The Alan J. Flisher Centre for Public Mental Health (CPMH), a joint initiative of the Department of Psychology at Stellenbosch University (SU) and the Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health at the University of Cape Town (UCT), is an independent inter-disciplinary academic research and teaching centre for public mental health promotion and service development in Africa. The CPMH is proud to invite applications from across the African continent for the Post-graduate Diploma (PGDip) in Public Mental Health in 2023.
The PGDip in Public Mental Health is an Africa-focused coursework-based diploma that aims to guide students in developing a good understanding of the discipline of public mental health, as well as the skills required to: (i) undertake research, (ii) participate in improving services and access to mental health interventions, and (iii) advocate for increased attention to public mental health in Africa. Further, completion of the PGDip will introduce students to the public mental health community and prepare graduates for further Master’s level studies. The programme is designed to be accessible to practitioners who work full-time, and who are from a range of backgrounds including social work, psychology, psychiatry, medicine, occupational therapy, nursing, health economics, public mental health, public health, health service management, policy making and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). The training aims to build the professional capacity and leadership of the participants in their work, while contributing to public mental health expertise in Africa.
The programme comprises the following 4 courses: Introduction to Public Mental Health, Mental Health Epidemiology, Research Methodology for Public Mental Health and Interventions for Mental Health. In addition, the programme includes instruction on research integrity and other academic and professional skills such as academic writing, leadership and presentation skills. The PGDip faculty are academics, clinicians and practitioners active in the public mental health sphere in Africa.
The diploma requires:
- The completion of a 2-week residential training block in January 2023;
- The resources necessary to access asynchronous learning material, and complete activities or assignments either individually or with fellow students;
- The resources necessary to participate in at least 2 synchronous online sessions per month;
- The preparation of a research or monitoring and evaluation proposal of approximately 5000 words.
