• Sector:
  Health
• Project name:
  Program for Psychosocial Recovery and Development in East Timor
• Country:
  East Timor
• Project location:
  Dili and provinces
• Name of client:
  Aus aid

Description of project:
The goal of the program is to strengthen the capacity of East Timorese to provide a community based primary mental health care service for people with severe mental illness. This includes provision of mental health training for a range of community groups, police, churches and the establishment of a psychosocial resource center in Dili. PRADET has also established a psychiatric outreach service in districts using specialist mental health workers supplemented with training provided by visiting Australian psychiatrists for difficult cases.

The outcomes of the program include:

• 50 community based district workers trained from the health, social welfare, education, religious and community sectors in mental health issue identification and psychosocial interventions.
• Skilling a core group of health care specialists in management of chronic mental illnesses and trauma related disabilities
• Establishing a Resources Centre in Dili and producing culturally specific training and practice materials
• Strengthening the leadership and management capacities of East Timorese health professionals through a collaborative experiential approach
• Production of a national mental health manual as standard reference material, translated, culturally appropriate and formatted for local use.

Services provided:
Recruiting, mobilising and preparing trainers and advisers in Australia including personnel with expertise in psychiatry, mental health, psychology, neurology, social work, community health, public health, trauma, paediatrics, aged care, planning, research and evaluation. Management of all logistics to undertake the training required. Organising attendance of participants for training throughout East Timor districts. Financial and contractual management in Australia.