Tag Archives: mental health

Global Mental Health Inside Stories: Dr. Wais Aria, Kabul, Afghanistan

picTabishWaisAriaThis is the third post in the Global Mental Health Inside Stories. In this series I want to collect and spread information/ideas from people active in mental health from all over the world and specially from low resource settings or fragile countries.
I hope this series contributes to more insight in the challenges and wishes from people active in these settings and adds to a more bottom up movement in global mental health.
Dr. Wais Aria’s answers on 10 interview questions are as follows: Continue reading

Global Mental Health Inside Stories: Dr Jibril I.M. Handuleh, Borama, Somalia

This is the start of a new series on this in2mhconnect website, the ‘Global mental Health Inside Stories’. In this series I want to collect and spread information/ideas from people active in mental health from all over the world and specially from low resource settings or fragile countries.
I hope this series contributes to more insight in the challenges and wishes from people active in these settings and adds to a more bottom up movement in global mental health.
picJibril2womenSomaliaDr. Jibril I.M. Handulah, physician practicing mental health in Borama, Northern Somalia, is the first who is willing to share his insights and experiences with us. Which is fantastic, given his busy schedule.
Dr. Jibril Handulah’s answers on 10 interview questions are as follows: Continue reading

Release of the DSM-5 in 2 weeks. The debate goes on.

The release of DSM-5 will take place during the American Psychiatric Association (APA) 2013 Annual Meeting in San Francisco, May 18-22, 2013.
The DSM-5 is the fifth edition of the APA’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. It’s the most widely used classification system in mental health worldwide and it’s used or relied upon by clinicians, researchers, insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, and policy makers, etc.
The APA runs a special DSM-5 website, where you can find all kind of background information.
Since the first DSM publication in 1952, the manual has always attracted praise, controversy and criticism. You can find a nice overview of all this criticism in the Wikipedia DSM page.
A few very recent articles and comments are:
April 24, David Adam in Nature: ‘Mental health: On the spectrum’. ‘Research suggests that mental illnesses lie along a spectrum, but the field’s latest diagnostic manual still splits them apart’.
April 29, Thomas Insel, National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) USA: ‘Transforming Diagnosis’. ‘The DSM diagnoses are based on a consensus about clusters of clinical symptoms, not any objective laboratory measure’ and ‘That is why NIMH will be re-orienting its research away from DSM categories’.
May 4, John Horgan, Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHRint): Psychiatry in Crisis! Mental Health Director Rejects Psychiatric “Bible” and Replaces With… Nothing, ‘Instead of forming fancy new programs and initiatives and alliances, leaders in mental health should perhaps do some humble, honest soul searching before they decide how to proceed’.
May 6, David Kupfer in Psychiatric News Alert: ‘David Kupfer, M.D., Responds to Criticism of DSM-5 by NIMH Director’. With a link to the the complete text of Kupfer’s statement.
May 6, Pam Belluck and Benedict Carey in The New York Times: Psychiatry’s Guide Is Out of Touch With Science, Experts Say.
Will be continued….

New list: Mental Health and MHPSS manuals for Non-Specialized Settings

Yesterday, I posted a new list on the in2mentalhealth website. It’s a compilation of all the online available and hard copy intervention/program manuals I know.
The Link: More then 20 Mental Health and MHPSS Manuals for Non-Specialized Settings.
The list starts with a couple of links to free downloads and (not free) hard copies of interventions/program manuals for general mental health care. Then a few in the MHPSS (Mental Health and Psycho-Social Support) field. And the last few manuals are focused on care and programs for children.
If you know other manuals or relevant information please comment on this post or email: in2mentalhealth@gmail.

Eight encounters with Mental Health care Kenya

In January 2013, I had the opportunity to extent my stay in Kenya, after providing a MSF (Médecins Sans Frontières, Doctors Without Borders) mental health and basic counseling training for a group of Somali nurses in Nairobi. After these 2 weeks training I arranged a couple of visits and interviews with people working in, or using/surviving, mental health services in Kenya Continue reading

Agenda of more then 80 Global Mental Health, MHPSS, Psychology and Psychiatry Conferences/Events:

Attention: Due to time constraints, I was forced to stop updating this list by September 2016. The information will be outdated soon. Sorry, I hope you will find your information elsewhere on the internet.

7-9 September 2016: 3rd Euro Psychiatrists Meeting, Amsterdam, Netherlands, Europe. psychiatry.global-summit.com

10-12 September 2016: 3rd World Conference on Psychology Sciences, Bali, Indonesia, Asia. wc=psy.org

15-19 September 2016: The Body’s Energy Systems: Doorways for Psychological Change, 18th Annual Canadian Energy Psychology Conference, Halifax, Canada. epccanada.ca

17-20 September 2016: 29th ECNP (Neuroscience) Congress, Vienna, Austria, Europe. ecnpcongress.eu

18-22 September 2016: The International Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions(IACAPAP) 22st World Congress, Calgary, Canada. iacapap2016.org

23-24 September 2016: The Third International Interdisciplinary Conference: Health and Mental Resilience, Krakow, Poland, Europe. resilience-conf.wzks.uj.edu.pl

