WPA Volunteering Programme: a pilot project in Mexico

Update on implementation of WPA Action Plan 2020‐2023

“…In creating this resource center, the WPA and its Scientific Sections established col laborations with a number of professional organizations in addition to the EPA, includ ing the European College of Neuropsycho pharmacology (ECNP) 8 and Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) 9,10 , to bring together rel evant selfhelp materials to support those in need.…”

“…Work­ing Groups are implementing several initiatives in areas of training and research, and clinical updates. Activities by the Working Groups on Managing Comorbidity of Mental and Physical Health, Early Intervention in Psy­chosis, Public Mental Health, and Pro­motion of Psychiatry Among Medical Stu­dents are drawing additional attention to the cur­rent needs and opportunities in these areas of work 9‐11 .…”

WPA education initiatives in the triennium 2020‐2023

“…The second axis is related to the organization of sessions on WPA-related books and other publications on the occasion of World Congresses [3][4][5][6][7][8] . We were able to keep on organizing such sessions remotely at our virtual World Congresses in 2020 and 2021, with the active participation of several WPA Scientific Sections and the partnership of several international associations.…”

“…As of today, the WPA Workgroup on Volunteering has successfully completed one project in Mexico 8 and another one in Pakistan 9 . Both projects had the unique characteristics of involving local trainers in the programme, emphasizing the training ingredients of experiential role‐plays and live demonstrations, extensively having the participants involved in the discussions, and asking local trainers and participants to contribute to the evaluation of the effectiveness of the projects as well as rating their satisfaction with the programme.…”

WPA educational initiatives: reaching different stakeholders in the mental health field

“…While educational resources and live we binars available in the WPA education portal address the knowledge needs of vari ous stakeholders, they cannot meet the re quirements of skills transfer and acquisi tion among mental health professionals. To target this area, the WPA Workgroup on Volunteering has conducted two pilot pro jects in Mexico and Pakistan 8 .…”