danish rule again in the 16th–17th centuries, before being transferred to Sweden in 1645. Estonia was part of the Swedish Empire from 1561 until 1721. Historically, large parts of Estonia’s northwestern coast and islands have been populated by an indigenous ethnically Swedish population, the Estonian Swedes. In 2007, Estonian Swedes were granted official cultural autonomy under Estonian law. Since regaining independence in 1991, Estonia has expressed interest joining the Nordic Council. In 1999, Toomas Hendrik Ilves delivered a speech entitled “Estonia as a Nordic Country” to the Swedish Institute for International Affairs. In 2003, the foreign ministry also hosted an exhibit called “Estonia: Nordic with a Twist”. At the Nordic Psychiatric Congress in Stockholm, 2009, Estonia became a part of the Nordic Psychiatric Cooperation and was elected a full member of the Joint Committee of the Nordic Psychiatric Associations. History of the Nordic Psychiatric Cooperation As early as 1906, Dr Hans Evensen suggested that a Scandinavian Psychiatric Association was founded. At the first meeting of the Norwegian Psychiatric Association, in 1909, Dr Hans Evensen suggested a common psychiatric journal for the Nordic Psychiatric Associations. Later, at the first Nordic Psychiatric Congress in Copenhagen 1913, Dr Evensen suggested the formation of a common Nordic psychiatric journal. A taskforce comprising Evensen, Sibelius and Christiansen was formed. It was planned to write a suggestion for the statutes of a Nordic Psychiatric Association and to plan a common journal for the association. However, because of the First World War, the Nordic Psychiatric Association was not started at this time. Furthermore, a Nordic journal of psychiatry was not established (3). After the First World War, the chairman of the Danish Psychiatric Association, Professor Wimmer, once again suggested a Nordic Psychiatric Association. The main tasks of the Association were regarded to be the planning of the Nordic Psychiatric Congresses and to be the publisher of a Nordic journal of psychiatry. At the 6th Nordic Psychiatric Congress in Stockholm in 1935, a Nordic Psychiatric Association was founded and it was decided that a Nordic journal of psychiatry should be founded. 55 Nord J Psychiatry Downloaded from informahealthcare.com by Lars von Knorring on 02/19/12 For personal use only. L VON KNORRING Later, in 1935, the new Association was offered the possibility of regularly publishing a few pages in the Nordic Journal of Medicine and this suggestion was accepted. In 1936 and 1937, four small membership notices were published in the Nordic Journal of Medicine. A short time thereafter, the Second World War disrupted the work of the Nordic Psychiatric Association. After the war, at the 8th Nordic Psychiatric Congress in Copenhagen, the Nordic Psychiatric Association was terminated at a meeting on 30 August 1946. The main reason was that the most important task of the Association, to found a Nordic journal of psychiatry, had been achieved (3). Furthermore, the separate Nordic Psychiatric Associations had been stronger, more active and better organized, and it was obvious that the goals of the common Nordic Psychiatric Association could be fulfilled through the separate Associations. Thus, after 1946, it has been a close cooperation between the Nordic countries but no common Nordic Psychiatric Association. The Nordic Psychiatric Congresses. The Nordic Psychiatric Congresses have been organized regularly since the first Nordic Psychiatric Congress in Copenhagen in 1913, with unavoidable breaks for the First and Second World Wars. In 2009, the 29th Nordic Psychiatric Congress was held in Stockholm, Sweden, and in 2012, Norway will host the 30th Nordic Psychiatric Congress in Tromsö (Table 1). The early Nordic Psychiatric Congresses were important social events. It was a possibility for psychiatrists in the Nordic countries as well as their families to meet and to share common experiences. At the 8th Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1946, there were 269 participants and 168 accompanying persons. The President of the Congress was Dr H.P. Stubbe-Teglbjaerg. The vice-presidents were appointed by the separate Nordic Psychiatric Associations and included Professor med. Dr Torsten Sjögren, Sweden; Professor