Since February 2008, BALM has collaborated with University College London on 3 short courses on various topics related to medical anthropology. The aim of the course is to expose professionals in South Asia to medical anthropology and cultural psychiatry and to share learnings and workable theories of the discipline. Since the first course, more than 75 people have been trained.

Rethinking Psychosocial Interventions in South Asia:

Contributions from medical anthropology

4th UCL - BALM Short Course

Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

8-10 November 2010

Objectives: This 3 day intensive course is aimed at providing an understanding of the conceptual theoretical and practical clinical challenges in applying existing psychological and social theory to psychosocial interventions within the sub-continent, and to deliberate alternative solutions.

Target audience: The course will benefit: Psychiatrists, Clinical Psychologists, Psychiatric Social Workers, Occupational Therapists, Medical Anthropologists, and Clinical Practitioners in Mental Health from the NGO, Public and Private Health sectors. Participants will be expected to have a sound basic knowledge of social sciences and its relationship to mental health in South Asia.

Course content: 1) Recent advances in psychological, social, rehabilitation & developmental models of intervention 2) Anthropological critique of Psychological and Social therapies 3) Alternative approaches tailored to the South Asian context.

Learning Objectives: Participants will 1) gain knowledge on recent thematic developments in psychological, social, and developmental models for mental health 2) learn to critique, through a medical anthropological perspective, existing theory and practice in psychosocial interventions 3) explore through live supervision, ways of reformulating case studies from their own practice to generate culturally valid alternatives.

Teaching methods comprise didactic lectures, discussion groups, and interactive workshops.

For more information on the 4th UCL – BALM course, click here.