Dear current and future PRCP friends,
It is my utmost pleasure and honor to serve as the President of the Pacific Rim College of Psychiatrists.
The Pacific Rim College of Psychiatrists (PRCP) is an association of psychiatrists from countries bordering the Pacific Ocean. The College was formed in 1980 by a group of 56 psychiatrists from 10 countries: Canada, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, and the United States. Psychiatrists associated with the University of California, Los Angeles, played a prominent role in establishing the College. Although primarily formed by academic psychiatrists, membership is open to psychiatrists in any area of practice.
Thanks to the support of everyone concerned, the PRCP and the World Association of Cultural Psychiatry Joint Congress Tokyo 2025 was a huge success. Based on the expanded network of psychiatrists and mental health professionals in the region, I aim to develop PRCP activities and contributions during my tenure. The capable Board and the Executive Committee suggest possible areas of development and leadership include:
- The development of webinars
- Reinforcement of the relationship between the PRCP and national societies
- Reinforcement of the collaboration with the Asian Federation of Psychiatric Associations
- Reinforcement of gender-balanced leadership within the PRCP
- Reinforcement of support to the early career psychiatrists' network in the region
- Reinforcement of the journal, Asia-Pacific Psychiatry
The PRCP aims to foster the development of mental health services and to support improvements in education and research.
The PRCP also provides excellent opportunities to establish and expand networks in the region through its biennial conferences. The next PRCP congress will be held in the Philippines in January 2027.
I encourage you all to join the PRCP to strengthen your regional networks, and I hope to see many friends and colleagues at the Congress in the Philippines.
With kindest regards,
Tsuyoshi Akiyama
PRCP President