Dr med. Gabriel Langfeldt, Norway; Head physician, Dr med. Helgi Tómassen, Iceland; Head physician Ilmari Kalpa, Finland; and Professor Dr med. Hjalmar Helweg, Denmark (Table 1) (4). At the Congress in Helsinki, Finland, in 1949, psychosurgery was discussed (5, 6), as well as treatment of neurolues and other psychoses (7–9) (Table 1). It can be noted that at the time psychosurgery was discussed at the 8th Nordic Psychiatric Congress in 1946, 19 hospitals in the Nordic countries had started to use psychosurgery. Three years later, 55 hospitals in the Nordic countries had used the method and 2050 patients had been operated on. Hyper-term treatment of neurolues was also a rather new treatment at the time. It had started in Denmark in 1942 (8). The 10th Nordic Psychiatric Congress was held in Stockholm 1952 with140 participants and 70 accompanying persons present. The president of the congress was 56 Table 1. The Nordic Psychiatric Congresses. No. Year 1 1913 First World War 1914–1918 2 1923 3 1926 4 1929 5 1932 6 1935 7 1938 Second World War 1939–1945 8 1946 9 1949 10 1952 11 1955 12 1958 13 1962 14 1964 15 1967 16 1970 17 1973 18 1976 19 1979 20 1982 21 1985 22 1988 23 1991 24 1994 25 1997 26 2000 27 2003 28 2006 29 2009 30 2012 City Country Copenhagen Denmark Stockholm Oslo Sweden Norway Copenhagen Stockholm Oslo Denmark Sweden Norway Copenhagen Helsinki Stockholm Oslo Copenhagen Turku Gothenburg Geilo Aarhus Reykjavik Turku Uppsala Bergen Odense Reykjavik Helsinki Linköping Trondheim Copenhagen Reykjavik Tammerfors Stockholm Tromsö Denmark Finland Sweden Norway Denmark Finland Sweden Norway Denmark Iceland Finland Sweden Norway Denmark Iceland Finland Sweden Norway Denmark Iceland Finland Sweden Norway Associate Professor Gunnar Lundquist. The Nordic Psychiatric Associations had appointed Professor Erik Strömgren (Denmark), Professor Martti Kaila (Finland), head physician, med. dr, H.H. Dedichen (Norway) and head physician, med Dr Torsten S:son Frey as vicepresidents. The ladies’ programme was arranged by Mrs Anna Marta Wohlfahrt, Inga Ekblad, Edith Lundquist and Lisbet Stjernberg (10–14) (Table 1). The 11th Nordic Psychiatric Congress was held in Oslo, Norway, in 1955 (15) (Table 1) and the 12th Congress was held in Copenhagen in 1958 (16) (Table 1). At the 14th Nordic Psychiatric Congress in Gothenburg, the main symposia were organized by Erling Dein, Örnulf Ödegård and Erik Essen Möller and by Georg K. Sturup, Toivo Pihkanen, Jens Christian Arbo and Curt Åmark (17) (Table 1). The 15th Nordic Psychiatric Congress was held in Geilo in Norway, involving 300 participants and 150 accompanying persons (18) (Table 1). The 16th Nordic Psychiatric Congress was held in Aarhus in Denmark, involving 352 participants and 152 accompanying persons (19) (Table 1). The 17th Nordic Psychiatric Congress was held in Reykjavik, Iceland (20) (Table 1) and the 18th Nordic Congress of Psychiatry in Turku, Finland (21) (Table 1). NORD J PSYCHIATRY·VOL 66 NO S1·2012 Nord J Psychiatry Downloaded from informahealthcare.com by Lars von Knorring on 02/19/12 For personal use only. HISTORY OF From its start, volume I, 1947, the Nordic Journal of Psychiatry covered the content of the Nordic Psychiatric Congresses. However, later on the content of the Nordic Journal of Psychiatry gradually changed towards more scientific articles and the coverage of the Nordic Psychiatric Associations and the Nordic Psychiatric congresses diminished. The 29th Nordic Psychiatric Congress was held in Stockholm in 2009. It was well demonstrated that the Nordic Psychiatric Congresses are, today, international events. More than 800 participants joined the congress and lecturers from 24 countries were present, including Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Denmark, Egypt, England, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, The Netherlands, Norway, Russian Federation, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland and the USA. The theme of the congress was: “Psychiatry for a better life”. The programme included 48 symposia, a series of workshops, plenary lectures and posters as well as a young psychiatrists’ programme. The 30th Nordic Psychiatric Congress is scheduled to be held in Tromsö, Norway, in June 2012. The Nordic Journal of Psychiatry The decision to found a Nordic