Dates:

19 September- 24 November, 2022 - Digital and In-person.

Online: Weekly on Thursdays from 22 September 2022 to 17 November 2022, at 13.00-15.00,
In-person: Møn, Denmark: 4 days from Monday 21 November 2022 to Thursday 24 November 2022, at 09.00-16.00,

Registration 

Course location

Address: TEATER MØN & ASTERIONS HUS
Klintholm Havnevej 52
4791 Borre

Denmark

Organizer

The PhD-course is organized by University of Copenhagen in collaboration with the Norwegian Research School of Global Health (NRSGH).

Learning objectives

A student who has met the objectives of the course will be able to:

• Describe how their own PhD research project is shaped by the particular discipline in which they have been trained (self-relection)
• Develop new research questions, methods and interpretations for their field of study, drawing from a wider range of scientific disciplines (expansion of own research scope)
• Strengthen collaboration with colleagues from other disciplines, by applying an overarching social justice framework to their own field of study (interdisciplinary collaboration)

Content

The field of global mental health gained visibility with the publication of two Series of papers in the Lancet, in 2007 and 2011. The 2007 Series concluded with a call for action focused on reducing the mental health treatment gap, that is, the gap between the number of people with mental disorders in need of treatment and the number who actually receive treatment. This influential call for action focused especially on task shifting for mental health, i.e. the delivery of evidence-based treatments by people without a dedicated mental health training, working in non-specialized health care settings (e.g., primary health care, maternal and child health care, HIV/AIDS care). This attempt at building a shared focus for global mental health helped to unify a diverse group of actors, but also received critiques. Critique has focused on the relevance of applying ‘Western’ psychiatric classification systems and evidence for treatments to diverse socio-cultural contexts. In addition, critique has focused on the dominant attention to treatment. In addition to a focus on treating mental disorders, critics have argued that attention also needs to focus on the social conditions that shape (and are shaped by) mental health, such as poverty, gender-based violence, and social marginalization. Social determinants of mental health are inter-related in complex ways with mental health. For example, poverty is a risk factor for common mental disorders (e.g., depression, anxiety, traumatic stress), and in turn, common mental disorders are associated with risk for (further) poverty.

The dynamic field of global mental health has been actively contending with these critiques. The 2018 Lancet Commission on Global Mental Health again calls for task shifting and the integration of mental health into non-specialized care systems, but it also argues for a dimensional approach to mental health (broadening the scope of the field beyond classifiable disorders to include positive mental health and distress) and advocates for the importance of preventive interventions, e.g. through action on the social determinants of mental health. More broadly, there have been calls to avoid getting trapped in polarized discussions to strengthen interdisciplinary action in the field of global mental health.

Participants

The course will be most useful for PhD students from a range of scientific disciplines, who currently conduct, or who are prearing to conduct, research in the area of mental health and wellbeing of people affected by hardship and structural adversities. These can be communities in high-income countries (e.g., refugees and other migrants, sexual minorities, other marginalized populations in Europe and other high-income countries), and low- and middle-income countries (e.g., populations affected by armed conflict, trafficking, living in informal settlements, social marginalization, stigma, etc in the 'Global South'). Because of our interest in interdisciplinary dialogue, there are no requirements in terms of prior coursework.

The course is only offered to members of Norwegian School of Global Health.
Not a member? Take a look at our criteria for membership

Language

English

Form

The course will have two parts: (1) an online series of masterclasses (8 weekly online sessions), (2) 4-days in-person, interactive, facilitated, group work

Course director

Wietse A. Tol, Professor, wietse.tol@sund.ku.dk

Teachers and facilitators:

• Assoc Prof. Ragnhild Dybdahl (Oslo Metropolitan University, Norway; University of Bergen, Norway)
• Prof. Ingunn Marie Stadskleiv Engebretsen (University of Bergen, Norway)
• Prof. Lars Lien (University of Oslo, Norway)
• Prof. Valerie de Marinis (Umeå University, Sweden)
• Assoc Prof. Maria Nordendahl (Umeå University, Sweden)

The research school is sponsering this course and there is no course fee.

Registration Deadline is 4 September 2022

Link to website at University of Copenhagen

Remember to apply for International training grant from NRSGH

Apply for International Training Grant, if you would like to have your travel costs covered by NRSGH. Remember our rates for travel grant. Travel expenses (plane, bus, train etc) must not exceed 5000 NOK and accommodation is max 1500 NOK pr night. Max total grant is 25 000 NOK.