The development of a Leonardo Program for teaching community psychiatry

Area of Science:

• Mental Health
• Adult Learning Theory
• International Healthcare Collaboration

Background:

• Community mental health services are crucial for accessible care.
• Slovenian mental health professionals sought to enhance their expertise.
• International exchange programs offer valuable learning opportunities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe a project utilizing the EU Leonardo Program for professional development.
• To assess the learning experience of Slovenian mental health professionals in the UK.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of the program in teaching community mental health.

Main Methods:

• Organized a study visit for Slovenian mental health professionals to the UK.
• Employed various assessment methods to evaluate the learning experience.
• Interpreted program results through the lens of adult learning theory.

Main Results:

• The EU Leonardo Program successfully facilitated the exchange.
• Multiple methods confirmed the effectiveness of the learning experience.
• Slovenian professionals demonstrated increased knowledge of community mental health.

Conclusions:

• The EU Leonardo Program is a valuable tool for international mental health education.
• The project successfully transferred knowledge of community mental health principles.
• Adult learning principles were effectively applied in this cross-cultural training.