The stigmatization of persons living with mental health challenges and substance use disorder is far too common, specifically within healthcare. Persons With Lived Experience (PWLE) of mental health challenges, including substance use problems, often report feeling devalued, dismissed, and dehumanized by many of the healthcare professionals they encounter. This has resulted in providers feeling less optimistic about treatment adherence and outcomes and the more frequent referral of PWLE to specialty services, which delays early intervention and attributes physical illnesses to mental health concerns. Such practices have resulted in poor patient care, which increases morbidity and mortality within this vulnerable population.
In response to this identified need for stigma-reduction training for clinical and non-clinical health care providers, PAHO’s Mental Health Unit, in collaboration with the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC), developed the Understanding Stigma/Cognitive Behavioral skills virtual training for healthcare providers. This novel course, comprised of two sections (Understanding Stigma and Cognitive Behavioral skills), is delivered via PAHO’s Virtual Campus for Public Health, starting August 16.
This course is designed to introduce learners from the English-speaking Caribbean countries and territories on best practice approaches to reduce mental health-related stigma and improve clinical and practice management skills among primary care providers when working with individuals experiencing mental health challenges.
Section one of this course, “Understanding Stigma,” slated to run from August 24 to September 9), is a self-directed web-based program designed to provide professionals with an opportunity to recognize attitudes and behaviours that could potentially lead to stigma, its impact on PWLE, and practical approaches to address some of its challenges.
Section two of this virtual course, “Cognitive Behavioural Interpersonal Skills,” scheduled to run from September 14 to October 26, is a tutor facilitated skills-building component designed to reduce providers’ sense of helplessness and anxiety, which may lead to clinical distancing when caring for PWLE.
Those organizations and individuals interested in participating in this 16-week course may contact Dr. Claudina Cayetano at cayetanoc@paho.org. Another course on this same topic is being developed in Spanish and will be launched in the coming months.