Anxiety Disorders (Test)

Sample content to test design

Aim of the course

The Executive Committee, together with the Educational Committee and the ECNP Networks, has developed the ECNP Courses to broaden the range of its educational activities for both clinical and non-clinical scientists. As part of this endeavour, interested individuals can enroll in an innovative two-year course, comprising colloquia, live e-learnings, directed reading and report submission, leading to recognition by ECNP of achieving specialist expertise in anxiety disorders. This course has been developed by the ECNP Anxiety Disorders Research Network (ADRN) and the ECNP Educational Committee and it will be presented as a first pilot. No registration fee is charged for the pilot courses (full course and e-learning only). In return ECNP will request participants to give feedback on the course at set times during the two years. This feedback will be used for potential development of similar courses.

How to participate

There are two ways to follow the course:

  1. Selected for the complete two-year course including two in-person colloquia
    A limited group of participants is selected by a review committee on the basis of their career potential. For these selected participants, the course takes two years and consist of a series of directed reading, participation in 20 live e-learnings (participate in 15 to finish the course), an assessment and two in-person colloquia on the Friday afternoon/evening before the 36th ECNP Congress in Barcelona and the 37th ECNP Congress in Milan. There is no registration fee for this pilot course. In return participants agree to provide feedback several times during the course to be enable ECNP to evaluate the pilot.
    Registration for the 36th ECNP Congress Barcelona 2023 (purchased via the congress website) and the 37th ECNP Congress Milan 2024 is mandatory. Travel and hotel accommodation is at own cost of the participant.
    Writing an assessment after the full course is required. Attendance will be recorded.

    It is no longer possible to apply for the whole two-year course. The deadline was 3 May 2023.
         
  2. Join the live e-learnings only
    Interested individuals can join the e-learning sessions. Participants can follow the live e-learnings per block of five sessions, but will not be invited to the in-person colloquia or asked to submit as written assessment. They will have access to the direct reading material.
    There is no registration fee for the pilot course. In return, participants agree to provide feedback after the live e-learnings to enable ECNP to evaluate the pilot.

    Registration for the e-learnings 
    It is possible to register for live e-learnings up to two days before the start of a module.

About the course

The two-year course consists of:

  • Directed reading
    Participants should read two or three key papers linked to each key topic, and to reflect upon 2-3 learning points for each paper, in advance of attending live e-learnings in which they would discuss their responses with their peers and the facilitator. A link to pdf versions of all key papers will be provided, and data will be collected on when papers are downloaded.

     
  • Live e-learnings
    ECNP will host a series of one hour-long live e-learnings on key topics presented by experts within the ADRN Network; participants are expected to attend at least 15 live e-learnings. Each e-learning will have a moderator in addition to the expert speaker. E-learnings will include questions-and-answers for discussion, in the manner of an Educational Update Sessions.

    The e-learning sessions are grouped and follow a course from phenomenology via aetiology to treatment, and address both trans-diagnostic concerns and specific points relating to particular conditions.

Course structure

All e-learnings take place on a Thursday from 16.00-17.00 CET (Central European Time)/CEST (Central European Summer Time).

Module 1
Moderator: David Baldwin

Date  Topic   Speaker
 1 June 2023 Classification and phenomenology Katharina Domschke, Germany
 15 June 2023 Generalised anxiety disorder David Baldwin, United Kingdom
 29 June 2023 Pre-clinical models of anxiety and anxiety disorders David Slattery, Germany
 7 September 2023 Genetics of anxiety traits and disorders Iris Hovatta, Finland
 21 September 2023 Neurocognitive models of anxiety disorders Matt Garner, United Kingdom


Module 2
Moderator: David Baldwin

 DateTopic   Speaker
 9 November 2023 Experimental medicine models of anxiety disorders
 
 Koen Schruers, The Netherlands
 
 23 November 2023 Emerging targets in psychopharmacology Nicolas Singewald, Austria
 
 18 January 2024 Early intervention for anxiety disorders  Bernardo dell’ Osso, Italy
 
 1 February 2024 Neuroimaging of anxiety disorders Nic van der Wee, The Netherlands
 
 Janna Marie Bas-Hoogendam, The Netherlands


Module 3
Moderator: David Baldwin (15 and 29 February; 18 April and 2 May)
Moderator for 4 April: Paolo Brambilla
 

 Date Topic Speaker
 15 February 2024 Digital mental health and anxiety disorders   Eduard Maron, Estonia
 
 29 February 2024 Epidemiology of anxiety disorders Frank Jacobi, Germany
 4 April 2024 Panic disorder  Borwin Bandelow, Germany
 
 18 April 2024 Social anxiety disorder Dan Stein, South Africa
 
 2 May 2024 Separation anxiety disorder Stefano Pini, Italy


Module 4
Moderator for 16 May: Katharina Domschke
 

Date Topic  Speaker
 16 May 2024  Current pharmacological treatments Simon Davies, UK/Canada
 
 30 May 2024 Current and emerging psychological treatments Julius Burkauskas, Lithuania
 
 13 June 2024 Neuromodulatory treatments Stefano Pallanti, Italy
 
 27 June 2024 Virtual reality based treatments Peter Zwanzger, Germany
 
 11 July 2024 Self-help strategies and mutual aid Nicky Lidbetter, United Kingdom

 

  • Assessment (only for participants selected for the full course)
    Selected participants are required to submit a 3,000-word report, focused on evidence-based management of three patients (for clinicians) or laboratory work relating to anxiety (pre-clinical scientists). Reports will be assessed by two markers (drawn from the ADRN Network and the Educational Committee) who will agree whether or not the report meets pre-specified standards.

     
  • Colloquium (only for participants selected for the full course)
    The colloquium provides participants a face to face meeting, organised on Friday 6 October 2023 from 15.00-20.00 CEST (Central European Summer Time) in Barcelona, prior to the 36th ECNP Congress. The programme will have two 2-hour sessions each with four topics and includes a dinner for networking. The second colloquium will take place on the Friday before the 37th ECNP Congress in Milan.

     
  • Certificate of completion (only for participants selected for the full course)
    Based on evidence of accessing key papers, participation in at least 15 e-learnings, participation at the colloquia and submission of a satisfactory report, a certificate of achieving specialist expertise in anxiety disorders will be awarded.

Faculty

John Cryan

Chair, Scientific Programme Committee

University College Cork