Aim of the Course:  The overall aim of this course is to build on the foundation laid in the Introductory Course on Mental Health with a view to offer a more expansive understanding of the subject. The course covers a range of skills in mental illness diagnosis from case history taking, through mental status examination to diagnostic formulation. In addition, the course provides opportunities for understanding that may emerge from immersion by way of roleplays, case studies and interviews with actual clients.  The course also aims to help students of psychology and social work to learn from practice and to start recognizing the various applications of their knowledge and make discernable changes in the real world in the area of mental health. By the conclusion of this course, participants will be able to:

1. Describe:

• Clinically significant behavioral and psychological aspects of mental health issues
• The various ways in which culture, societal and familial practices shape clinical presentation of mental and neuropsychological disorders
• The burden to the families and caregivers of mentally ill patients as well as their coping styles
• Various pharmacological agents used to treat common mental disorders and their side effects

2. Differentiate:

• Between child and adult clinical psychological syndrome features and presentation
• Between the areas of application of various psychological assessments instruments for children and adults
• Between various interventions for recovery

3. Demonstrate:

• Clinical workups for clients presenting with a range of mental health issues
• Assessments of metal health related disability and dysfunctions using appropriate measures
• Clinical formulations and diagnosis based on diagnostic criteria and phenomenology
• Basic level competence in carrying out recovery aimed interventions, monitoring progress and measuring outcome

Note: While this course is quite immersive and broad in its scope, it does not prepare participants to be independent mental health practitioners – further training is required to achieve this goal.

Structure of the Course: The program will be for the duration of a month and will comprise of lectures, presentations, case studies, roleplays and client interviews during the weekdays. During the weekend there will be homework assignments. Each student will be assigned a Clinician as guide at the start of the program. This guide will be available for the student throughout the program to reach out to and consult with assignments and learnings. The guide will additionally proactively offer feedbacks on various assignments. The working day sessions will be for about 3 hours a day covering two sessions of 90 minutes each, except when there are topic presentations or client interviews as these will be based on the convenience of clients and guides.

The course will start by offering participants and introduction to the core concepts of mental health also touching upon the background and history of Psychiatry. Following this the course will cover concepts of Mental Status Examination, Case History Taking and MSE Summary and Diagnostic formulation. The course will then move on to deeper concepts with a view to offer participants a well-rounded understanding of mental disorders as well as their medical and psychological management. In addition, the following topics would be covered: Common Rating Questionnaires, Psychological Assessments, Psychopharmacology, Bio-psycho-social formulation, Recovery oriented approach, Disability assessment, Recovery star assessment, Understanding of caregivers, family burden and their coping style, behavior therapy, family focused interventions and group interventions. Immersive exercises such as Presentations, Practice Roleplays with peers followed by interactions with actual clients are a critical feature of the program.

Each of these topics will be covered by a mix of presentations, lectures and facilitated interactive discussions that may include activities in pairs and groups. A proposed timetable for the training is provided below, however this may be subject to slight alterations.

Who is the course for? This course is designed primarily for students of psychology and social work who are ready to deepen as well as broaden their understanding in the light of real-world experiences. The course also covers internship objectives of students of psychology and social work.  And finally, the course is suitable for just passed out as well as practicing clinicians and mental health workers and volunteers who would like to deepen the impact of their work.

Number of Participants: The minimum number of participants expected is usually about 15.

Who are your facilitators:  Your facilitators are psychiatrists, psychiatric social workers and clinical psychologists with experience in helping clients overcome mental health issues.

Note to students of Social Work: Social Work Internship will include all of the above plus practical casework, group work and Community programs all of which are done in the community. Students of social work completing the 30 days internship can further engage with MHAT to agree on the schedule for these community-based engagements