3rd Saudi Psychiatry Association Conference 2027 — Advancing Psychiatry: Collaborative Value-Based Care
25–27 March 2027 · Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia · In-Person
The Saudi Psychiatric Association (SPA) convenes its 3rd national conference in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia, on 25–27 March 2027 (rescheduled from the originally announced 2026 dates). Built around the theme "Advancing Psychiatry: Collaborative Value-Based Care," the meeting is expected to draw over 1,000 participants — making it the largest dedicated mental health gathering in the Kingdom.
Theme and focus areas
The 2027 theme emphasises interdisciplinary collaboration, improved service deliverability, and holistic approaches that bridge psychiatry with the rest of medicine. Five priority focus areas anchor the scientific content:
- Integrated & collaborative care pathways
- Value, outcomes and quality in mental health systems
- Holistic biopsychosocial treatment optimisation
- Digital health, data and future care models
- Acute care, recovery and community continuity
Within those, submitted and invited content spans mood and anxiety disorders, psychotic and severe mental illness, child and adolescent mental health, geriatric and cognitive disorders, addiction and substance use, psychological and social interventions, psychopharmacology and somatic treatments, neuropsychiatry, consultation-liaison psychiatry, public mental health and policy, ethics and culture, education and workforce, digital psychiatry, suicide prevention and crisis care, and perinatal and women's mental health.
Programme format
The conference uses a layered educational structure: keynote lectures and the SPA Distinguished Lecture run as plenaries in the main auditorium with no competing sessions; featured lectures address timely and emerging priorities; workshops (90–120 minutes) are interactive and skills-focused, using case discussions, demonstrations and guided exercises with capacity limits to protect the learning environment; and Meet the Experts forums and panel discussions give delegates direct access to faculty. Industry-sponsored sessions run in dedicated slots, are clearly marked as non-CME, and sit outside the independently developed accredited programme.
Scientific Committee
- Dr. Ibrahim AlSheikhi — Chairman, Military Hospital in South Region
- Dr. Amenah Al-Hemyari — Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University
- Dr. Lubna AlBassam — King Fahad Specialist Hospital-Dammam
- Dr. Ahmed Tawfiq Flimban — Erada Complex, Addiction Services in Jeddah
- Dr. Mohammed Almuqahwi — Erada Mental Health Complex Dammam
- Dr. Khalid Bazaid — University of Ottawa, Canada
- Prof. Yasser Abdulrazeq — Erada Mental Health Complex Dammam
- Dr. Abdulmajeed Zarbah — Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University
Who should attend
SPA has designed the meeting for the whole mental health team — psychiatrists of all subspecialties, physicians involved in mental health, psychologists, psychiatric nurses, social workers and case managers, occupational therapists, pharmacists in psychiatric care, residents, fellows and medical students, alongside health administrators, policymakers and public mental health researchers.
CME and abstracts
The conference is expected to offer more than 20 CME credit hours for lectures plus more than 10 hours for workshops and courses, subject to final accreditation approval. Abstract submission is open ahead of the 30 September 2026 deadline (Arabic source), with acceptance notifications issued before 1 November 2026. Enquiries can be directed to abstracts@spa.org.sa or via WhatsApp on +966 550 156 550.
Welcome from the SPA President
It is my pleasure to invite you to join us for this upcoming conference of the Saudi Psychiatric Association. While the full programme is in development, we are designing a high-impact scientific meeting featuring plenary sessions, keynote and distinguished lectures, featured and scientific sessions, panel discussions, workshops, and interactive Meet the Experts forums. Your contribution is essential.
Dr. Feras Al-Awad, President, Saudi Psychiatric Association