Journal of Psychiatry was taken at the meeting in the Nordic Psychiatric Association THE NORDIC PSYCHIATRIC COOPERATION on 30 August 1946. The first Editorial Board comprised Dr C.A. Borgström (Finland), Dr Jörgen Ravn (Denmark), Dr Finn Rud (Norway) and Dr Curt Åmark (Sweden). At the Nordic Psychiatric Congress in Aarhus, Denmark, in 1970, time was given to a discussion concerning the Journal and the Nordic Psychiatric Cooperation. At this time, it was decided that a standing committee from the Nordic Psychiatric Associations in the future would act as a functioning Board of the Journal. It was also decided that the Editor-in-chief of the Journal, Dr med. Jörgen Ravn, would remain as Editor throughout 1971. During the years 1972–1978, Professor Bengt Jansson, Sweden, acted as Editor-in-chief (Table 2). At this time, the Journal was still privately owned and the Journal was printed in Gothenburg. However, the Journal was still without a real publisher. Dr Truls Eirik Mogstad, became the new Editor-in-chief of the Journal in 1979. During his first years as an Editor, much effort was placed in finding a functioning structure for the Journal and from 1 January 1981, the Journal was published by Oslo University Press (“Universitetsforlaget”), later Taylor & Francis and today, the Journal is still published in Oslo despite later Editor-in-chiefs from Sweden and Finland (22). Since 1987, the organization of the Journal has been established by means of an agreement between the Joint Table 2. More detailed information about some of the Nordic Psychiatric Congresses held from 1946 to 1973. Year 1946, Copenhagen Participants Main topics discussed 269 participants 168 accompanying persons; Sweden 92 (47), Norway 45 (32), Iceland 1, Finland 24 (11), Denmark 107 (78) Treatment of psychopathy, biological investigations of psychoses, child psychiatry, psychiatric therapy, in particular leucotomy and shock therapy, war psychiatry Psychosurgery I (5), psychosurgery II (6), treatment of neurolues I, malaria treatment (7), treatment of neurolues II, hyperthermia treatment and penicillin treatment (8), psychoses following brain trauma were discussed (9) Current views on schizophrenia symptomatology and diagnostics (11, 12), new findings in somatic therapy of endogenic psychoses (13, 14) 1949, Helsinki 1952, Stockholm 140 participants, 70 accompanying persons; Norway 30, Denmark 20, Finland 20, Sweden 70 1955, Oslo 1958, Copenhagen 1962, Helsinki 1964, Gothenburg 1967, Geilo 300 participants, 150 accompanying persons 1970, Aarhus 1973, Reykjavik 352 participants, 152 accompanying persons NORD J PSYCHIATRY·VOL 66 NO S1·2012 Psychiatric problems in old age, treatment of psychiatric disorders outside hospitals, workshops, child psychiatry, epidemiology and genetics, EEG problems, somatic aspects of schizophrenia, problems with narcotics, psychotherapy, problems with insulin coma, organizational and administrative problems Child psychiatry, adolescent psychiatry, disability in patients with neuroses, psychosomatic disorders, suicide, ECT, psychotherapy, treatment of delirium tremens, clinical criminology, treatment of neuroses in sanatorium Main topics: involutional depressions, psychotherapeutic views on the organization of the hospital; Roundtable discussions: psychopharmacological problems, neuroses including treatment, alcohol problems, group psychotherapy, schizophrenia problems, geriatric psychiatry, paranoia, industrial psychiatry, psychiatric rehabilitation Personality and psychiatric disease, education of the staff—in service education—in psychiatric care Reactive psychoses, education and continuing education in psychiatry, apart from the main themes of the congress, there were around 60 lectures presented during the meeting Psychiatric epidemiology, drug abuse in adolescents Planning and organization of the psychiatric services, family therapy 57 Committee of the Nordic Psychiatric Associations and Scandinavian University Press, and thus the economic basis of the Journal has been stabilized. In 1992, Lars von Knorring, Sweden, became the Editor-in-chief of the Journal. At the same time, rapid changes were taking place in the surrounding area. In 1991, the Joint Committee of the Nordic Psychiatric Associations created a subcommittee for cooperation with the three Baltic