TPC-Journal-V6-Issue1

The Professional Counselor /Volume 6, Issue 1 4 Communities in developing countries have historically lacked opportunities for mental health training, skill development and capacity building (Abarquez & Murshed, 2004). However, Hinkle (2014) also has indicated that “long years of training are not necessary for learning how to provide fundamental help for people who are emotionally distressed” (p. 4). International health care organizations have demonstrated a need to develop innovative uses of informal mental health assistants and facilitators to establish community mental health services (Hinkle, 2014; Warne & McAndrew, 2004). Hinkle (2006, 2009, 2014) and Eaton and colleagues (Eaton, 2013; Eaton et al., 2011) have indicated that if the gap in mental health services is to be closed, it must include the use of non- specialists to deliver care. Such non-specialized workers should receive Mental Health Facilitator training in order to identify mental stress, distress and disorders; provide fundamental care; monitor helping strategies; and make appropriate referrals (Becker & Kleinman, 2013; Hinkle, 2014; Hinkle, Kutcher, & Chehil, 2006; Hinkle & Schweiger, 2012; Jorm, 2012; Saraceno et al., 2007). According to Hinkle (2014), the “data speaks loudly to the need for accessible, effective and equitable global mental health care. However, a common barrier to mental health care is a lack of providers who have the necessary competencies to address basic community psychosocial needs” (p. 5). Informal community mental health care is characterized by community members without formal education or training in mental health providing much-needed services. MHF training has been used to bridge the gap between formal and informal mental health care (Hinkle et al., 2006). Murthy (2006) has indicated that informal community care, including self-care, is critical. Moreover, promotion of community mental health increases understanding of mental health problems and decreases mistrust of people suffering from mental health concerns (Kabir, Iliyasu, Abubakar, & Aliyu, 2004; Wright et al., 2014). Simply put, community workers are a large untapped volunteer resource for people suffering from problems associated with poor mental health (Hinkle, 2014; Hoff, Hallisey, & Hoff, 2009), and data have shown that the delivery of psychosocial-type interventions in non-specialized care settings is feasible (WHO, 2010a, 2010b). Hinkle (2014) has reported that “enhancing basic community mental health services, both informally and formally, is a viable way to assist the never-served ” (p. 4). He elaborated that the “MHF program is part of a grassroots implementation trend that has already begun in communities around the globe” (p. 4). In straightforward terms, the demand for the strategic increasing of community mental health services in low-resource settings (Wright et al., 2014) needs to be simplified, locally contextualized, available where people live, affordable and sustainable (Patel, 2013). This plan includes offering services to school children and their families. Wright et al. (2014) have reported that “brief structured psychotherapies, delivered by non-specialist health workers, have been successfully trialed” (p. 156), but the benefits have not necessarily translated into everyday practice. However, this paper reports on one such translation. Overview of the Mental Health Facilitator Curriculum and Training The National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) International developed the MHF curriculum as well as an implementation method that is making a global impact (Hinkle, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010a, 2010b, 2012a, 2012b, 2012c, 2013a, 2013b, 2014; Hinkle & Henderson, 2007; Hinkle & Schweiger, 2012). The MHF training program addresses the need for population-based mental health training that can be adapted to reflect the social, cultural, economic and political realities of any country (Hinkle, 2014). Hinkle (2014) described the MHF program as follows: