Psychiatry Faces a critical Shortage: 15% of Intern Positions Remain Unfilled in 2025
A notable challenge looms over the future of mental healthcare in France: 15% of psychiatry internship positions went unfilled in 2025, highlighting an urgent need too revitalize the specialty’s appeal. This concerning statistic underscores the critical need for action to ensure adequate staffing for this essential field of public health.
Despite a robust initial mobilization in 2024 with the launch of the national #choisirpsychiatrie campaign – a collaborative effort between the National College of Psychiatry University (CNUP), the National Association of Students in Medicine in France (ANEMF), and the French Association of Federative Psychiatry Students (Affep) - a solution won’t be immediate.Experts point to the experience of the United Kingdom as evidence.
“Changing the image of a discipline with students takes time,” explains Olivier Bonnot, president of the CNUP. “The british experience, where the ‘choose psychiatry’ campaign was deployed from 2017 to 2024 with strong goverment support, shows that it took almost seven years to reach a 100% fulfillment rate of psychiatry training positions across the four United Kingdom nations.”
To address the shortage, France is expanding its outreach efforts.The CNUP and its partners are building on the success of the inaugural “Nights of Psychiatry” event, held in eight university cities in January 2025. In 2026, the event will expand to 32 university cities with medical UFRs, taking place on January 30th.
The campaign aims to dismantle persistent negative perceptions surrounding the field. A 2023 CSA Institute study commissioned by the CNUP revealed alarming public attitudes:
* 61% of French people report feeling scared by the world of psychiatry.
* Over half are unsure of which professional to consult for mental health concerns.
* 51% of high school students associate psychiatry primarily with confinement.
The #Choisirpsychiatrie campaign, launched in 2024, directly confronts these misconceptions through campus events, video testimonials from interns and practitioners, and open dialog with medical students. Despite these efforts,the CNUP emphasizes the need for greater support from public authorities to reverse the trend by the end of the decade.
Interestingly,the profession itself enjoys high satisfaction. A 2023 CSA survey found that 90% of practicing psychiatrists would choose their specialty again, highlighting the intellectual and personal rewards of a career at the intersection of neuroscience and the human sciences.
The CNUP continues to advocate for increased visibility and understanding of psychiatry, hoping to attract a new generation of dedicated professionals to address the growing mental health needs of the population.
