Master of International Mental Health
Master of International Mental Health
School of Population Health - The University of Melbourne
Course Convenor: Associate Professor Harry Minas
This postgraduate degree program is a response to the global need for strengthened capacity in mental health policy, service development and health systems research.
The Master of International Mental Health is a one-year full-time or two years part-time postgraduate degree open to medical and other mental health professionals. The program is taught in mixed delivery mode, with intensive teaching at The University of Melbourne, regional workshops, online seminars, and project supervision. This program structure enables students to undertake an internationally recognised course of study without prolonged absence from their own home context, and offers the opportunity to apply new knowledge and skills to their home environment throughout the course.
The Master of International Mental Health is relevant to mental health professionals (e.g. psychiatrists, psychiatric nurses, psychologists) who are working on mental health development and mental health system reform in a wide variety of contexts, in countries, with low, medium and high levels of mental health resources. The program is also relevant to international health or development professionals who are involved in, or preparing to undertake, mental health development work in countries other than their own. The structure of the program enables students to undertake the course of study while still engaged in their own work environments.
The program offers an excellent opportunity to learn first-hand from mental health professionals, fellow students and Faculty, from across the Asia-pacific region, and to become part of valuable collaborative networks.
The program addresses all elements of leadership in mental health, including policy and service development, research and training, and the ethical foundations for such work.
At the end of the program, students will have strengthened their capacity to:
- assess current and future needs of the population for mental health services in the context of rapid socio-economic, cultural and epidemiological transitions;
- identify and enhance the economic and social resources that can be harnessed for development by building and leading partnerships and coalitions that drive and sustain development;
- embark on practical development projects driven by clear evaluation processes and data collection systems to ensure development is evidence-based;
- articulate clear, practical goals for mental health development in their own contexts, analyse economic, social, and policy obstacles to development, and implement effective strategies for the development of critical mental health services and policies;
- conduct research that will inform the development of high quality mental health policy and services