EHS International Mental Health Conference 2025
October 3-4, 2025
InterContinental Dubai Festival City, UAE
Futuristic Mental Health: Empowering Families, Transforming Lives
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Captured Moments
EHS Mental Health Conference 2023–2024
HE Dr. Yousif AlSerkal
Director-General, Emirates Health Services
MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR GENERAL
The declaration of 2025 as the Year of the Community by the leadership of the United Arab Emirates underscores a strategic national commitment to strengthening the social fabric by prioritizing mental well-being, family cohesion, and inclusive development. Within this vision, the mental health of children and youth take center stage—recognized as both a foundational pillar of future readiness and a critical investment in human capital.
The annual EHS International Mental Health Conferences reflect a forward-leaning agenda that positions the individual at the center of the healthcare delivery model across the lifespan. These conferences advance sustainable community transformation by promoting systems that empower families, strengthen communities, and adapt to the evolving mental health needs of every generation.
Aligned with the UAE Vision 2071 and the National Strategy for Wellbeing 2031, Emirates Health Services continues to advance a comprehensive mental health strategy rooted in prevention, early intervention, and digital transformation. By centering families as co-navigators in the mental health journey of children and adolescents, the strategy reinforces the essential role of the home in promoting resilience, early detection, and sustained recovery.
Globally, this agenda resonates with the World Health Organization’s Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan 2013–2030, which calls for community-integrated and youth-sensitive mental health systems. It also echoes the principles of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, especially SDG 3, which emphasizes good health and well-being for all ages.
This conference aspires not merely to exchange knowledge but to serve as a launchpad for policy alignment, capacity development, and systemic reform—locally and internationally. By placing youth mental health at the heart of its agenda, it contributes to building societies where every child and young person can thrive with dignity, support, and opportunity.
The vision of Emirates Health Services remains steadfast: to create an inclusive and resilient mental health system that empowers families, elevates youth potential, and strengthens community well-being for generations to come.
HE Dr. Essam Mohammed Noor Howayyer
Acting Executive Director, Medical Services Sector, Emirates Health Services
MESSAGE FROM THE ACTING EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR - MEDICAL SERVICES SECTOR
The EHS International Mental Health Conference 2025, held under the theme “Futuristic Mental Health: Empowering Families, Transforming Lives,” reflects Emirates Health Services’ strategic commitment to an inclusive, integrated, and forward-looking model of care. It affirms our belief that mental health is essential to overall wellbeing, and that empowering families is critical to building resilient individuals and healthier communities.
This theme aligns with EHS’s mission to deliver high-quality, evidence-based healthcare that places individuals and families at the center. Through our network of 17 general and specialty hospitals and over 100 healthcare clinics, EHS provides comprehensive services at the primary, secondary, and tertiary levels—ensuring accessible, continuous, and responsive care across the lifespan.
A key focus of this year’s conference is the mental health of children and adolescents—an area of growing national and global concern. In a rapidly evolving world shaped by digital change, social pressures, and complex emotional demands, today’s youth face unprecedented mental health challenges. EHS recognizes this imperative and is responding through integrated services that prioritize early detection, preventive care, and specialized intervention.
Our care pathways are built on evidence-based practices and grounded in a patient- and family-centered philosophy. We are enhancing screening and school health programs in primary care, and expanding access to multidisciplinary teams and pediatric psychiatric services in secondary and tertiary settings. These efforts ensure care is not only clinically effective, but also youth-sensitive, inclusive, and compassionate.
This conference serves as a catalyst for knowledge exchange, innovation, and collaboration—strengthening our ability to meet the mental health needs of the community, particularly the younger generation. As we continue to evolve our services and expand our reach, we reaffirm our vision for a healthcare system where mental health is fully integrated and where families are empowered as partners in care.
EHS remains steadfast in shaping a future where every individual—especially our youth—can thrive in a system that values mental wellbeing as a foundation for lifelong health and national prosperity.
Dr. Noor AlMheiri
Conference Chair, Mental Health Department, Emirates Health Services
MESSAGE FROM THE CONFERENCE CHAIR
The EHS International Mental Health Conference 2025 arrives at a defining moment, as mental health rises to the forefront of healthcare priorities globally. Under the theme “Futuristic Mental Health: Empowering Families, Transforming Lives,” the conference reflects a shared vision where mental wellbeing is essential to societal progress, and where families are central to achieving better outcomes across all life stages.
As Chair of the Conference and Director of the Mental Health Department at Emirates Health Services (EHS), I am proud to lead efforts that are shaping the future of mental healthcare. Our department continues to champion innovative, evidence-based approaches—leveraging digital mental health tools, artificial intelligence, and immersive technologies in collaboration with leading partners at home and abroad.
Al Amal Hospital, EHS’s flagship tertiary psychiatric facility, stands at the heart of this transformation. Its multidisciplinary, person-centered care model ensures we respond effectively to the diverse and evolving mental health needs of individuals across the lifespan.
Beyond clinical innovation, we remain deeply committed to combating the stigma still surrounding mental illness. Stigma remains a major barrier to care—one we are dismantling through education, advocacy, and open dialogue. Our goal is a healthcare culture where mental health is treated with the same urgency, empathy, and dignity as physical health.
This year’s conference offers a powerful platform for global knowledge exchange. We are honored to welcome expert speakers from Australia, the USA, Canada, the UK, Ireland, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE—who will bring diverse perspectives and practical insights into advancing mental health systems. With plenary sessions, interactive workshops, and a broad range of scientific abstracts, attendees will gain tools and strategies that are both visionary and actionable.
This event would not have been possible without the dedication and hard work of our committees. I extend my sincere appreciation to all members of the Organizing and Scientific Committees. The chairs of the committees have both played a pivotal role. Their leadership, expertise, and tireless efforts were instrumental in shaping a high-quality, impactful, and forward-looking program.
Above all, this conference is more than a professional gathering—it is a call to action. It reaffirms our belief that mental health must be fully embedded in healthcare systems, embraced by communities, and guided by science, compassion, and innovation.
We look forward to welcoming you as we work together to build a future where mental wellbeing is a right for all.
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