Introduction Migration of medical professionals has been rapidly increasing in the past decades and it strongly affects origin and destination countries. Objectives We aimed to explore the extent and the reasons of migration among psychiatric trainees and early career psychiatrists in Iran. Methods Our semi-structured 61-items questionnaire inquired participants’ demographics, experiences of short-term mobility (from 3 months to 1 year), long-term migration (more than 1 year) and attitudes towards migration (current and future plans). Results A total of 184 responses were received. Most (73.4 %) participants were female, and within the age range of 25–65 (Mean: 34.9). Only 15.2 % had a short-term mobility experience, mostly due to academic reasons (35.7 %). Most (75 %) stated that this short-term mobility experience influenced them in favor of migration. The majority (83.7 %) had ‘ever’ considered leaving Iran, and more than half (57.3 %) stated they ‘strongly agree’ or ‘agree’ to leaving the country ‘now’ (at the time of the study). The main reason to migrate from Iran was first political, followed by work, financial, social, religious, academic, and cultural reasons, and the least ranked were personal reasons. In relation to their 5-year plans, 67.3 % saw themselves in the country they currently live in, Iran. The main features reported for an attractive job were ‘pleasant work environment’ (97.3 %), ‘good welfare and social security’ (96.7 %) and ‘high salary ‘(96.2 %). Conclusions This study calls for more support of psychiatric trainees and early career psychiatrists in Iran. Improvements in the political context, work conditions and finances might lower the rate of migratory intention and brain drain.

Introduction Psychiatry's postgraduate training curriculum in Iran has been revised and one of the core revisions has been the incorporation of full‐time 9‐months of psychotherapy training. However, little is known about psychotherapy training in Iran. Methods An online anonymous survey was developed by the Early Career Psychiatrists (ECP) Section of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA). The survey included 16 questions about the: (a) quality of psychotherapy training (supervision, type of psychotherapy training available, barriers in accessing training); (b) organizational aspects of psychotherapy training (compulsoriness, payment, and assessment); (c) satisfaction with training in psychotherapy; (d) self‐confidence in the use of psychotherapy. This survey was circulated to Iranian early career psychiatrists and psychiatric trainees. Results 112 early career psychiatrists and psychiatric trainees from across Iran responded to the survey; 98.2% of which stated that psychotherapy training is included in their psychiatry training, and cognitive behavioral therapy and psychodynamic psychotherapy were the most reported modalities integrated into their psychiatric training. Moreover, 43.3% of the participants reported that they were satisfied or very satisfied with their psychotherapy training during the training years. Discussion Psychotherapy is integrated into psychiatric training programs in most educational centers in Iran. The modalities and satisfaction of trainees are similar to that of high‐income countries in other continents. Supervision and training in modalities like family therapy could be further implemented and adapted to the Iranian culture.

IntroductionStigmatizing attitude toward patients with severe mental disorders is one of the main obstacles of improving the mental health of societies. Media plays an important role in how the public views mental health issues. Thus, we have performed this study to investigate the Iranian theater artists' mental health status, and their view toward patients with severe mental disorders.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was performed via an online anonymous survey including the Social Distance Scale and the Dangerousness Scale measuring the attitude of participants toward patients with severe mental disorders, and the 28-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28). It was disseminated to artists who had the experience of working in theater in the past year in Iran.ResultsOur survey was responded by 104 artists. Social Distance Scale scores' mean was 10.67 (scores can range from 0 to 21) and the Dangerousness Scale scores' mean was 28.87 (scores can range from 8 to 56); higher scores indicate worse discrimination. Our participants' strongest fears were to let someone with a severe mental disorder to take care of their children, and for these groups of patients to obtain a hunting license. Twenty-six (25%) participants were at risk of moderate to severe anxiety, and 18 (17.3%) participants were at risk of moderate to severe depression.ConclusionBy and large, our participants did not have a positive attitude toward patients with severe mental disorders. Providing the knowledge of mental health issues can help the general public to be more tolerant of the mentally ill and specifically, theater can be employed to fight stigmatizing mental health issues by educating its audience.

Objectives This study was conducted to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on psychiatric trainees and early career psychiatrists in Iran. Methods In this cross-sectional survey, the authors used a 24-item questionnaire inquiring about the sociodemographic characteristics of the participants, their views on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their professional careers, methods of education, workplace environment, well-being and mental health, and the use of telepsychiatry in Iran. Results A total of 159 responses were received. The majority ( n =124, 78.0%) reported that “some but not all obligatory activities have been converted to online activities.” Most of the participants ( n =103, 64.8%) stated that the pandemic had not affected the duration of their training. Less than half ( n =61, 38.4%) reported that their well-being had been affected rather negatively. Some ( n =59, 37.1%) reported that their supervisors or coworkers had no significant impact on their well-being, whereas others ( n =53, 33.3%) reported a rather positive impact. Almost half of the participants ( n =78, 49.0%) did not have access to free psychological counseling. In addition, more than half ( n =89, 56.0%) reported that there were no recommendations on how to proceed with telepsychiatry. Conclusions This study calls for improvements in the education and well-being of psychiatric trainees and early career psychiatrists in Iran amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Additional research should be carried out to maximize learning, provide mental health care, and use telepsychiatry.

No abstract