The Executive Committee of the Asian Federation of Psychiatric Associations (AFPA) made a decision in Bangkok in August 2013 that AFPA would hold its regional meeting in the year between the World Congress of Asian Psychiatry (WCAP). This meeting has now been called the Regional Congress of Asian Psychiatry (RCAP). With the help of Malaysian Psychiatric Association (MPA), the 1st RCAP was successfully held at the Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 22‐24 May 2014 in conjunction with the 18th Malaysian Conference on Psychological Medicine. The theme of the congress “Transforming Mental Health : Managing Transitions” was chosen to emphasize the tremendous therapeutic advancement and service transformation in the mental health care and also the future direction of mental health services among Asian countries.