Redaction by Anne-Françoise Allaz and Alex Minzer
The Swiss Academy for Psychosocial and Psychosomatic Medicine (SAPPM in german/ASMPP in french) was created in 2008 as an umbrella association integrating different societies and institutions sharing activities or interest in this domain. Today, the SAPPM has more than 850 members from various professional backgrounds, the great majority being primary care physicians. The Board is assisted by a Scientific Comitteee and several dedicated committes.
Its goals are to promote psychosomatic medicine at the clinical level but also in the political arena, as well as to offer and validate post-graduate and continuous training and research in the field.
The SAPPM delivers a subtitle of « specialist in psychosomatic and psychosocial medicine ». In 2018, 686 physicians were accredited with this title which is recognized by the Swiss Medical Board (FMH). It allows (in principle) to charge the health insurance for longer consultation times.
Activities : The SAPMM is getting mandates from the Federal Office of Public Health or the Swiss Medical Board to participate in guidelines and procedures. Numerous training courses are offered throughout the year in the different aspects of psychosomatic medicine (ie : doctor-patient communication, care for MUS, chronic pain, trauma, burn-out, eating disorders, Balint groups, and many others…). Many are part of training events organised by general internal medicine specialists contributing to the high visibility among general practitionners. The « Swiss Society of Consultation Liaison Psychiatry-SSCLP », – also a member of EAPM – is for its part concentrating on the needs of psychiatrists.
The SAPPM faces the challenge of promoting common grounds and quality control for the courses and institutions active in psychosomatic care and training in a federalist and multilingual environment. At the political level, recognition of the specificity of psychosomatic medicine is at stake. The SAPPM is presently also reflecting on its involvment and support for research. The strenghtening of international links with neighbouring countries and the EAPM is under way.
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