A proposal for a psychopharmacology–pharmacotherapy catalogue of learning objectives and a curriculum in Europe.

ObjectivesPost-graduate training for specialisation in psychiatry and psychotherapy is part of a 4–6-year programme. This paper aims to inform on the general situation of teaching and training of psychopharmacology–psychopharmacotherapy in Europe. It presents the need for a psychopharmacotherapy education in psychiatric training programmes. Arguments as well as a proposal for a catalogue of learning objectives and an outline of a psychopharmacology curriculum are presented.MethodsBased on their experience and on an analysis of the literature, the authors, experts in psychopharmacology–pharmacotherapy teaching, critically analyse the present situation and propose the development of a curriculum at the European level.ResultsTeaching programmes vary widely between European countries and, generally, teaching of psychopharmacology and pharmacotherapy does not exceed two-dozen hours. This is insufficient if one considers the central importance of psychopharmacology. A psychopharmacology–psychopharmacotherapy curriculum for the professional training of specialists in psychiatry and psychotherapy is proposed.ConclusionsAs the number of hours of theoretical teaching and practical training is insufficient, a catalogue of learning objectives should be established, which would then be part of a comprehensive curriculum at the European level. It could be inspired partly by those few previously proposed by other groups of authors and organisations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]