Mental Health Matters - November activities update

Prof Christopher Dowrick, Chair of WONCA Working Party on Mental Health, reports:

Members of our working party continue to be busy, all round the world.

In the Asia-Pacific region,
• Weng Chin has successful launched our new guidance on Non-drug interventions for common mental health problems during the Pattaya conference this week. I am delighted with this document, and commend it to you. You can find it highlighted on the front page of the WONCA website. Please download it, use it with your own patients, and share it with your partners and colleagues.
• Ryuki Kassai and colleagues have submitted a proposal to Pfizer Independent Grants for a 'train the trainers' depression programme for Japanese family doctors.

In the Eastern Mediterranean region,
• Abdulla al Khatami has agree to share his powerpoint presentation on the application of the bio-psychosocial approach in primary care consultations - another useful resource, especially with family doctors who have a strongly medical approach to primary care.
• Abdullah also kindly represented WONCA and our working party at the WHO mhGAP forum in Geneva last month

In Europe,
• Juan Mendive represented WONCA and our working party at the World Psychiatry Association congress in Berlin last month.
• Ferdinando Petrazuolli, Christos Lionis and Venetia Young are working on a briefing paper for the new task group on primary care for dementia. This will be circulate soon.
• Christos Lionis, Maria van den Muijsenbergh and I presented a well-received workshop on primary health care for asylum seekers and refugees, at the RCGP annual conference in Liverpool. Adekunle Joseph Ariba from Africa region joined us there, which was a particular pleasure.

In South Asia, Pramendra Prasad is looking forward to expanding the role of primary mental health care through the WONCA regional conference in Kathmandu this month.

In Ibero-America, Raquel Vaz Cardoso and Sandra Fortes continue to lead a series of successful mhGAP workshops across the regions of Brazil - despite some very difficult personal circumstances.

In North America, Sonia Roache-Barker is working to find ways to ease the distress caused to many thousands of people by the hurricanes that caused so much devastation across the Caribbean.

Finally, I share and extend the many congratulations for Michael Kidd and Gabby Ivbijaro, who have both been made honorary members of the World Psychiatric Association. Read more