essage from the Chair of the ISAM Communication Committee
Dr. Sophia Achab
As we close the first half of 2025, the ISAM Communication Committee is delighted to share highlights from a season of intense and meaningful global activity. Our Annual ISAM Global Congress in Hamburg brought together colleagues from over 50 countries, affirming ISAM’s mission of global excellence in addiction medicine. We now turn our eyes toward ISAM 2026 in Rotterdam, under the timely theme: “Improving Addiction Treatment Outcomes: Tackling Old & New Challenges.”
We were proud to see ISAM members leading and contributing at key international events, including in The Royal College of Psychiatrists International Congress (RCPsych) in Wales, UK and the International College of Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Disorders in Hertfordshire, UK.
Dr. Hamad Al Ghafri ISAM President, Dr. Marc Potenza ISAM President-Elect, Dr. Sophia Achab ISAM BOD Chair of Communication Office, Dr Yasser Khazaal ISAM BOD and ISAM Tresorer and, Dr Hamed Ekhtiari BOD and Chair of ISAM Regional Council, actively represented our network in multiple settings, engaging with institutions and thought leaders to strengthen research and clinical collaboration.
We underline the WHO Collaborating Centre SWI54 – 10 Tips for parents on Screens management eBooklet, and the Lancet Psychiatry Commission on Global action against Problematic Usage of the Internet (PUI)-featuring Working Packages chairs Marc Potenza (ISAM Publication Committee), Hamed Ekhtiari (ISAM Regional Council) and myself (ISAM Communication Office).
At the RCPsych Congress, ISAM was well represented in high-level sessions:
- Dr. Marc Potenza presenting on “Conceptualization, epidemiology and health economic cost and burden of Problematic Internet Use (PIU) – a global perspective.”
- Dr. Sophia Achab presenting on “Evidence-based care and policy making for PUI: Designing fit-for-purpose prevention and treatment response programs.”
- Dr. Dan Stein delivering a compelling talk on pharmacological treatments of PUI.
Importantly, the Lancet Psychiatry Commission on Problematic Usage of the Internet (PUI) was further discussed during the Global Engagement for Research in PUI meeting in Hertfordshire, hosted by Naomi Fineberg, bringing together leading experts from around the world, including Marc Potenza, Sophia Achab,Trevor Robbins, Barbara Sahakian, Eric Hollander, and many others.
During many events this semester, ISAM highlighted its longstanding collaboration with WHO through joining the WHO-European Council European Health Alliance on Alcohol launched in may 2025 to reduce the unsustainable toll of alcohol harms in Europe represented by myself; and its presence at the Fifth WHO Forum on Alcohol, Drugs and Addictive Behaviours (FADAB2025) represented by President Dr Hamad Al Ghafri.
Moreover, we were present at the 15th edition of the ALBATROS Congress Paris (Albatros2025) and 5th WADD World Congress organized by our esteemed colleague Amine Benyamina ,President of French Federation of Addiction (FFA), one ISAM’s key partners. The meeting was the gathering of eminent scholars globally including Dr Nora Volkow, Director of NIDA (US). I had the pleasure during Albatros 2025 of chairing with ISAM BOD Dr. Yasser Khazaal an excellent session that explored the need for multidimensional responses to behavioural addictions—featuring brilliant speakers such as Ornella Corazza (Italy, UK) and Matthias Brand (Germany).
We also proudly launched the Women and Addiction Interest Group (WAIG) within ISAM, with Dr Vania Rudolf as Chair and myself as Co-Chair, fostering global dialogue and advocacy on gender-specific needs in addiction research, care and Leadership.
Last week, we celebrated World Social Media Day with the release of our new booklet “10 Tips for Parents to Encourage Conscious Screen Use, While Promoting Healthy Family Relationships and a Variety of Activities”, now available in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese, as part of the ISAM Communication Office’s commitment to digital health and prevention among youth.
We also invite you to discover and share:
New publications from the ISAM NExT committee
Lancet Psychiatry Commission paper on Problematic Usage of the Internet (Achab, Potenza, Ekhtiari et al.)
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(24)00323-7/fulltext
French book on Gaming Disorder “TROUBLE DU JEU VIDEO – L’ESSENTIEL” (2024) under the direction of Yasser Khazaal, Joel Billieux, Sophia Achab, Oliver Simon, Magali Dufour, Amine Benyamina, with preface by Prof. Marc Potenza
https://www.revmed.ch/livres/trouble-du-jeu-video-l-essentiel#tab=tab-shop
In parallel, we celebrated World Social Media Day with the release of our new booklet “10 Tips for Parents to Encourage Conscious Screen Use, While Promoting Healthy Family Relationships and a Variety of Activities” available in four languages (English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese), now available in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese, as part of the ISAM Communication Office’s commitment to digital health and prevention among youth.
Download the Pdf booklet here: https://www.unige.ch/medecine/psyat/en/centre-collaborateur-de-loms-pour-la-formation-et-la-recherche-en-sante-mentale
And the launch of a new ISAM special interest group: WAIG – Women and Addiction Interest Group, aiming to strengthen gender-informed perspectives and global networking in addiction research, practice, and policy.
Educational opportunities, including NIDA’s Innovations for SUD certificate programme
Upcoming events from Jakarta, Brussels to San Juan
Calls for participation, new training and job offers
Let’s continue working together across borders, disciplines, and systems—anchored in our shared values of knowledge, equity, and care.
With warm regards,
Dr Sophia Achab, MD, PhD
Chair, ISAM Communication Committee
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