From 21 to 23 November 2025, nearly fifty psychiatric trainees from all over Europe gathered at the Strasbourg Simulation Center (UNISIMES) for the very first EFPT Winter Event – a new in-person meeting designed to complement the annual EFPT Forum. Hosted in the heart of Strasbourg, this pilot project brought together members of several EFPT Working Groups for three days of expert talks, hands-on workshops, and focused project work.
For those who are less familiar with it, the European Federation of Psychiatric Trainees (EFPT) is the umbrella organisation for national trainee associations from over 30 European countries, offering a platform to collaborate on training quality, advocacy, and international exchange. The Winter Event was born out of a simple observation: one annual forum is not always enough to maintain the momentum of ongoing projects and to keep the ties between working group members alive throughout the year.
A new format to strengthen collaboration
The Strasbourg Winter Event was explicitly designed as a small, intensive meeting with a cap of around 50 participants and priority given to active working-group members.
The program rotated between 3 main activities, designed to explore together the psychiatry education of today and tomorrow and move our community forward.
UNISIMES, the European Simulation Unit in Health at the University of Strasbourg, offered a unique learning environment, with high-fidelity simulation rooms usually used for interprofessional crisis training. This allowed some workshops to include realistic scenarios on clinical communication, teamwork, and managing challenging situations – themes that are highly relevant for psychiatric trainees.
The programme also featured three keynote speakers with strong links to EFPT and to training innovation: Prof. Pierre Vidailhet (Strasbourg), Dr George Stercu (Bucharest, former EFPT President) and Prof. Kerstin von Plessen (Lausanne). Their talks addressed topics ranging from simulation in health care and addictology to leadership and the future of psychiatric training.
Finally, the Forensics, Research, Trainees’ Mental Health, Psychotherapy, Leadership as well as 5 other Working Groups gathered their most active members on site for in-person meetings, planning and driving their many projects forward. Several of the SVPA-ASMAP-ASAP board members are particularly active in the EFPT Working Groups and contributed to the collaborative mindset at this event.
European collaboration at the core
This first edition was only possible thanks to a tight partnership between the Swiss and French national trainee associations – SVPA-ASMAP-ASAP and AFFEP – working hand in hand with the EFPT Board. The idea of a Winter Event first emerged informally during the EFPT Forum in Zurich in 2023, where collaboration between the then-NTA presidents and the local organising committee had been particularly smooth. Building on that experience, a small group of volunteers started to explore whether a second yearly EFPT meeting could be realistic – and Strasbourg 2025 was the answer.
From the Swiss side, SVPA-ASMAP-ASAP coordinated applications, supported the programme, and helped with logistics, following the same spirit as in previous EFPT collaborations. The French association AFFEP, together with local volunteers in Strasbourg, took the lead on on-site organisation and liaising with UNISIMES.
A special thank-you goes to:
- Ilia Humbert, former AFFEP president, whose visionary enthusiasm and local knowledge were crucial to make the idea concrete;
- Claudiu Pavel, EFPT President, who believed early on in this “crazy idea” and supported it within EFPT;
- Danut Mihalca, EFPT Treasurer, who helped design a financially accessible model (50€ participation and 50€ accommodation fees) for this pilot edition;
- Violette Corre, SVPA-ASMAP-ASAP President, whose organisational skills and very pragmatic mindset kept the project on track;
- Filippo Toni, Former SVPA-ASMAP-ASAP President member of the Zurich 2023 Forum LOC, bringing experience from previous EFPT events;
- Tristan Quinet from AFFEP, for essential “on-the-spot” support throughout the weekend.
A promising start – and what comes next
According to the feedback gathered during and after the weekend, the Winter Event format was very well received: participants highlighted the balance between structured learning, protected time for working-group projects, and informal networking moments in the city of Strasbourg. Social activities – from shared dinners to discovering the city’s winter atmosphere – played an important role in strengthening the sense of community.
Perhaps the most encouraging sign is that several NTAs have already expressed interest in hosting future editions, confirming that there is a real need for this additional in-person space within EFPT. While the Winter Event remains a pilot project, the hope is that it will become a recurring, rotating meeting that supports continuity of EFPT work and offers more trainees the chance to get involved at the European level.
For SVPA-ASMAP-ASAP, Strasbourg 2025 was another step in our long-term commitment to international collaboration and to improving psychiatric training, both in Switzerland and across Europe. We look forward to seeing how the Winter Event will evolve and (hopefully) to welcoming many of you to future EFPT initiatives.
‘Till the next event 😉
