Course / Module Description

 

1.   Title:                               Mental Health Skills for Assisting Traumatised Populations

 

2.    Institution                     Master Programme International Health
Institute of Tropical Medicine, Spandauer Damm 130, 14050 Berlin
Charité University-Medicine Berlin, Free and Humboldt University Berlin

 

3.   Course coordinator:  Christine Bruhns, MPH (christine.bruhns@charite.de)

                                       

4.   Type:                              Advanced optional

 

5.   Duration and dates:   One week,  early February, plus 2-3 days for assignment

 

6.   Credit points                 2 ECTS credit points 

                                               60 hours SIT (30 hrs contact time plus 15 hours self-directed learning during the course
                                               plus 15 hrs for assignment).

 

7.   Language:                    English

 

8.   Objectives:                   

          The aim of this course is to acquire practical skills to be applied in situations of population groups being severely traumatised, particularly in cross-cultural contexts. Possible traumas range from person-to-person violence to post-war situations and post-disaster scenarios.

 

            At the end of the module the participants will be able to:

            o       recognise the previous traumatisation and its effect on individuals and groups;

o       describe and explain the psychological effects of traumatisation and the enduring mental health problems;

o       describe the signs and symptoms of “post traumatic stress disorder” (PTSD) and be able to critically appraise this entity and its limitations, e.g. in a non-Western context;

o       talk to individuals or groups of traumatised people and assist them in the early stages after the trauma;

o       identify means of distributing this knowledge and these skills through training of trainers, particularly in cross-cultural settings;

o       define “vicarious“ traumatisation and have skills to counteract it;

o       compare the concept of “trauma and growth” with other newly developed concepts of post-trauma interventions.

 

9.   Content:

  Principles of resource-oriented work.

  Strengths of the person as a  “body-mind system”.

  Definitions of trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

  Sequelae of chronic PTSD, of continuous traumatisation, and of retraumatisation.

  Referral criteria for severely disturbed clients.

  Early interventions after a trauma.

  Scientific debate: “trauma and growth”.

  Personal debriefing.

  Care for caregivers.

 

10. Learning Methods:

  Short input lectures, group work in groups of 2-3 learners, group discussions of results, practical applications
            of all relevant skills.

 

11. Assessment procedures: 

 A written examination – MC and open questions - at the end of the course will help to determine the level of acquired knowledge. To test skills and attitudes, students will have to apply the method of “personal debriefing” in 3-5 clients after the course and document their findings and the applied technique in detail in a report which will be assessed. This will take them 2-3 days in addition to the course time.

 

12. Prerequisites: 

Learners should be sufficiently fluent in oral and written English (TOEFL 550/213/79 or IELTS 6,0). Knowledge of unstable populations is helpful but not a precondition.

 

13. Attendance:                  Max. 20 students

 

14. Selection criteria:        Preferential admission of tropEd Masters students

 

15. Tuition Fees:                380 EUR

 

16. Scholarships:               none

 

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