republics. Dr Anne Lindhardt chaired the subcommittee. This initiative was greatly appreciated by the editors of the Journal. The initiative later led to the inclusion of a Baltic editor on the Editorial Board of the Journal. The development made it unavoidable gradually to transform “Nordisk Psykiatrisk Tidsskrift” into the Nordic Journal of Psychiatry. More and more articles were written in English, and the rest at least included an English abstract. It did not reflect a desire to give up “Scandinavian” or “bad Swedish” as a tool for communication between psychiatrists and child psychiatrists in the Nordic countries. Instead, it reflected an active desire to integrate young Finnish and Icelandic psychiatrists, and also the psychiatrists and child psychiatrists in the Baltic republics into the Nordic area. Furthermore, it reflected a desire to spread the achievements of Nordic psychiatry to the rest of the world (23). After many years of active efforts, the Nordic Journal of Psychiatry was included in PubMed and the Social Sciences Citation Index. In 1995, the Journal did obtain its first impact factor—of course low at the beginning. However, because of continuous hard work from the Editorial Board, the impact factor of the Journal has gradually increased and is today around 1 (Fig. 1). However, this change was not easy. Originally, the Journal was founded as a membership paper for the members in the Nordic Psychiatric Associations. The main purpose of the Journal was to keep the members informed about what was ongoing in the Nordic Psychiatric Associations and to keep the members informed about the Nordic Psychiatric Congresses. The scientific papers were expected to be published in Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavia. However, as the times changed, the Nordic Journal of Psychiatry changed into an international scientific journal. 1.2 The Joint Committee of the Nordic Psychiatric Associations The task of the Committee is to promote and coordinate the cooperation between the Psychiatric Associations of the Nordic countries. The cooperation concerns primarily the tasks that have not been or cannot be dealt better by the existing national organizations. The central tasks of the Committee are summarized in Table 3. The Committee can arrange or support Nordic symposia within the psychiatric field if appropriate. The Committee consists of two delegates from each of the Nordic countries. From 2009, Estonian delegates are also included. One of the delegates is the chair of the national organization and the other delegate is nominated for 6 years to increase continuity in the work. Denmark, Finland and Iceland will arrange the congresses with odd, and Norway and Sweden with even serial numbers. There is a system of rotation between the countries as to being the chair, secretary or treasurer of the Committee. The executives are appointed for a period between two Nordic Psychiatric Congresses, usually for 3 years. The meetings are held in March or April in each country in turn. The chair will summon the meeting. Each country has a vote in the meeting. The Editorin-chief of the Nordic Journal of Psychiatry and the representative of the North European Zone in the WPA are also invited to the meetings. The member associations pay an annual member fee based on the number of members in their association. The Committee decides annually the amount of the fee. The Scandinavian Societies of Biological Psychiatry At a World Congress in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1974, the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry was formed. Soon after, a Scandinavian Society of Biological Psychiatry, predominantly with members from Sweden, Denmark and Norway, was formed. The society organized annual meetings. The 2nd World Congress of Biological Psychiatry was held in Barcelona, Spain, in 1978 and the 3rd Congress in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1981. At the 4th World Congress of Biological 1 Table 3. The central tasks of the Joint Committee of the Nordic Psychiatric Associations. 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 2009 2008 2006 2007 2004 2005 2003 2002 2000 2001 1998 1999 1997 1995 0 1996 Nord J Psychiatry Downloaded from informahealthcare.com by Lars von Knorring on 02/19/12 For personal use only. L VON KNORRING Fig. 1. Impact factor of the Nordic Journal of Psychiatry. Social Science Citation Index. 