The Live Love Laugh Foundation (TLLLF) has announced the completion of the first cycle of the Certificate Course in Common Mental Disorders (CCCMD). The programme, delivered in partnership with the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) and Association of Healthcare Providers (India), trains primary care physicians to identify and manage common mental health disorders. TLLLF is the knowledge and grant partner, PHFI, the implementation partner and, AHPI, the strategic partner.

Anisha Padukone, CEO, TLLLF, commented on the critical need for more advanced training, stating, “With CCCMD, our goal was to empower physicians to identify common mental health disorders, so those with mental illness can receive timely access to care."

The first cohort, comprising 143 physicians, began in June 2020 and completed a comprehensive training programme split into five modules that ended last November.

A baseline study of participants conducted by PHFI at the start of the course pointed to several areas of development, with nearly 30 per cent of participants unable to determine the behaviours that warrant a mental health evaluation while about half of them were unaware of the link between anxiety disorders in men and its effect on their risk of alcohol abuse.

Dr Pushkar Kumar, Sr Public Health Specialist & Acting Head, Training Division, PHFI said, “The challenge is global, but the approach needs to be customised to the local context, and that’s what we believe our training has done.”

Dr Alexander Thomas, President, Association of Healthcare Providers, talked about the urgency of the matter, saying, “We believe that with enough reach, our training has the potential to bring relief to millions of patients and their families. The overwhelming success of the first batch furthers our determination to train even larger numbers soon.”