Mental Health

Why are we doing this? (The problem statement) The burden that mental health is currently inflicting on our societies is on the rise, especially with the limited resources that are dedicated to this field worldwide. Mental health is defined by the World Health Organization as follows: Mental health is not just the absence of mental disorder. It is defined as a state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community.
Mental health problems can often be debilitating, hence decreasing productivity of individuals and adding to the health burden of societies worldwide. But still, the perception of Mental Health differs to a great extend from the understanding of physical challenges.

Our Vision We want to help reduce the burden of health caused by mental health disorders worldwide. We aim to both spread awareness about mental health disorders and advocate for the mentally ill to ensure that they are capable of living completely normal lives in the future by allowing their harmonious integration into society. We also aim to raise awareness of mental health disorders and well-being among medical students, in order to prevent new cases of suicide, depression and other illness in medical the medical world. How are we planning on doing this? The 3 day training workshop at the pre-GA will aim to train 15-20 individuals in the field of mental health and provide them with skills that will allow them to spread their knowledge among peers and other segments of their societies. Below is the agenda for the workshop.

Will there be any follow-up after the workshop? Both short term and long term follow-up methods will be incorporated. These will include online evaluation forms, a google drive database for materials as well as a project database on projects related to the field of mental health. Im interested! How can I get involved? Simply select the mental health workshop for your pre-GA. The applications will be selected for the pre-GA workshop giving priorities to:
1. People with some experience in the field of mental health 2. People available for the whole period of the pre-GA 3. People with reasonably good English skills

A fair regional representation will be also encouraged as this serves the topic of the preGA as exposure to different cultures and societies will be of paramount importance for the deliverance of the workshops message. We will be happy to answer questions via Luise.Schaefer@gmail.com!

Thank you and see you soon fellows!

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