21 April 2022
Dear readers,
Spring has sprung, or alternatively autumn has settled in, depending on your hemisphere. I hope you are all keeping well and keeping in your thoughts those who need it. Here is new edition of this newsletter dedicated to global mental health news, resources, job ads, events and publications. This month’s newsletter is busy, and I’m already giving serious thought to publishing more often just so that I can keep up with everything happening in the field. What do you think about it? Any feedback, requests and suggestions for comment can reach me at manolova.gergana@gmail.com, and thank you for your continued support in reading this selection.
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Yours,
Gergana
News and Notes in Global Mental Health
Here I share interesting pieces of information, announcements and news that have reached me in our field. I rely on your contributions as well - please share your news or announcements with me.
Proposals for papers wanted on CAMH interventions
The Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry is publishing in October 2023 a special issue dedicated to innovations in child and adolescent mental health and is looking for those who would like to contribute. By 29th May you can send in your ideas for reviews and original contributions, for a broad definition of mental health and a scope which is especially suited to global mental health. Read the full details here.
Wellcome goes big with grant schemes
It is impossible these days to keep up with the news coming out of Wellcome, who are taking their focus on transforming the mental health field very seriously and are calibrating their grant schemes accordingly. Maybe you would like to work on improving the cognitive and functional outcomes of psychosis (a much-needed topic)? Or perhaps on understanding the mechanisms along which interventions for depression, psychosis and anxiety work? Let’s not forget the continuing work on the “active ingredients” which protect against or treat depression and anxiety in young people - now focusing on innovative ways for analyzing data. And if your interest in mental health is more technical, for example in mapping datasets, or looking at measurement tools, Wellcome also have you covered with opportunities.
Research premature deaths in people with mental illness
Another global opportunity for early-career researchers, which will hopefully shed light on a neglected topic - the premature mortality caused by physical ill health in people living with mental illness. The MQ Fellows Award 2022 offers funding of up to 225,000 GBP for a period of up to 3 years to the researchers, who can be from any sub-discipline related to mental health. Apply by 29 April and read more about the details here.
Events in Global Mental Health
The event calendar for 2022 is at globallyminded.org. Keep in mind that online events - and they are nearly all online - usually are announced shortly before they take place and I publish them on the website with only 2-3 days’ notice. I only publish some spotlights here.
3 May - Reaching Policymakers in MHPSS Evidence Translation and Service Integration by the Implementation Science Collaborative - as we all know, producing the evidence turns out to be infinitely easier than getting policymakers to listen. Therefore I will be tuning in for what promises to be an interesting webinar, part of the MHPSS initiative by the Collaborative, who are looking to see how policy changes in low- and middle-income countries.
10-15 May - Global Mental Health Summer Institute by Columbia Global Mental Health Lab - a 6-day training on mental health in humanitarian settings, using mhGAP-HIG and teaching the principles of Group Interpersonal Psychotherapy, will work great to upskill and enhance the knowledge of mental health professionals and non-specialists working with populations in crisis and experiencing trauma.
Jobs in Global Mental Health
The jobs listed here might not be advertised as being in global mental health and the decision for including them is mine alone. Unless otherwise stated, I have found out about them through job sites, social media posts, other newsletters and so on, so I have no more information on them than publicly available and you should refer to those listed in the job ad.
No or minimum experience necessary
Mental health and psychosocial coordinator, Medecins du Monde, Moldova
Mental health and psychosocial coordinator, Medecins du Monde, Romania
PhD Studentship, Bournemouth University, UK - by 28 April (UK students only)
PhD, University of Liverpool, UK - by 29 April (UK students only)
Some experience (2-5 years) necessary
Lecturer in Global Mental Health and Society, University of Edinburgh, Scotland - by 25 April
Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Consultant, WHO, Poland
Mental Health Coordinator, Medecins du Monde, Hungary - by 25 April
MHPSS Expert, Action contre la Faim, Ukraine - by 13 May
Project Officer, Wellcome, UK - by 2 May
Research Manager, Wellcome, UK - by 4 May
5+ years of experience necessary
MHPSS Technical Consultant, the MHPSS Collaborative, remote - by 27 April
Principal in International Behavioral Health, Amazon, remote
MHPSS Technical Advisor, Save the Children, Ukraine - by 27 April
Quality of Care, Mental Health Consultant, FHI 360, remote - by 29 April
MHPSS Officer, Americares, Poland - by 29 April
MHPSS Coordinator, Save the Children, Sudan - by 30 April
Consultant in MHPSS, UNICEF East Asia and the Pacific, remote - by 26 April
Senior Research Associate, George Washington University, US
Resources in Global Mental Health
A section for various opportunities, databanks, information sources that may prove helpful.
