Lesson 1Validated screening instruments: PHQ-9, GAD-7, AUDIT-C, C-SSRS — administration, scoring, interpretation, and cutoffsThis part looks at main self-report tools for sadness, worry, alcohol use, and suicide risk. You will learn how to use them properly, score them, understand cutoff points, and explain results in a caring way, including when to check again and how to talk about findings with patients.
Selecting appropriate screening instrumentsStandardized administration proceduresScoring rules and severity cutoffsInterpreting scores in clinical contextCommunicating results to patientsLesson 2Assessment workflow for first 2–3 sessions: sequencing questions, building rapport, and structuring session timeThis part shows how to organize the first two or three meetings, mixing trust-building with gathering details. You will plan the order of questions, timing, changes between topics, and managing time while keeping a warm, teamwork-focused, and health-centered approach suitable for Eritrean settings.
Setting agenda and expectations earlyPrioritizing urgent assessment domainsSequencing sensitive questions thoughtfullyBalancing rapport with data gatheringTime management and session closureLesson 3Documentation and legal/ethical requirements for initial assessment, consent, and confidentialityThis part explains record-keeping rules and legal-moral duties during first meetings. You will go over getting agreement, limits of privacy, required reporting, and risk notes, and practice writing straightforward, strong records that help continue care smoothly in line with Eritrean laws.
Elements of informed consentExplaining confidentiality and its limitsMandated reporting and duty to protectWriting clear, defensible intake notesManaging records and information sharingLesson 4Risk assessment protocols: assessing suicidal ideation, intent, plan, protective factors, and safety planningThis part covers organized checks for suicide and harm risks, including thoughts, intentions, plans, ways to act, and helpful factors. You will use tools like C-SSRS, note risk levels, and create joint, useful safety plans with patients, adapted to Eritrean cultural contexts.
Eliciting suicidal thoughts and historyAssessing intent, plan, and access to meansIdentifying protective factors and buffersDetermining risk level and monitoringDeveloping collaborative safety plansLesson 5Identifying strengths and resources: social supports, work functioning, motivation, prior coping skillsThis part stresses finding patient strengths, beliefs, and helps besides problems. You will check social ties, job and daily roles, past ways of handling stress, and drive, then include these positives in understanding cases and joint treatment plans relevant to Eritrean life.
Mapping social and community supportsEvaluating work and role functioningIdentifying past effective coping skillsAssessing motivation and readinessIntegrating strengths into treatmentLesson 6Culturally responsive assessment: asking about family norms, stigma, language, and preferred terms for distressThis part centers on weaving culture into checks, like views on mental issues, family roles, language, and local ways to describe pain. You will practice kind questions, adjusting them, and steering clear of assumptions while respecting patient choices in Eritrean traditions.
Exploring cultural identity and migrationAssessing family roles and expectationsUnderstanding stigma and help-seeking normsAsking about language and preferred termsAddressing religion, spirituality, and meaningLesson 7Comprehensive psychiatric intake: presenting problem, symptom timeline, functional impairment, substance use, trauma, family and social historyThis part breaks down parts of a full mental health first meeting for adults. You will sort details on main issues, how symptoms developed, daily life effects, substance habits, past harms, and family-social background into a clear health view fitting Eritrean experiences.
Clarifying the chief complaintMapping symptom onset and timelineAssessing functional impairment domainsScreening substance use and traumaGathering family and social historyLesson 8Standard diagnostic criteria: DSM-5-TR criteria for major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and differential diagnoses (bipolar, PTSD, substance-induced, medical causes)This part reviews DSM-5-TR standards for major sadness disorder and general worry disorder, focusing on telling them apart. You will separate simple sadness from mood swings, exclude trauma stress, substances, and body causes, and note clear reasons in Eritrean clinical practice.
DSM-5-TR criteria for major depressionDSM-5-TR criteria for generalized anxietyScreening for bipolar spectrum disordersDistinguishing PTSD and trauma reactionsSubstance-induced and medical conditionsLesson 9Collateral information and biopsychosocial formulation: gathering information from PCP, partner, medical records, and cultural contextThis part shows how to collect extra details and form a body-mind-social view. You will work with doctors and family, blend records and cultural settings, and turn data into simple ideas about what drives symptoms, considering Eritrean community dynamics.
Obtaining releases and contacting collateralsReviewing medical and psychiatric recordsIntegrating cultural and contextual factorsBuilding a biopsychosocial case modelCommunicating formulation to the clientLesson 10Assessing sleep, circadian factors, and digital behavior (social media) in the intakeThis part teaches checking sleep quality, body clock, and phone use as they link to mood and worry. You will use aimed questions, quick sleep checks, and look at social media patterns that make symptoms worse, relevant to young Eritreans' daily habits.
Screening insomnia and hypersomniaAssessing circadian rhythm disruptionsNighttime rumination and worry patternsEvaluating social media and device useLinking behavior patterns to symptoms
