Mental disorders are a serious concern for global health:
The Behavioral Research Center for HIV (BIRCH) is an NIH-funded P30 developmental AIDS Research Center that provides infrastructure and support for high-impact, interdisciplinary research on HIV and mental health. Its vision is to end the HIV epidemic by addressing the determinants and symptoms of mental illness and HIV through holistic person-centered prevention and care. Co-led by by Dr. Susan Graham (Global Health) and Dr. Lydia Chwastiak (Psychiatry and Behavioral Services).
The UW Consortium for Global Mental Health is an interdisciplinary forum for research, training, and service-related activities to address gaps in the implementation of effective global mental health interventions.
The goal of this project is to test a platform for training and supervision of mental health and psychosocial support helpers (particularly non-specialist providers) by applying the platform to helpers who will deliver psychological interventions. This platform, entitled Ensuring Quality in Psychological Support (EQUIP), is an online resource being developed to include materials for evaluating core and specific competencies, training and training remediation for learning and attaining core competencies, and implementation guidance on designing and conducting competency-based trainings and supervision.