25-28 September 2016: Conference: New Insights into Psychiatric Disorders through Computational, Biological and Developmental Approaches, Copenhagen, Denmark, Europe. fens.org

26-28 September 2016: International Marcé Society Biennial Scientific Conference 2016, ‘Frontiers in Perinatal Mental Health – looking to the future’, Melbourne, Autralia. marce2016.com

26-28 September 2016: JENGA III: A 3-day International Training Workshop on Using Expressive Arts in Mental Health and Psycho-social Support, Nairobi, Kenya, Africa. Mail to Brinda Wachs brindawachs@gmail.com

28-30 September 2016: 3rd International and 5th Indian Psychological Science Congress- 2016, Panjab, India, Asia. napsindia.org

1-3 October 2016: Yoga, Science of Infinite Possibilities Conference, Sydney, Australia yogavedanta.org.au

5-8 October 2016: Freud Meets Buddha: Mindfulness, Trauma and Process Addictions conference, Atlanta, United States of America. atnd.it

6-7 October 2016: 2nd Asia Pacific Conference and Meeting on Mental Health, Singapore, Asia. silverribbonsingapore.com

7-8 October 2016: 2016 Fall Global Symposium for Psychology Professionals, Los Angeles, United States of America. uofriverside.com

7-9 October 2016: 2016 International Symposium on Education and Psychology, Fall session, Taipei, Taiwan, Asia. <a href="http://tw-knowledge.org/isepfall/home

10 October 2016: World Mental Health Day 2016, theme: Dignity in Mental Health, Psychological and Mental Health First Aid for All, International. wfmh.com

11-15 October 2016: 7th ICEEPSY International Conference on Education and Educational Psychology, Rhodos, Greece, Europe. futureacademy.org.uk

13-15 October 2016: Conference Trauma and Trust: Peacebuilding in Ruptured Social Systems, University of Denver, Denver, USA. du.edu/conflictresolution

17-19 October 2016: World Federation for Mental Health International Conference 2016, Cairns, Autralia. <a href="http://www.wfmh2016.com"wfmh2016.com

17-22 October 2016: 3rd Mental Health and Well-being Conference of Ghana with the theme ‘Dignity in Mental Health, Psychological and Mental Health First Aid’, Accra, Ghana, Africa. mhfgh.org

19-21 October 2016: The Lancet Neurology Conference
Preclinical neurodegenerative disease: towards prevention and early diagnosis, London, UK, Europe. preclincalnddconference.com

19-22 October 2016: 8th World Hearing Voices Congress, Paris, France, Europe. paris2016.revfrance.org

21 October 2016: Smoking Cessation in Mental Health Conference, London, United Kingdom. healthcareconferencesuk.co.uk

21-22 October 2016: International Psychology Conference Dubai 2016, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Middle East. psych-me.com

27-29 October 2016: 9th International Neuroscience and Biological Psychiatry Conference ‘Stress and Behavior’ (China and South East Asia), Zhanjiang, China. via scribd.com

1-3 November 2016: International Conference on the Urgency, Methods, and Benefits of Building Personal and Psychosocial Resilience for Climate Change, Chicago, USA. nationalresilienceinstitute.org

3-4 November 2016: 1st International Conference on Building Personal and Psychosocial Resilience for Climate Change, Washington, USA. theresourceinnovationgroup.org

7-9 November 2016: 2016 International Conference on Education, Psychology, and Learning-Fall Session (ICEPL-Fall 2016), Seoul, Korea (south), Asia. iainst.org

9-10 November 2016: 7th Culture and International Mental Health conference, Manchester, UK. via eventbrite.co.uk

10-11 November 2016: International Neuroscience and Biological Psychiatry ISBS Symposium, San Diego, CA, United States of America. via scribd.com

10-12 November 2016: International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies
32nd Annual Meeting, Dallas, USA. istss.org

11 November 2016: Voices in Global Mental Health conference, London, UK. via Eventbrite

13-18 November 2016: 2nd National Congress of Psychology Kenya, Mombasa, Kenya. psyske.org

14-17 November 2016: 5th International Workshop on Psychological Intervention After Disasters, Manila, Philippines, Asia. via mhpss.net

23-26 November 2016: German Association of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics Congress 2016, Mind – Person – Society, Berlin, Germany, Europe. dgppn.de

24-26 November 2016: 5th World Conference on Psychology and Sociology, Hammamet, Tunisia, Africa. psysoc.net

28-29 November 2016: MindCare Conference, where technological, psychiatric and psychological disciplines meet, Barcelona, Spain, Europe. mindcaresymposium.org

1-3 December 2016: 10th International Neuroscience and Biological Psychiatry ISBS Regional (S. America) Conference, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, South America. via scribd.com

2-3 December 2016: Asia Mental Health Conference 2016, Hong Kong, Asia. sowk.hkbu.edu.hk

5-9 December 2016: 10th IRCT Scientific Symposium and General Assembly : Delivering on the Promise of the Right to Rehabilitation, Mexico city, Mexico, Middle America. irct.org

7-8 December 2016: 12th International Conference on Psychology, Language and Teaching (ICPLT), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Asia. gplra.org