58 • To act as head of the Nordic Journal of Psychiatry and to promote the activities with other scientific journals published within the Nordic area • To arrange regularly the Congresses of the Nordic Psychiatric Associations • To nominate the delegates of the member associations to the Northern Zone of the World Psychiatric Association • To promote professional cooperation between the member associations NORD J PSYCHIATRY·VOL 66 NO S1·2012 HISTORY OF Table 4. Editors-in-chief of the Nordic Journal of Psychiatry. The Nordic Psychoanalytical Congresses 1946–1971 1972–1978 1979–1991 1992–2004 2005– The intense contacts between the Nordic psychoanalysts led to the organization of the bi-annual Nordic Psychoanalytical Congresses that started in 1968. The Scandinavian cooperative history was also the background to the idea of founding a Nordic psychoanalytical journal. Formerly, the decision to publish the Scandinavian Psychoanalytic Review was taken in 1976 during the 5th Scandinavian Psychoanalytic Congress in Saltsjöbaden, Sweden. Today, the Scandinavian Psychoanalytic Review is published by University Press of Southern Denmark under the auspices of the Psychoanalytical Societies in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, component Societies of the International Psychoanalytical Association. In 2010, volume 33 was published. Jörgen Ravn, Denmark Bengt Jansson, Sweden Truls Eirik Mogstad, Norway Lars von Knorring, Sweden Hasse Karlsson, Finland Psychiatry in Philadelphia, USA, in 1985, it was seriously questioned whether the Scandinavian Society of Biological Psychiatry really could claim three votes for Sweden, Denmark and Norway. As a result, three separate societies were formed, although the common annual meetings continued. Lately, individual societies have more actively arranged separate national meetings. Nord J Psychiatry Downloaded from informahealthcare.com by Lars von Knorring on 02/19/12 For personal use only. THE NORDIC PSYCHIATRIC COOPERATION Scandinavian College of Neuropsychopharmacology, SCNP After the great psychopharmacological achievements and the introduction of the antipsychotic drugs in 1952 and the introduction of the antidepressants in 1957, Collegium Internationale Neuropsychopharmacologicum, CINP, was founded in 1958. Two years later, the Scandinavian Society of Psychopharmacology (Skandinavisk Selskab for psykofarmakologi) had its first congress in Copenhagen at the Hotel Tre Falkar (24). The initiation to the Society came from the Editorial Board of the Nordic Journal of Psychiatry. However, at the same time, David H. Ingvar had been commissioned by the CINP to try to organize a Scandinavian society for psychopharmacology. Before the first meeting in the Society, the two initiatives had been consolidated. The Society has been an excellent arena for basic scientists and clinicians to meet and exchange ideas. For a long time, the Society had a standing committee (Utvalg for klinisk undersögelse, UKU) with the task of constructing, validating and standardizing valuable rating scales to be used in psychopharmacological trials and in clinical routine care. The Society has had annual meetings since its start and the 52nd meeting is scheduled to be held in Oslo in 2011. For many decades, the Society had its annual meetings in Copenhagen, first at the Hotel Tre Falkar, and later at hotel Scandinavia and Hotel Sheraton. However, in the 1990s, the Society changed its name to the Scandinavian College of Neuropsychopharmacology, SCNP, and the meetings have been held in different places. For a long time, it was a close cooperation between the Scandinavian Society of Psychopharmacology and the Nordic Journal of Psychiatry, and the abstracts from the annual congresses were published in the Journal. However, for a couple of years, the Society has started a journal of its own, Scandinavian Psychopharmacology, where the abstracts are published. In 2010, the new journal published its third volume. NORD J PSYCHIATRY·VOL 66 NO S1·2012 Nordic Symposia in Psychotherapy There were also a series of Nordic Symposia in Psychotherapy organized on behalf of the Joint Committee of the Nordic Psychiatric associations, e.g. there was a symposium held in