My journey for early intervention started 16 years ago when I did an academic fellowship at EPPIC in Melbourne. At that time, research on high risk study for psychosis was beginning to flourish. After coming back to Korea in 2003, I translated the CAARMS into Korean and trained many mental health professionals working in the community mental health centers in Korea. As a screening tool for early detection of psychosis, I standardized the Eppendorf Schizophrenia Inventory (ESI) of which the best cut-off score was found to be 28. The Korean version of the standardized ESI is being widely used in more than 200 community mental health centers and many hospitals in Korea.

I have met many Asian colleagues who have the same interest in early intervention and I work most closely with Eric Chen and Masafumi Mizuno. I consider them as my brothers and 道伴 (companion for seeking truth). We have organised an Early Psychosis Declaration for Asia by the Asian Network of Early Psychosis (View PDF) about 10 years ago and currently I am serving as the chairman for the ANEP. Through the ANEP, we have organised many symposiums successfully for the IEPA and launched several projects such as a survey on the stigma of and discontinuation of antipsychotics. In the coming IEPA in Boston, active members of the ANEP have successfully organized two symposiums and will present and share our results.

The reason for me to be elected as president-elect is simple and clear. Though the ANEP has come long way to improve research and service system in early intervention, we are behind compared to Western countries. By supporting the future of IEPA, we can make this a milestone for changing the mental health system and boosting more research in Asian countries. Another reason is that as I am currently pursuing a 5-year cohort study in early psychosis and my closet Korean colleague, Sung-Wan Kim is doing several community projects in early psychosis, we would like to present and share our results in a future IEPA conference hopefully in Korea. I would be grateful if you can consider me as nominee for president-elect.

Early intervention in psychiatric disorders has become a widespread concept and it has generated fantastic research and clinical developments. Yet, it is by far not implanted everywhere and still needs a lot of advocacy and support in order to remain on the agenda of deciders. In addition, if the strategies developed for psychosis have expanded to other domains of psychiatry, there is much work remaining before it can be applied in clinical settings.

IEPA Early Intervention in Mental Health has played a key role in coordinating forces around the world so far and it has an important role to play in order for these progress to continue. Moreover, the impact of the early intervention movement can go beyond creating science and clinical strategies: it also has the potential to change the way people look at psychiatric disorders and hence to reduce the stigma patients and their families are facing, by proposing a less pessimistic and more ambitious approach to mental illness.

I have been active as a clinician and researcher in early intervention since year 2000 and have been part of the board over the last 4 years. If I am chosen as president elect, I will put all my energy in pursuing the work initiated by others and in expanding its impact, in order to promote this treatment and research philosophy even further.

I would like to be considered for a board position within the IEPA and feel that my extensive and broad experience in the field would make me an ideal candidate.

I have been involved with the development of research and evaluation in early intervention in psychosis for a number of years. This has included extensive research in the area of emerging psychosis and At Risk Mental States and the development of treatment strategies to support these individuals and more latterly family based interventions. More recently I have been involved with studies targeting social disability in a trans-diagnostic approach with the aim of developing specific interventions to minimise this.

I have supported the development of clinical services, locally, regionally and nationally across England for a number of years and was central to the Expert Reference Group that established the Access and Waiting Times Standard for EIP. I continue to provide clinical leadership nationally in this area in order to support the uptake of these standards. I have recently been appointed as joint National Clinical Advisor within the Royal College of Psychiatry with regard to the EIP National Clinical Audit of Psychosis. Furthermore, I have excellent international links and collaborations.

I would welcome the opportunity to help promote the vital work of the IEPA, supporting existing members whilst looking for opportunities to develop and expand the membership.

As an added bonus I feel that as a mental health nurse I would bring a wider and more diverse multidisciplinary perspective to the board which to date has been predominantly made up of Psychiatry and Psychology colleagues.

I believe that my experience to date across research, policy and clinical services provide me with an excellent skill set to work at board level within the IEPA and would welcome the opportunity to be considered for this post.

I am standing for President Elect of IEPA for four key reasons.

1. I want to continue the work of transforming IEPA into an association that focuses on a broad array of first episode conditions. As President Elect I would work to ensure that IEPA, both the Association and the conference, is welcoming of researchers, clinicians, consumers and carers whose experience has been about illnesses other than psychosis.

2. As President Elect I would work for the greater inclusion in IEPA of carers and consumers with experience of both psychosis and other disorders. IEPA has contributed to understanding psychosis and to the development of service responses by creating a rich forum for bringing together those with lived and learned experience. I believe that more actively including those with lived experience will drive a similar transformation around all mental disorders.

3. IEPA has always nurtured the development of young and emerging researchers. As President Elect I would seek to ensure that IEPA continues and improves this vital mission.

4. I have worked as a clinician and researcher in youth mental health since 1997. I have been an IEPA member since 2002 and a board member since 2015. I am standing for President Elect because I believe that with my experience I can make a great contribution to both the IEPA leadership and membership.