Iraq Project Activities

Integrating Torture Treatment and Mental Health Services in the Primary Health System

Heartland Alliance is implementing a two-year project to integrate mental health services into primary health care by training and supervising medical assistants and physicians in rural clinics in 10 of Iraq’s 18 provinces. To date, Heartland Alliance has trained more than 100 physicians and 200 medical assistants in the Iraqi Kurdistan region and in the southern Iraqi governorates of Najaf, Karbala, Dhi Qar, Diywaniyya, Maysan, Muthanna, and Basra.

As part of our ongoing work in Northern and Southern Iraq, Heartland Alliance has developed a series of professional training curricula for primary health care physicians and paraprofessional-level community mental health workers. These curricula are available in Arabic and Kurdish (Surani) and have been provided to the Ministry of Health. This basic skills curriculum uses a range of teaching methods (didactic lecture, experiential exercises, group discussion, and supplemental field work) to provide a foundation in mental health and mental illness within the Iraqi cultural context.

In addition to the basic curricula, physicians and medical assistants have been trained in recognizing and responding to traumatic stress, suicide assessment and prevention, family violence, substance abuse, and family and community education in mental health.