The XXXIX Educational Symposium of the Clinic of Psychiatry, University Clinical Centre of Serbia, organized in collaboration with the Serbian Psychiatric Association and the Psychiatric Section of the Serbian Medical Society, was held on June 13, 2011, at the Aeroclub in Belgrade. Prof. Dr. Slavica Đukić Dejanović highlighted during her presentation that treatment methods that often stigmatize patients, as outdated medications are sometimes still used, are problematic. She also pointed out that individuals with mental illnesses are frequently rejected and fear their own problems due to being categorized differently.

“A stigmatized patient is, from an economic perspective, significantly more expensive, more prone to crises, and requires additional medication,” said Đukić Dejanović, founder of the Kragujevac Day Psychiatric Hospital, adding that it is essential to follow modern standards and procedures.
She cited the example that in Serbia, 1.5% of the budget is allocated for antipsychotics, the drugs for the most severe patients, which is a significantly lower percentage compared to countries in the region, where, as she mentioned, higher allocations are made.

Speaking about the registration and use of medications, she noted that in some EU countries, such as Germany and the United Kingdom, a drug becomes available to patients immediately after it is registered, whereas in Slovenia, it takes one year, and in Serbia, the average wait time is three years. Đukić Dejanović emphasized the need for the implementation of modern pharmacotherapeutic protocols based on certain principles, and stressed the importance of legislative support. She also reflected on the Draft Law on Mental Health, expressing expectations that the Government of Serbia would adopt it in the coming months so that it could be discussed in the Serbian Assembly by the end of the year.

The symposium also addressed the challenges of integrating children with various disorders into the school system and the employment of such individuals in businesses. Experts pointed out that people with mental illnesses are also confronted with the fear of their surroundings perceiving them as dangerous, and that better public awareness of this issue is necessary. Professor Miroslava Jašović Gašić, Chair of the Scientific Committee of the Symposium and Director of the Psychiatry Clinic of the Clinical Center of Serbia, stated that numerous studies have shown that individuals with mental illnesses suffer from a loss of self-esteem.

“There is a kind of hopelessness in both attitude and environment toward them,” she said, emphasizing that a gathering with the participation of many experts could contribute to the exchange of experiences and new knowledge in the field of psychiatry.

Head of the Department of Scientific Research and Early Interventions in Psychiatry at the Clinic of Psychiatry, University Clinical Centre of Serbia, Nađa Marić Bojović, explained that some studies have shown that the stigmatization of people with mental illnesses is a major obstacle to the timely initiation of treatment.

“We are aware of how early medical consultation promotes a quality life in oncology and cardiology, but in psychiatry, this is not the case, precisely due to the fear people have of taking their loved ones to a psychiatrist,” she said, adding that patients often seek help only at the most advanced stages of the illness.