Education Component

Community Of Learners

COL group learning exercises, Moscow, May 2005;
participants represent Demonstration Model regional sites (Omsk, Stavropol, and Central Russia)

Professional development in-service training was delivered by the University of Calgary affiliated professionals and educators to consecutive cohorts of mental health professionals and leaders in Russia – Communities of Learners (COL). Participants in the cohorts, up to 67 persons in each COL, represented different regions across Russia, and had diverse professional backgrounds (psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, psychiatric nurses, and administrative leaders), including service consumers. The seminars were facilitated at MRIP for interregional participants who came and stayed in Moscow every time for the two weeks of training.

Each cohort of learners participated in a series of four consecutive intense two-week seminars within a total period of a year and a half that included approximately 60 hours of instruction. Upon the completion of the last training event of the series participants received Certificates of Participation jointly issued by the U of C and the MRIP. Participation in the program was free of charge.

Four (4) series of seminars was completed since 1997. Four consecutive cohorts of learners included the total of 191 graduates representing different regions across Russia, and different mental health professions.

Two of these series of Moscow-Based Professional Training events were delivered in the framework of CRDP:

The description of this Program’s learning events follows.
Guiding Principles

First Inter-regional Community of Learners (COL “A”) Moscow-Based Professional Training Program (2003 – 2004)

PARTICIPANTS: 41 Russian psychiatrists, psychologists, mental health administrative leaders and social workers representing 21 regions.

Dr. Yanina Storozhakova, Dr. Anne Hughson, and Bruce Uditsky (sitted) with the group of COL "A"

Second Inter-regional Community of Learners (COL “B”) Moscow-Based Professional Training Program (2005 – 2006)

PARTICIPANTS: 67 Russian psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses, mental health administrative leaders, and social workers representing 19 regions.

Bruce Uditsky, Dr. Yanina Storozhakova, and Dr. Anne Hughson (front row) with the group of COL "B"

Learning Content

The four courses of the Program curriculum were as follows (click on the "Russian" or "English" for the course outline):
  1. Collaborative Strategies for the Development of Community Mental Health Services Using Group Processes Russian English Instructors: Dr. Anne Hughson and Bruce Uditsky, May 12 – 23, 2003 (COL “A”), and May 12 – 25, 2005 (COL “B”)
  2. Community Rehabilitation in Mental Health
  3. Understanding MH Systems and Change Processes Russian English Instructor: Dr. Aldred Neufeldt, June 8 – 12, 2004 (COL “A”), and May 29 – 31, 2006 (COL “B”)
  4. Introduction to Bio-medical Aspects of Community Mental Health Practice Russian English Instructor: Dr. John Towes, June 14 – 26, 2004 (COL “A”), and May 22 – 28, 2005 (COL “B”)

 

MRIP-Led teaching seminars

Outreach training events are delivered by MRIP Program personnel who travel to the regions to provide training on site. The seminars are focused on various, region-specific aspects of psychosocial rehabilitation and community mental health. The training is aimed at enhancing professional knowledge capacity in the Program demonstration model sites, and the content is focused on system change towards the development and delivery of community based mental health services. The outreach MH educational seminars are provided on an on-going basis. In many instances, these events also involve service consumers in the Program regions.

Participants: psychiatrists, psychologists, psychiatric nurses and mental health social workers in regional Program sites

To date, the following learning events have been completed by the MRIP Program team:

Stavropol Region trauma Response Training Program

This series of four consecutive training events was designed in response to the need for enhancing knowledge and capacity within Russia's mental health system to address the needs of people who have experienced the deep trauma associated with war and other forms of violent loss. In Stavropol Krai, a number of natural disasters, terrorist acts and other tragic events in the recent years caused a significant increase of forced migration, and high social and psychological tension among the population. By the beginning of 2003, the number of registered forced migrants in Stavropol Krai reached 18,665. According to different authors, the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among persons who survived severe stress varies between 20% and 50%.

Multidisciplinary and inter-sectorial participation was encouraged for this training program, and great attention was paid to enhancing collaborative attitudes and bonding among the program’s 255 participants. Professional development in-service training was delivered by the University of Calgary affiliated professionals and MRIP Program personnel, with the location of all training events in the Stavropol Regional Psychiatric Hospital # 1. Training was free of charge for the participants.

Guiding Principles

255 Participants:

Svetlana Shklarov and Michael Eleff (seated) with the group of Russian Mental Health professionals who serve as small group facilitators in the Trauma Response Training event, Stavropol, October 2004

The Program was comprised of four separate courses delivered in Stavropol, two led by Canadian instructors, and two by a MRIP-based Russian instructor. Each of the Canada-led seminars involved approximately 60 hours of instruction within the 10-day period (click on "Russian" or "English" for the course outline):

  1. Basic Concepts and Standards of Working with Traumatized Persons Russian English Instructors: Paul Gronnerud and Svetlana Shklarov (Canada), October 13 – 25, 2003
  2. Psychosocial rehabilitation approaches to treating people with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Russian English Instructor: Dr. Natalia Semenova (MRIP, Moscow), December 16 – 17, 2004
  3. Responding to Trauma: Developing Community-based Systems to Help Individuals and Families Russian English Instructor: Dr. Michael Eleff (Canada), October 18 – 26, 2004
  4. “Post-traumatic growth” and salutogenesis: The potential for positive change through trauma and suffering Russian English Instructor: Dr. Natalia Semenova (MRIP, Moscow), December 22 – 26, 2005

A follow-up and concluding participants’ Conference was held on June 5, 2005 with the participation of Dr. Natalia Semenova (MRIP) and Dr. Donald Addington (Department of Psychiatry, University of Calgary).

Canada-Russia group of organizers / facilitators of the Trauma Response training event, Stavropol, October 2003

Consumer Leadership Training

Three major consumer leadership events were completed since 2003:

Consumer leadership training event in Moscow Hospital # 10, May 2005

Four Canadian Schizophrenia Society members with Russian Inter-regional Consumer Leadership training seminar participants in Moscow, June 2004

Curriculum Development

MRIP partners engaged in continuing consultations with RSSU on the development of pre-service SW specialization in mental health. MRIP leaders participated in reviewing and sharpening of the proposed curriculum, with the involvement of professionals and administrative leaders from other regions.

Dr. Gurovich and MRIP team, in collaboration with an inter-regional Committee appointed by the Ministry of Health, and in consultations with RSSU partners, have developed and submitted to the Federal Ministry of Health a comprehensive in-service (after-diploma) training curriculum for mental health specialization that will target graduates of social work faculties and current practitioners. The curriculum is currently under review in the Federal Ministry of Health.