Support for innovative psychiatric care

Professional development across 12 time zones!

Continuing many years’ collaboration with Sajida Foundation health programs, BHP volunteers have recently been supporting development of The Neuroscience & Psychiatry Hub, a modern psychiatric hospital in Dhaka. Since late 2024, BHP Director Alex Berland and Canadians Ann Greene and Tom Grauman have provided training on patient-centred mental health care for the hospital’s nurses and physicians. Ann has led live, twice-weekly case reviews on-line, guiding staff through patient assessment and care planning. Tom recently returned from a six-week site visit where he coached staff in therapeutic communication and non-violent crisis intervention and also developed job descriptions and care protocols.

At the first ever Hearing Voices workshop in Bangladesh

While in Dhaka during May, Tom also provided a workshop based on the “Hearing Voices” curriculum, which helps care providers understand the challenges encountered by individuals experiencing auditory hallucinations. One of the psychiatrists attending said afterwards, “We deal with a lot of patients who hear voices. But this training has made me truly appreciate their experience and also empathize with their difficulties in their day to day.” Another participant stated, “This was a profound reminder of the power of listening without judgment. It challenged clinical conventions and opened our eyes to the value of lived experience in shaping compassionate, person-centred mental health care.”

Best wishes to former BHP volunteer

Photo by Arlen Redekop /PNG

As a young RN in 2011, Cailey Lynch volunteered as a visiting faculty member at IUBAT College of Nursing for an entire semester. She supervised students in medical-surgical nursing, making a strong impression as a confident professional role-model. After returning to Canada she continued working as a nurse while studying medicine and even finding time to get married. This month her husband, David Eby, became leader of the governing party in British Columbia, becoming the provincial Premier. We wish Cailey and her family all the best as they embark on this exciting new experience.

Engaging students in research

BHP Director John Richards is in Dhaka during June and July, meeting with IUBAT College of Nursing faculty and students and visiting Oasis for Posterity projects. IUBAT Prof. Hasnat Alamgir sent this photo from his Research Methods course for third-year nursing students. To graduate from the BSN program, the students complete a major research project and thesis, sometimes conducting dozens of interviews on topics such as ante-natal care or infection control in hospitals. On this occasion, John shared his own research projects, suggested a dozen potential public health topics and, as he says, “Tried to motivate them to conduct good research.” Humour is a pretty good motivator!