Population Mental Health
The population mental health certificate aims to provide the skills needed to understand the distribution of mental health conditions worldwide and their contribution to population health. Courses will cover the epidemiology of mental health conditions as well as conceptualizing and testing underlying causes of mental health conditions, as well as interventions and preventive efforts.
Our courses highlight the dynamic interplay of multiple levels, that is, a person (biology, psychology), in context (family, social network, neighborhood, workplace, society) through time (person and contextual change). They also focus on issues related to the human rights of persons with mental illness, stigma associated with psychiatric conditions, and goals of social equity for those with psychiatric disorders worldwide.
Admissions Eligibility
Population Mental Health is open to Columbia MPH students in:
- Biostatistics
- Environmental Health Sciences
- Epidemiology
- Health Policy and Management
- Population and Family Health
- Sociomedical Sciences
The Competencies for this Certificate are as follows:
- Interpret current psychiatric epidemiological work through the lens of a broader its historical context, taking into account changes in diagnostic criteria (e.g. transition from DSM-III to DSM-V)
- Synthesize the descriptive epidemiology and clinical features of adult psychiatric disorders
- Propose strategies to address the important methodological and analytic issues highlighted by psychiatric epidemiology
- Incorporate multiple perspectives on psychiatric disorders: consumers/patients, providers and families from an integrated personal and professional perspective, drawing on multiple points of view and values, to the practice of psychiatric public health.
- Evaluate current public health programs using evidence and knowledge from the field of psychiatric epidemiology.
Learn More
Visit the Certificates Database to learn more about core and credit requirements.
Sample Courses
- Priorities in Global Mental Health
- Epidemiology of Drug and Alcohol Problems