Whip out the notebook - it is nearing May and great global mental health trainings await. Here I feature three recently released online training modules/courses/academies by the World Health Organization, where you can gain specialized skills and which will enhance your knowledge.
WHO QualityRights e-training on mental health - on 12th April WHO made this smash hit training on mental health, quality care, human rights and respect for people with mental illnesses available publicly for anyone to sign up. 11 languages. 60,000 learners so far. A goal of 5 million by the end of 2024. The training covers individual mental health and self-care; how to put an end to stigma and discrimination about mental illness; how to transform mental health services into taking a person-centred approach which is focused on recovery. What else could you possibly need?
EQUIP: Ensuring Quality in Psychological Support - here is a simple term for a person assisting another with their mental health struggles: a helper. If you have always wanted to gain training in the therapeutic modality, but you would like to do it on your own time and rather quickly, you can become a helper too. EQUIP is designed to work on a competency model to ensure that people providing mental health support have strong core skills such as empathy, verbal and non-verbal skills, promoting hope, and others. The EQUIP competency package is already integrated with several key WHO MHPSS tools, with mhGAP integration upcoming.
Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) in emergencies - if you are working or would like to work in humanitarian settings, this orientation course will help you organize your ideas and strengthen your skills. The course aims to showcase points where an MHPSS response can be integrated in the general humanitarian response, and the emphasis is on evidence-based and practical tools.
Publications in Global Mental Health
The selection of publications ultimately reflects my personal knowledge and preferences, but I have no intended bias. Feel free to send me publications you consider interesting or that you would like to be featured. I try to focus on articles that are free or open access.
Human rights in mental healthcare; A review of current global situation - the topic of human rights in mental health feels like an iceberg to most people working in mental health - a chilly presence, the bulk of which is hidden from plain sight, and threatening to sink the unwary vessels of mental health interventions on their maiden voyage unless they have thought ahead about it. This article, published apparently by the team behind the WHO QualityRights Initiative, presents a pithy and factual outlook from a compassionate point of view, and it gives reasons to hope. The introduction of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities into the picture and the increasing advocacy pressure are bearing fruit and more people - both practitioners and general public - are starting to look at mental health treatment through the lens of human rights. The article mentions several interesting pieces which I will be reading further, such as the study of mental health professionals working in prisons. It is rare to find such a good overview of a disparate area which is hard to encompass, so I encourage everyone to read it and think how to fit some of the tools listed into their practice. For the WHO QualityRights e-training, check above in the Resources section, then sign up to the training.
The Silent Burden: A Landscape Analysis of Common Perinatal Mental Disorders in Low- and Middle-Income Countries - I hear a lot these days from practitioners interested in perinatal mental health, which always makes me think the burden must be more significant than we expect. Of course it is hard to get the full idea of such a difficult area to grasp, which is a taboo topic for many reasons having to do with mothers’ and families’ shame and guilt. But this report comes close. Published by Momentum with the help of USAID, the text is densely packed with pragmatic review of the literature, what is being done, what service planners think about it, and what the next steps should be. Anyone working to bring more attention to the area will particularly benefit from the list of recommended discussions, which pose specific questions that can be answered at the national or local level of policymaking and service planning. I appreciated also the spotlight on the intersection with respectful maternity care, which is another thing we don’t hear about, but I suspect that attitudes to people at a vulnerable point of their lives can make or break their next few years, and I wish there was more research published on the topic.
*Social media image courtesy of Pexels.
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