Voksenåsen in 1969, where education in psychotherapy was in focus, and a symposium in Stavanger in 1980 with the theme: “The psychotherapeutic task and educational demands in today’s and tomorrow’s society” (25). Nordic Association for Psychiatric Epidemiology, NAPE On 20 and 21 September 1997, the Nordic Association for Psychiatric Epidemiology (NAPE) was founded. The association was a continuation of the Nordic Planning Group for Psychiatric Health Care Research, which existed for 10 years. NAPE has the aim of carrying on the work of encouraging psychiatric epidemiological research in the Nordic countries by such activities as: arranging research courses, planning and implementing inter-Nordic research projects, arranging symposia, arranging research student exchanges, recruitment and supervision of researchers, arranging for visiting professors, teachers and researchers, general development of contacts and networking. The main objectives of NAPE has been described as follows: promoting research within psychiatric epidemiology in the Nordic countries, especially by recruiting and supervising young researchers within the area; promoting collaboration among the Nordic countries within psychiatric epidemiological research; stimulating the implementation of the results from psychiatric epidemiological research in the Nordic countries. The original board members were Povl Munk-Jørgensen, Denmark (Chairman), Ville Lehtinen, Finland (Vice-Chairman), Lars Hansson, Sweden (Secretary), Alv A. Dahl, Norway (Treasurer), Kristinn Thomasson, Iceland, Marianne Kastrup, Denmark (26). At the 29th Nordic Psychiatric Congress in Stockholm, Sweden in 2009, NAPE had a symposium with the title 59 L VON KNORRING “Genetic influence on mental health in general population”, chaired by Juha Veijola, with Ellenor MittendorferRutz as co-chair. Nord J Psychiatry Downloaded from informahealthcare.com by Lars von Knorring on 02/19/12 For personal use only. Conclusion The Nordic countries share much common history as well as common traits in their respective societies, such as political systems and what has been called “the Nordic model”. Furthermore, there are similar structures in the societies and cultural traits. This results from similar environmental realities and from a shared history. The Nordic Psychiatric Cooperation has a long history. It was suggested in the beginning of the 20th century. The 1st Nordic Psychiatric Congress was held in 1913. Apart from the unavoidable breaks because of the World Wars, the congresses have continued throughout the years. For the moment, the planning of the 30th Nordic Psychiatric Congress in Tromsö in 2012 is ongoing. Today, there is a strong organization behind the Nordic Psychiatric Cooperation. The Joint Committee of the Nordic Psychiatric Associations holds regular meetings. The Committee is the owner of the Nordic Journal of Psychiatry, which has been published in more than 50 volumes and whose impact factor is steadily growing. Furthermore, the Committee organizes the Nordic Psychiatric Congresses. Since the last Nordic Psychiatric Congress in Stockholm, in 2009, the Committee has also been expanded, with Estonia making the cooperation in the Northern zone of the World Psychiatric Association even stronger. Apart from the Joint Committee of the Nordic Psychiatric Associations, the Nordic Psychiatric Congresses and the Nordic Journal of Psychiatry, there are series of ongoing cooperative efforts between the Nordic countries, e.g. the SCNP, the Scandinavian Societies of Biological Psychiatry, the Nordic Psychoanalytical congresses, the Scandinavian Psychoanalytic Review, the Nordic Association for Psychiatric Epidemiology, NAPE, and so on. Thus, there are good possibilities that the Nordic Psychiatric Cooperation will continue and perhaps also increase in the future. Declaration of interest: The author reports no conflicts of interest. The author alone is responsible for the content and writing of the paper. 60 References 1. Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nordic_countries. 2. Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Denmark. 3. Evensen H. Et faelles periodisk tidsskrift for de nordiske psykiatriske foreningar. Nord J Psychiatry 1947;1:9–17. 4. Magnusson G. Den 8. 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