As the summer break comes to an end, we return with renewed energy and commitment. 2025 has already been a remarkable ye

ar for GAMIAN-Europe, marked by new projects, important collaborations, and growing visibility at the European level. But more than that, this year has shown how far we have come. GAMIAN-Europe is no longer only about ensuring that patients are “heard.” We are shaping decisions, setting agendas, and leading alongside professionals because every action we take is for patients, with patients, or initiated by patients themselves.

This year brought a historic milestone: for the first time, people with lived experience are not only observers but full voting members of the Board of the European Psychiatric Association. This recognition of equal partnership is more than symbolic; it changes how psychiatry in Europe is shaped. Our presence at major congresses has also shifted; we are co-designing symposia with leading experts, showing that the future of care depends on real cooperation between professionals and patients. We also advanced with the EPA–GAMIAN-Europe joint mapping of patient organisations across Europe, which will highlight strengths, gaps, and opportunities and ensure that no patient voice is left isolated.

The first half of 2025 was full of activity. In January, we welcomed the launch of the European Parliament Intergroup on Mental Health, where we play an active role in the secretariat. In March, for Brain Awareness Week, we launched our Mental-Brain Health Advocacy Roadmap, co-created with experts and people with lived experience. In April, we held a webinar with EPA and EUFAMI on digital health interventions for schizophrenia and took part in the EPA 2025 Congress, where patient perspectives featured strongly. April also marked the inaugural session of the European Parliament Intergroup on Mental Health in Strasbourg, a significant milestone in aligning lived experience with policymaking at the highest level.

In May, we marked European Mental Health Week 2025 and presented in several key events, a powerful moment of advocacy and visibility. We launched our new Mental Health Dashboard, hosted a high-level webinar on data and rights-based mental health, and brought members together for our General Assembly. At the end of the month, during European Week Against Cancer, we launched the Mental Health & Cancer Hub, providing resources and lived-experience stories from across 20+ countries.

The summer months continued this momentum. We contributed to the Boehringer Ingelheim GPPS Summit in Barcelona and the WHO High‑Level Conference in Paris, all with a focus on patient leadership. We also joined the Lundbeck #1VoiceSummit in Copenhagen and the 19th European Congress of Psychology in Paphos, where our President spoke on the power of patient leadership.

This summer, we expanded our Experts by Experience (ExE), whose insights will guide EU- and Wellcome Trust-funded research from design to real-world impact. Since the start of 2025, GAMIAN-Europe has also joined more EU-funded projects, ensuring lived experience is central to policy and research. We took part in the CSA BrainHealth General Assembly in Riga, contributed to TRUSTING’s annual Barcelona meeting in Barcelona, and recently began work on REMESOS, a new EU4Health-funded project focused on mental health and social support.

Looking ahead, the rest of 2025 will be just as active. In September, we launched our workplace stress and suicide prevention project and hosted a joint webinar on migraine and mental health. We are preparing a stronger campaign on stigma for World Mental Health Day and will begin work on unmet needs in mental health, producing new resources and policy recommendations. We will also be present at the ECNP Congress and the Brain Innovation Days, ensuring the patient voice remains visible and central.

The coming months will test us, but they also bring opportunities. Together with our members, partners, and growing network of experts by experience, we will continue to show that patient leadership is not an accessory but the foundation of fair, effective, and human mental health care in Europe.

This is our time – to work for patients, with patients, and because of patients.

For more information on GAMIAN-Europe’s ongoing projects and initiatives, please follow its social media LinkedIn, Facebook, X, Instagram, Bluesky and YouTube.

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