Community Mental Health & Psychosocial Support
Bringing mental health care out of isolation and into everyday primary healthcare — through trained clinicians, community volunteers, and a referral pathway that reaches homes, health centres, and hospitals alike.
Mental health care, woven into primary health care
The Community Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (cMHPSS) Services of CBC Health Services integrate mental health and psychological support into primary healthcare — building a community-based model that decentralises care and brings it closer to the people who need it.
The programme works through psychiatric nurses stationed at leading facilities, primary healthcare providers based in health centres, community-based volunteers, and the Community Counselling Clinic (CCC) in Nkwen, Bamenda — offering primary mental healthcare through training on the mhGAP protocol.
Reducing disability caused by mental, neurological and substance use conditions — one household, one health centre, one hospital at a time.
To assist in reducing disabilities caused by Mental, Neurological and Substance Use (MNS) conditions — by enhancing the uptake of Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) among individuals, families, and communities.
Six commitments guiding the programme
From clinical training to inclusion, each objective strengthens a different link in the chain of care.
Sustainable access
Improve access to quality, sustainable mental health services across CBCHS facilities and the communities they cover.
Skilled workforce
Train and commission skilled mental health staff to supervise, support, and strengthen mhGAP implementation.
PHC integration
Build capacity of primary healthcare staff through the mhGAP protocol to integrate mental health into primary care.
Disability inclusion
Improve access to mental healthcare for persons living with disabilities.
Hospital liaison
Strengthen mental health and psychosocial services within CBCHS hospitals through liaison mental health services.
Rehabilitation
Facilitate inclusion and rehabilitation of persons with mental and psychosocial disabilities.
What the programme does, day to day
- Specialised mental health services — interpersonal therapy, CBT, use of psychotropics, and more.
- Focused person-to-person, non-specialised support services.
- Strengthening communities and family support networks.
- Social consideration in basic services and security.
- Ongoing system strengthening across facilities.
- Community-based rehabilitation and re-integration.
A hub, its spokes, and the people between them
Each liaison psychiatric unit in a hospital serves as a hub — planning and carrying community mental health activities into homes, support groups, and outreaches across its catchment area.
01Workforce & training
- Training, recruitment, and retention of qualified staff, including at least one resident psychiatrist
- Every major CBCHS hospital staffed with a psychiatric nurse and mhGAP-trained personnel
- Upgrading experienced psychiatric nurses into trainers and supervisors
- Mental health incorporated into every CBCHS training programme, taught by certified trainers
02Community-based care
- Collaboration with local councils and CBR to establish community support groups within the CBID framework
- Integration of mental health into primary healthcare through outreaches and support groups
- Home-based care, home visits, and the creation of safe corners
- Liaison units acting as regional hubs for planning community activities
03System integration
- Every CBCHS facility staffed with at least one person trained on mhGAP
- Effective interdepartmental collaboration between chaplaincy, social workers, and clinical staff
- A comprehensive referral pathway for mental healthcare
- Collaboration enforced across staff, with administrative support and coverage
04Partnerships & sustainability
- Mobilisation of resources to ensure long-term sustainability
- Meaningful partnerships with organisations committed to mental health care
- A curriculum for integrating mental health across all CBCHS training
The tools used at every access point
What decentralised care has made possible
- A comprehensive referral pathway for MHPSS has been developed and is in active use.
- 25 ex-patients and relatives trained to lead community sensitisation and support groups.
- Support groups improving access to care through the ongoing socio-political crisis.
- Community Mental Health Technicians introduced as a new cadre working alongside providers.
- Effective decentralisation of quality mental healthcare through task-sharing.
- Telepsyche piloted, using technology to extend access to mental healthcare.
Where the programme is headed next
Increase the number of mental health nurses across facilities.
Create more liaison psychiatric units in general hospitals that need them.
Establish more community self-help groups.
Expand services to other programmes within the health department.
Harmonise the work of mental health providers, chaplains, and social workers through workshops.
Foster mental health research and mobilise resources for underserved communities.
Working alongside organisations who share this goal
Care that reaches people where they are
From liaison clinics to home visits, the cMHPSS programme is built on the belief that mental healthcare works best when it is close, consistent, and community-led.