Working Group on Volunteer Program • WPA

Working Group on
Volunteer Program

About

The WPA Working Group on Volunteering was convened by the 2020-2023 WPA President Dr Prof Afzal Javed to carry out work related to his 2020-2023 Action Plan, particularly capacity building.
The WG started its work in December 2020 and included 2 successful pilot projects of joint training in Pakistan and Mexico. Further projects in several other countries have begun or neared completion. The current WPA President Dr Prof Danuta Wasserman has endorsed this work and supports the extension of the WPA Volunteering WG for a further triennium.

Building on our role as a connector and collaborator, WPA is looking for volunteers who are willing and able to share their time and expertise to help build capabilities in countries that are in need of training. Similarly, we invite those member societies who need training support to apply to take part in the program. WPA member societies are invited to consider the key documents about how the Volunteering platform works, including the roles and responsibilities of both host organisations and visiting trainers. Requests for training by host organisation as well as volunteers are now welcomed.

The planned outcomes for the WPA Volunteering Programme include:

Implementation of volunteering work in different countries through support for:

Education and promotion of volunteering among WPA Member Societies and early career psychiatrists
Online volunteering through digital platforms, as well as face to face
In-person volunteering to countries with issues of mental health capacities through the member societies and zonal representatives

Identification of countries willing to participate and available resources to support agreed partnership working
Dissemination of educational material through publications, webinars, symposia, workshops, including online training
Support in other areas including child, adolescent and youth mental health, medical student training and education, partnership with other organisations and capacity building
Support for training in research and publications

Working Group Leadership Team

Sophia Thomson

Co-Chair

MBBS, MRCPsych, FRACP

Volunteer and International Psychiatry
Special Interest Group at
Royal College of Psychiatrists, UK

John Allan

Co-Chair

MBBS, FRANZCP, PhD, GAICD

Executive Director of Mental Health
Alcohol and other Drugs Branch,
Clinical Excellence Division
Queensland Health School of Medicine
University of Queensland, Australia

Egor Chumakov

Secretary

MD, PhD

St Petersburg University, Russia

Marc H.M. Hermans

Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist,
Belgium

Peters Hughes

Springfield University Hospital, UK
Currently based in Syria

Roxanna Ruiz

MD, PhD.

Professor at the Faculty of Medicine
at Universidad Francisco Marroquin
and the founder of the Wellbeing
program in the same University, Guatemala

Jacques van Hoof

MD, PhD.

Neuro-Psychiatrist n.p.,
Chair and Founder Stichting Proment,
Chair and Co-Founder of the International
Mental Health Alliance,
The Netherlands

Martha Savage

Professor of Geophysics,
Victoria University of Wellington,
FRSNZ and family caregiver representative,
New Zealand

Amine Larnaout

MD, PhD.

Razi hospital, Faculty of Medicine,
University of Tunis El Manar, Tunisia;
Northern Africa Zone Representative (Zone 11)

Sovady BORA

MD, PhD.

WPA ECPs Section Representative,
Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist,
Cambodia

See the Working Group Members list.

Key Documents

For more information about the foundation and guidelines of the WPA Volunteer program, how the volunteer platform works, as well as the roles and responsibilities of both host organisations and visiting trainers, please view the key documents below:

Foundation paper on the WPA Volunteer Programme

Guidelines on WPA Volunteer Programme

WPA Volunteer Programme Application for becoming a host society for WPA volunteers

WPA Volunteer Programme Application for becoming a WPA volunteer in supporting other WPA member societies

WPA Volunteer Programme checklist for the attributes required for being appointed as a WPA Volunteer to work in host WPA member societies

News and Social Media Feed

Jacques van Hoof, Marc H.M. Hermans, Roger M.K. Ng. Psychiatric volunteering in low- and middle-income countries: what have we learned from history? WCP20 e-poster. ID 1298.
Jacques van Hoof, Margaret I. Ojeahere, Catherine Muburi, Roger M.K. Ng. New vistas in psychiatric volunteering in low- and middle-income countries. WCP20 e-poster. ID 1349.
23rd WPA World Congress of Psychiatry Symposium on the topic “WPA Volunteering Project - Whom, Where, How and When?” took place on October 1, 2023 in Vienna, Austria. Dr Roger Ng, Dr Sophie Thomson, Dr Jacques van Hoof, Dr Bernardo Ng, and Dr Egor Chumakov provided full information on the implemented projects as well as on the future plans of the Working Group.

Resources & Publications

Global volunteering in psychiatry education resource page

Volunteering in Global Mental Health. A Practical Guide for Clinicians. Published 2023. Cambridge University Press. RCPsych. Edited by Sophie Thomson, Peter Hughes, and Sam Gnanapragasam.
Handbook of Refugee Health: For Healthcare Professionals and Humanitarians Providing Care to Forced Migrants. Published 2021. CRC Press. Edited by M Orcutt, C Shortall, S Walpole, A Abbara, S Garry, R Issa, A Zumla, I Abubakar.
Mind, State and Society: Social History of Psychiatry and Mental Health in Britain 1960-2010. Published 2021. Cambridge University Press. RCPsych. Edited by G Ikkos; N Bouras.
Hughes P, Katona C. Refugees, Asylum and Mental Health in the UK. In: Ikkos G, Bouras N, eds. Mind, State and Society: Social History of Psychiatry and Mental Health in Britain 1960–2010. Cambridge University Press; 2021:361-372.
Hughes P. Ethical encounters as a Humanitarian Psychiatrist. Book Chapter- Humanitarian Action and Ethics. Published 2018. Zed Books.

Research papers and reviews

Jenkinson, C.E., Dickens, A.P., Jones, K. et al. Is volunteering a public health intervention? A systematic review and meta-analysis of the health and survival of volunteers. BMC Public Health 13, 773 (2013).
Skuse, D. Training innovations in low- and middle-income countries. . BJPsych Int. 2019 May; 16(2):27.
Thomson S, Chumakov E, Van Hoof J, Ng B, Ng RMK. WPA Volunteering Programme: a pilot project in Mexico. WPA Volunteering Programme: a pilot project in Mexico.
Imran N, Hamdan QU, Thomson S, Hermans M, Javed A, Ng R. Training beyond borders: A WPA pilot project for Child and Adolescent Mental Health course in Pakistan. MedEdPublish 2022, 12:71
Nichol, B., Wilson, R., Rodrigues, A. et al Exploring the Effects of Volunteering on the Social, Mental, and Physical Health and Well-being of Volunteers: An Umbrella Review. Voluntas 35, 97–128 (2024).
Devaraj T. Volunteering in Global Mental Health: A Practical Guide for Clinicians. Fam Med. 2024; 56(9):595-596.
Chumakov E, Thomson S, Allan J, Hermans MHM, van Hoof J, Hughes P, Ng B, Savage M, Ng RMK.WPA Volunteering Programme: lessons learnt so far. World Psychiatry. 2024; 23(1):171-172.
Bora S, Staal W, van Hoof J, Jacobs B, Visnapuu-Bernadt P, Deschamps P. Online Cross-Cultural Dialogue: A Pilot for Transcultural Learning in Postgraduate Psychiatry Training. Acad Psychiatry. 2025 Apr; 49(2):152-156.

Other Resources/Publications