Student Manual

Letter of Director of Training and Education
Dear Applicant
Welcome to Gaza Community Mental Health Programme (GCMHP) and the Islamic University- Gaza
(IUG) postgraduate diploma in applied Community Mental Health and Human Rights. This bulletin
introduces you to the distinguished mental health education of GCMHP and IUG. Whether you are
considering to become a candidate to the Diploma or just want to learn more about it, this document will
describe what we do and how we go about it.
The spirit of GCMHP springs from certain fundamental beliefs. These beliefs are based on a shift in metal
health care from segregated and self-contained institutions, to community based therapy and community
involvement in health related issues. These beliefs affirm that the role of mental health professional must be
changed from that of a provider of health care to a facilitator of care in order to enable individuals to solve
their problems.
Candidates will be engaged in renewing the quality of their lives, in elevating their career potential, and
in acquiring the tools needed to make a positive difference where they live and work.
If you are interested in intellectual stimulation and in refining skills and knowledge you have already
developed in the area of mental health, we encourage you to pursue graduate level studies in this
challenging environment.
We can assure you that GCMHP and IUG makes a sincere efforts to provide their students with exciting
opportunities, not only for building on post academic skills and performance in the area of community
mental health, but also for building solid friendships within a wide section of GCMHP and IUG.
Our commitment is to promote creative initiatives in the area of community mental health. While
advocating the importance of open and flexible approach to adult and academic education, GCMHP
enjoys an excellent national and international reputation in both therapy and community mental health
training. If you are interested in becoming one of the growing numbers of mental health professionals
making contributions to society within higher level academic education, you will find many possibilities
worth investigating in our programme. Our scholarship scheme is encouraging; successful students as
well as hardship cases are eligible to apply.
Please do not hesitate to ask questions. We are here to provide you with whatever assistance you need
along the way.
I would like to extend to you my best wishes for success during this period of personal and academic
achievement.
Abdel Hamid Afana, Dr. Philo, Director
Education and Training Department
GCMHP
Postgraduate Diploma in Community
Mental Health and Human Rights
Introduction :
A summary document of the Two Year, Full Time Post-graduate course run jointly by
the Islamic University-Gaza and Gaza Community Mental Health Programme (GCMHP)
as well as the following implementing International Institutions:
• Flinders University of South Australia, Australia
• Oslo University, Norway
• San-Francisco University, USA
• Tel Aviv University, Israel
• Tunis University, Tunis
• Utrecht University, Holland
Soon after its foundation in 1990 in response to the perceived mental health needs of the
Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, in addition to its clinical activities, GCMHP
embarked on educational and development activities to equip local mental health workers
with the necessary skills and knowledge to serve the community. Research had indicated
that the status of Palestinians as refugees, displaced and dispossessed people was
contributing to extraordinary mental health problems, particularly depression, anxiety,
behavior disorders in children and other symptoms associated with Post-Traumatic Stress
Syndromes. In 1994 plans were developed to introduce a Post-graduate Diploma in
Community Mental Health for mental health workers of any discipline in an attempt to
address this problem and compensate for the total lack of psychiatric training in
Palestine. Training must ensure that candidates have adequate knowledge of state of the
art theories, principles and treatment and prevention strategies used in addressing mental
health concerns. The training must also be based on a spirit of the candidates’ active
participation and self-learning. The diploma will be the first step towards formation of a
"Institute of Community Mental Health and Human Rights that will attract
international students and researchers.
We feel that we now have the resources and the ability to make small modest
contribution to train mental health professionals equipped with the needed skills and
knowledge in mental health and human rights, especially in our region. Moving towards
the 21st century require us to respond to the peoples needs and challenges. Our hope for
peace, freedom, and democracy -which indeed all wish- lies in a greater involvement of
people in their mental health related issues and equipping mental health professionals
with skills which make effective meaningful social, economic and cultural changes.
Accordingly, since we belief in mental health in its wider perspective to include
biopsychosocial aspects, we place more emphasis on the relation between mental health
and human rights.
Broad Aims and objectives of the Postgraduate Diploma
in Community Mental Health
At the end of the diploma course students will be able to:
1. Explore theoretical concepts in community mental health and human rights in
addition to their practical applications. Wide exposure to clinical experience enables them to
discover their particular interest in mental health, while learning about many different areas and
how to integrate them in clinical practice and research.
2. Place the study of mental health within the wider social, political, environmental and biological
context.
