The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced the global launch of an interactive online training course on human rights-based mental health services. The program is designed for mental health care provision decision-makers, providers of mental health services and psychosocial support and care recipients. The course falls under the purview of the QualityRights initiative, to help provide mental health systems with a foundation in recovery, rights and inclusion. The modules take roughly 16 hours to complete overall. Almost 30,000 people have already completed the course through partnerships between WHO and several countries. Feedback from early adopter nations was positive, noting substantial changes in attitudes about providing people with choice and information about therapeutic options; deployment of alternatives to isolation and restraint; and encouragement of recovery, hope and community participation. "With the support of our partners from around the world, we are aiming for 5 million people having completed the training by the end of 2024," said Michelle Funk, WHO's administrator of mental health policy, law and rights.
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