MENTAL HEALTH BULLETIN

Problem Management Plus (PM+) training in Guyana
 
The PM+ is a WHO initiative designed to provide meaningful psychological interventions for individuals facing adversity. It was recently adopted in Guyana as part of the country’s recent focus to addressing mental health needs.

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Guyana - Validation of quality and evidence-based criteria for prevention programs
 
The first meeting of the Working Group on Validation and Piloting of Criteria for Quality Accreditation of Drug Demand Reduction Programs (DDR) in the Treatment and Prevention Areas in the Caribbean was convened by the Cooperation Program between Latin America, the Caribbean and the European Union on Drugs Policies (COPOLAD) in collaboration with the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD/OEA) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), on October 2-4.

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World Mental Health Day 2017: Mental health in the workplace
 
“Mental health in the workplace” is the theme of World Mental Health Day 2017. World Mental Health Day is observed on 10 October every year, with the overall objective of raising awareness of mental health issues and mobilizing efforts in support of better mental health.

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World Mental Health Day celebrations

• Perú – Round table discussion "I am like you, put yourself in my place ... Inclusion: a right for all" 
• Nicaragua - III International Conference for the care, protection and prevention of mental illnesses
• Jamaica - Mental Health in the Workplace Conference
• Belize -Various commemorative activities 

WHO QualityRights training in Guatemala and Ecuador
 
These two trainings in the use of WHO QualityRights tool kit to assess and improve quality and human rights in mental health and social care facilities were delivered in Guatemala and Ecuador in September and October.
 
QualityRights is WHO’s global initiative to improve the quality of care provided by mental health services and promote the human rights of people with psychosocial, intellectual and cognitive disabilities. It offers a new approach to mental health care, which is rights-based and recovery oriented. It promotes an independent life in the community and the creation of community-based services that are respectful of human rights. It also encourages civil society mobilization and participation in the formulation of policies, strategies and laws that are in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD 2006) and other international human rights standards.

Guatemala - Integration and implementation of mhGAP-GI in medical schools
 
The proposal to integrate the mhGAP-GI in Guatemalan faculties of medicine arises after PAHO/WHO’s invitation to attend the meeting: "mhGAP training implementation in Latin American universities," which was organized by the Department of Psychiatry of the Autonomous University of Madrid, in collaboration with the National Autonomous University of Mexico and PAHO/WHO. Representatives of Guatemala’s Mariano Gálvez University (UMG) participated in this event. Subsequently, and in collaboration with PAHO/WHO, meetings were held with the Psychiatric Association of Guatemala -APsG- and with psychiatry professors from different universities to analyze the feasibility of the strategy’s implementation.

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Peru - Training program for caregivers of children with autism and other developmental disorders
 
Lima, October 30 and 31-. An important meeting to encourage the pilot implementation of a training program for caregivers of children with autism and other developmental disorders, in the context of the Peruvian health services, was held at the Children and Adolescents Service of the National Institute of Mental Health "Honorio Delgado - Hideyo Noguchi".

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III Central American Conference on Mental Health and Human Rights
 
The Central American Mental Health Network held the III Central American Conference on Mental Health and Human Rights in Panama City, November 7-10. The main objective was to strengthen the Network’s member associations and the regional health systems through the exchange of ideas, experiences and working models to learn about the impact reached by each of the ten associations - representing Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama - in the last 3 years.

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Venezuela – Mental health care training
 
Caracas, November 1. - With the objective of strengthening the capacities of primary health care teams for early detection of mental, neurological and substance use disorders, the state mental health coordinators of the Ministry of the People’s Power for Health received training in the use of the World Health Organization (WHO) mhGAP Intervention Guide.

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Chile - PAHO/WHO and UNICEF develop mental health skills in emergencies and disasters
 
With the technical cooperation of PAHO/WHO and UNICEF, a training of trainers workshop in “psychological first aid for vulnerable groups” was held in Vitacura, Santiago de Chile, November 20 and 21. The workshop was organized due to a need detected by the "Mental Health Technical Committee in Emergencies and Disasters," which consists of the public services’ intersector and is coordinated by the Ministry of Health and the National Emergency Office (ONEMI).

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Peruvian delegation visits Chile to exchange experiences in mental health
 
A delegation from Peru visited several mental health facilities in the cities of Santiago and Valparaíso, on November 20-23. The delegation was composed of Dr. Alberto De Belaunde, Congressman of the Republic; Dr. Lyla Malabrigo, La Libertad Region Mental Health Coordinator; and by PAHO/WHO Regional Advisor on Mental Health for South America, Dr. Andrea Bruni.

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