3. Shift interventions away from concentration on the individual and his unconscious motivational
conflicts to move closer towards an emphasis on the social interpersonal care and the role of a person’s
environment.
4. Understand the change in the role of mental health professionals from being providers of
mental health care to facilitators of care; thus enabling individuals to solve their problems using the
resources of the family and community institutions such as schools, mosques, etc.
5. Analyze the links between the notions; health and human rights in addition to the role, which
they play within the community.
6. Again professional skills, which help the transition from theoretical class-based study to skilled
and practical application within the community.
7. Discover their practical interest in community mental health through wide exposure to clinical
and community training placements, which learning a bout in cooperation with Islamic university.
General structure of the Diploma:
The Postgraduate Diploma In Community Mental Health is a two year course that is jointly run by the
Gaza Community Mental Health Programme. Candidates who successfully complete the course will be
awarded a Diploma in Community Mental Health. It combines both theory and clinical aspects of
community mental health and provides candidates with a broad knowledge base.
The curriculum is culturally sensitive, community oriented and critically analyses the concepts of human
rights and mental health. Candidates are expected to combine learning from their clinical work with
information obtained from the Diploma. They will have access to the GCMHP library and computers
facilities in addition to the Islamic University library. Key reference articles will be copied and
distributed prior to lectures. A general reading list will be available at the end of each module
The Curriculum:
The curriculum avoids the danger of imposing an inflexible categorical structure on particular problems
when such categories may result in fallacies: a danger that has been evident when western methods of
assessment and treatment were used to train local mental health workers with minimum consideration to
local cultural problems. The curriculum is based on the principles of collaborative, adult learning with an
interest in emancipatory knowledge, which allows the students to avoid any conflict or separation
between theory and practice.
The first year will be divided into four semesters of 48 weeks each, and three core modules will be
given each semester. There will be international visitors at intervals of between one and three weeks to
teach these modules. Local trainers will be available to take over in the gaps in between, and will be
integrated in the teaching jointly with the international trainers as local counterparts.
Each module has a specific international and local teacher. Details of the modules and the teachers are on the
following pages.
The first year:
These modules covers the theoretical principles in community mental health, Psychiatry and cultural
influences of these concepts. In the first year students are provided with different psychological and
psychiatric approaches.
The first year will be concerned mainly with twelve (12) modules of study in clinical Psychiatry,
Communication and Counselling, Child development, child psychopathology, Social Psychology and
Anthropology, Clinical Psychology, Trauma stress and coping, Community Mental Health, Research
methodology, Mental Health Education, Culture and human rights and field work.
There are a variety of teachings methods used throughout the course including: formal lectures, seminars,
tutorials, student presentations, journal clubs, role-plays, video work and supervised practice.There will be a
similar range of assessment tools plus a final student evaluation.
In the first year the students are exposed gradually to two types of clinical/ community experience for twelve
weeks. The international and local trainers expose students to varaity of community settings. The supervision
is led by an international trainer jointly with local trainers is equipped with long his tory of work expenence
in the field in addition to their academic qualifications . San Francisco university is committed to do this
supervision.
The Second Year:
This year focuses on providing participants with wide clinical practice.
The objective of the practical experience is to integrate theoretical learning and clinical work. Each student
is exposed to a diverse clinical and community population, including out Children issues, Women’s issues,
General outpatient settings, a hospital or inpatient setting. The Diploma students will be divided into groups
distributed to the community centers students are offered both individual and group supervision.The
supervisor provides 1 hour of individual supervision for each student and 1 hour of group supervision per
week for the group. Diploma students are exposed to clinical and community work from the very begging
and gradually more of their time would be spent in clinical work.
Core modules:
1. Child development.(Psy.5301)
This module aims to give the participants a general knowledge of normal child development, the normal
pathological development and the different theories applied to development. It also make the participants
conscious of social and family impact on child health and development, and of notions of the rights of the
child.
2. Child psychopathology.(Psy.5303)
This module aims to make participants aware of basic conditions of child deviations. It enable the participants to
understand child psychopathology from child development perspective.
3. Social Psychology.(Psych.5305)
Social psychology module highlights the main topics related to social perception and cognition, attitude
to change, helping behavior, social influence, group dynamics and the environment and social behavior.
4.Clinical Psychiatry.(Psych.5302)
This module clarifies the main psychiatric disorders with the emphasis on adult psychiatry. The participants
will be able to recognize the different therapeutic approaches and their indications. The classifications of
mental disorders as well as the etiology and mental state examination will be clarified
5. Communication and Counseling.(Coun.5307)
This module aims to make the participants aware of their own interpersonal behavior, develop an
understanding of successful communication techniques, the barriers to communication and
introduce the participants to different counselling approaches.
