Training lay counsellors in public health

Many non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in resource-constrained communities who provide psychosocial services employ lay and paraprofessional counsellors to dispense these services to clients. Yet, selection criteria for such lay persons are highly variable. In the context of low levels of formal education in many communities, education-based criteria are not easily applied. The eligibility of individuals for counsellor training is a matter of considerable importance even though NGO staff may not differentiate between those volunteers or employees who are and are not eligible for training. Also, no screening instruments have been developed to reliably discriminate between individuals who do and do not become effective counsellors. Indeed, decisions about which applicants are and are not trainable are of considerable consequence in sustaining high quality work. A research programme is needed to identify attitudinal and personality markers that may predict success as lay counsellors. In this article specific suggestions are made, including suggestions for practice so that the administrative and human resource needs of NGO's can be balanced with the professional and ethical imperative of recruiting lay counsellors who are trainable and capable of performing counselling tasks with the highest level of professionalism possible despite their lay status

Burnout · Medical education · Pedagogy · Political science · Professional development · Professional psychology · Public health · Training (meteorology · Clinical Psychology · Counseling Practices and Supervision · Medicine · Mental Health Treatment and Access · Nursing · Psychology · Social Work Education and Practice · Social Work

• Lay HIV counselors' knowledge and attitudes toward depression

  Open Access•Flávio Mandlate, M Claire Greene et al.•Frontiers in Public Health•2022

  Incluir item

• Organization-level determinants for low secondary traumatic stress in lay counselors delivering trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy in Kenya

  Open Access•Priya Dahiya, Clara Johnson et al.•PLOS Global Public Health•2026

  Incluir item

• Problem-Solving Therapy

  Arthur M Nezu, Christine Maguth Nezu et al.•Problem-Solving Therapy•2012

  Incluir item

• The Role of Communities in Mental Health Care in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

  Open Access•B A Kohrt, Laura Asher et al.•International Journal of…•2018

  Incluir item

• Effect of a Primary Care–Based Psychological Intervention on Symptoms of Common Mental Disorders in Zimbabwe

  Dixon Chibanda, Helen A Wei et al.•JAMA•2016

  Incluir item

• Building capacity in mental health interventions in low resource countries

  Open Access•Laura K Murray, Shannon Dorsey et al.•International Journal of Mental…•2011

  Incluir item

• Community mental health care worldwide

  Open Access•Graham Thornicroft, Tanya Deb et al.•World Psychiatry•2016

  Incluir item

• Clinical Versus Actuarial Judgment

  Open Access•Robyn M Dawes, David Faust et al.•Science•1989

  Incluir item

• Cognitive behaviour therapy-based intervention by community health workers for mothers with depression and their infants in rural Pakistan

  Open Access•Atıf Rahman, Atif Rahman et al.•The Lancet•2008

  Incluir item

• Training lay counsellors to provide psychosocial support to ART users

  Ashraf Kagee•AIDS Care•2013

  Incluir item

• A task shifting approach to primary mental health care for adults in South Africa

  Open Access•Inge Petersen, Crick Lund et al.•Health Policy and Planning•2012

  Incluir item

• Therapist Expertise in Psychotherapy Revisited

  Open Access•Clara E Hill, Sharon B Spiegel et al.•The Counseling Psychologist•2017

  Incluir item