8-9 December 2016: Alcoholism, Sexoholism and other addictions, International Interdisciplinary Conference, Krakow, Poland, Europe. alcoholaddiction.ug.edu.pl

8-10 December 2016: 16th International Forum on Mood and Anxiety Disorders, IFMAD, Rome, Italy, Europe. ifmad.org/2016

10-11 December 2016: Sangath conference, Innovations in Mental Health Care India, , Goa, India, Asia. sangathconference.com

14-15 December 2016: International Conference on Public Mental Health and Neurosciences (ICPMN-2016), Bangalore, Karnataka, India, Asia. sarvasumama.in

1-2 January 2017: International Conference on Psychology, Sports, Politics and Interdisciplinary Studies (PSPIS-17), Dubai, UAE, Middle East. iaohm.org

9-11 January 2017: 5th icCSBs The Annual International Conference on Cognitive, Social, and Behavioural Sciences, Kyrenia, Cyprus, Europe. <a href="http://www.futureacademy.org.uk/conference/icCSBs/futureacademy.org

7-8 February 2017: International Conference on Applied Counseling and Psychology (ICACP-2017), Johor Bahru, JOHOR, Malaysia, Asia. fp.utm.my

12-14 February 2017: 2017 4th International Conference on Education and Psychological Sciences (ICEPS 2017), Barcelona, Spain, Europe. iceps.org

6-9 March 2017: 7th World Congress on Women’s Mental Health, theme Rights, Resilience and Recovery, Dublin, Ireland, Europe. iawmh2017.org

13-15 March 2017: ICSP 2017,International Conference on Spirituality and Psychology, Bangkok, Thailand, Asia. spirituality.org

16-19 March 2017: 24th Annual International stress and behavior Neuroscience and Biopsychiatry Conference, St-Petersburg, Russian Federation. via scribd.com

22-25 March 2017: The Asian Conference on Psychology and the Behavioral Sciences 2017 (ACP2017), Kobe, Japan, Asia. iafor.org

3-4 April 2017: Other Psychotherapies, across time, space, and cultures conference, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK. otherpsychs.academyblogs.co.uk

6-9 April 2017: Anxiety and Depression Conference,Anxiety and Depression Association of America, San Francisco, USA.adaa.org

26-18 April 2017: 5th CPSYC International Congress on Clinical and Counselling Psychology, Bari, Italy, Europe. futureacademy.org.uk

4-7 May 2017: The International Society for Bipolar Disorders (ISBD) 2017 Conference, Arlington, United States of America. via go.evvnt.com

9-11 May 2017: icSEP International Conference on Sport, Education & Psychology, Bucharest, Romania, Europe. futureacademy.org.uk

24-25 May 2017: 13th International Conference on Psychology and Behavioural Sciences (ICPBS), Lisbon, Portugal, Europe. gplra.org

1-3 June 2017: 4th International Conference on Education, Psychology and Social Science 2017 ICEPSS, Malolos City, Philippines, Asia. icepss.net

5-7 July 2017: 3rd icH and Hpsy ISI Thomson Reuters indexed International Conference on Health and Health Psychology, Porto, Portugal, Europe. futureacademy.org.uk

8-12 October 2017: World Congress of Psychiatry 2017 Psychiatry of the 21st Century: Context, Controversies and Commitment, Berlin, Germany, Europe. wpaberlin2017.com

A World Mental Health Day 2012 read: Mental Health care in 14 African Countries

map of Africa, worldatlas.com

This article is a trip through the current mental health field of Africa in 28 recent articles from 14 African countries. Mental health facilities, legislation and capacity building on the African continent are amongst the poorest of the world. But there are improvements, developments and off course many many challenges left. Continue reading

Empowerment, Identity and Hope. Recovery and Peer/User-led models in Global Mental Health

A review of Recovery and Peer/User-led theories/projects/stories worldwide in:
10 organization-examples
10 inspiring videos
10 recovery models/theories
10 relevant documents Continue reading

10 Global Mental Health Online Communities

February 2014:
This post is renewed. Please go to: 14 Global Mental Health Information and Network Websites

New text:
Some of the most (cost) effective ways to improve Mental Health and in Low and Middle Income Countries are:
-Free sharing and distributing of knowledge and tools via internet
-Concerted global advocacy and innovation activities
-Possibilities for workers and users to connect and network with others

There are a couple of very valuable websites that offer these things. Sites that build bridges between organizations and/or give voice to people in the field. Here is an update of 14 of them.

A few websites of the previous list are left out, because these websites are dormant (Society for Emotional Well-being Worldwide, World Network of users and Survivors of Psychiatry and the Mental Health Community). I added 7 other ones.

I will start with the most interactive websites and end with the more static ones: Continue reading

A wake up SMS for Global Mental Health: mhealth in 40 short videos

What’s mobile health, text messages for life, text for change, Ushahidi, FrontlineSMS, Epysurveyor, M-Pesa? How does a SMS-computer interface work? How to send bulk messages, an automatic response SMS? And what do SMS polls and quizzes look like?
And what’s this got to do with Global Mental Health? Continue reading