6. Culture and Human Rights. (Hrts.5304)
This module highlights links between culture and mental health. It gives the participants a clear
picture about the Palestinian and Arab culture, religion and its relation to mental health care. The
participants will be aware of psychology of oppression and human rights in addition to their
influences on mental health, with reference to Palestinian history.
7. Trauma, Stress and Coping.(Trau.5306)
This module aims to give students general background about the basic individual and collective
reaction to trauma in addition to the indications of emotional disturbances. The role of
professionals in dealing with survivors of trauma will be analyzed, as will relevant human rights’
issues.
8. Clinical Psychology.(Psych.5308)
The clinical Psychology module highlights the elements of psychotherapeutic linguistics, the recent
theoretical development such as object relation, self-psychology and social system theories. The
role of the therapist in-groups will be highlighted.
9. Research Methodology.(Res.5310)
This module aims to orientate the participants about different methods of research. The design of
surveys will be covered in addition to other useful research procedures and material such as content
analysis, personal documents and archival measures. It will give the participants an idea of the
sampling, statistics and reports.
10. Community Mental Health.(Comm.5312)
Throughout this module the participants will be aware of aspects of community mental health.
They will develop a basic knowledge in prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of mental health
problems in the community. Gender and mental health as well as social factors of health and
discussed. The politics of health, and inequalities of health within the community are discussed
too.
11. Mental Health Education.(Ed.5314)
Throughout this module the participants will be able to identify the different approaches to
community health education, the barriers to health education and health promotion, the politics of
health promotion and the health belief model. The module will explore ways of educating people
on their right to be involved in decisions related to their future and their role in determining those
futures.
12. Field Work.(Field.5309)
The goal of the fieldwork module is to integrate the theoretical knowledge obtained from the other
modules with clinical diagnosis, evaluation and treatment planning. The first week of the module
will emphasis critical analysis of the DSM-IV multi-axial system, mental status examination and
differential diagnosis. The second week of the module will emphasis the ability to write a
comprehensive mental health evaluation. At the end of this module students will be expected to be
able to make a differential diagnosis with the DSMIV and write a comprehensive psychiatric
evaluation including treatment recommendations.
Selection criteria of candidates:
The admissions process focuses on selecting competent, self-motivated, responsible learners who are
qualified for Postgraduate Studies. Selection is based on review and assessment of an individual’s
application and supporting documentation. Entry criteria are
a. Specific
• BA in Psychology, Sociology, Medicine or Nursing. Any other degree in Social Sciences or
its equivalent will be considered.
• Good understanding of written and spoken English.
• Entrance exam
• Personal interview based on the applicant’s motivation, maturity, communication and
problem solving skills.
b. Preferred
• 1-2 years working experience in their fields or in mental health or a related areas.
The Teaching Staff and Academic Board
GCMHP will provide the bulk of the local teaching staff and support services, including administration
and material resources. Guest lecturers, who design each particular module, will be brought in from the
implementing universities at relevant points throughout the course to teach, supervise and consult.
The international lecturer will teach together with a local trainer in their area of specialty. In the case
that an international lecturer could not attend or could not complete the teaching, the course would
continue as planned. The local trainer who was working with the international teacher would finish the
remaining material
The International academic board :
When it was established, the postgraduate Diploma has an academic board composed from the
contributing international, local and regional universities. The board meets annually. As a mentoring
body. The board composed form:
- Prof. Dr. Wim Wolters chair, Utrecht University , Holland.
- Prof. Jan Ter Laak. Utrecht University , Holland.
- Prof. Edverd Hauff, Oslo University, Norway
- Prof. Jess Gannam. San Francisco University, USA
- Prof. Abdel Wahab Mahjoub. Tunisia University, Tunis
- Prof. Mohammed El Helou . Islamic University, Gaza. Palestine
- Dr. Tamar Zilinker . Tel Aviv University, Israil
- Dr. Henrik Rensbo, RCT Denmark.
- Dr. Abdel Hamid Afana. GCMHP, Palestine
- Dr. Suhaib Abu Kmeil, North Hampton Trust, UK.
- Mrs. Maryanne Loughry. Flinders University, Australia
- Mr. Salah Abdel Shafi. GCMHP, Palestine