Researchers at the Douglas Institute are working closely with the World Health Organization (WHO)/Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Collaboration Centre in Montreal to improve access to mental health care across the globe.
The WHO/PAHO Collaboration Centre was established at the Douglas Institute in 1982, and is particularly active in Latin America, where there is a glaring need for mental health experts.
The Collaboration Centre serves a scientific, advisory and educational mission, and pursues three main objectives:
- Take part in the design and implementation of mental health programs based on WHO and PAHO guidelines;
- Use relevant findings from Douglas Hospital Research Centre researchers to develop efficient measuring instruments;
- Train candidates from all over the world in the fields of psychopharmacology, psychosocial rehabilitation, child psychiatry, community development, research methodology, policymaking, and addiction prevention and treatment.
In pursuing these objectives, the Centre relies on a network of well-established consultants, such as McGill University—to which it is affiliated—and a myriad of other institutions of higher learning, health establishments, community and non-government organizations from all over the world.