The Regional Training of Trainers and Supervisors (ToTS) course on the Mental Health Gap Action Program (mhGAP), designed for Persian-speaking countries in the region, officially opened online on Monday, 28 September 2026. The course aims to strengthen professional competencies and build international training and supervision capacity to support the implementation of the mhGAP program.

The opening session began with remarks by Dr. Nader Tavakoli, President of Iran University of Medical Sciences, who highlighted the importance of international collaboration in improving mental health services.

Dr. Khalid Saeed, Regional Adviser for Mental Health at the World Health Organization’s Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean (WHO EMRO), then provided an overview of the implementation of the mhGAP program.

Dr. Ahmad Hajebi, psychiatrist, Head of the School of Behavioral Sciences and Mental Health, and Course Director, outlined the educational objectives of the programme. Dr. Mahmoud Dehghani, psychologist and Head of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Mental Health at the Faculty, introduced the Centre and its activities.

Dr. Sahar Eshrati, psychologist, Project Investigator, and Course Director, presented the course structure, content, and assessment methods, and administered the pre-training assessment.

The academic program continued with Dr. Vahid Shariat, psychiatrist and faculty member at Iran University of Medical Sciences, who introduced the mhGAP program and its Intervention Guide (mhGAP-IG). Dr. Fahimeh Fathali-Lavasani, psychologist and faculty member at the University, reviewed the first part of the Essential Care and Practice (ECP) module, followed by Dr. Shariat’s presentation of the second part.

The first day concluded with a summary of the main topics by Dr. Eshrati and a question-and-answer session with participants.

The three-day training program is designed to strengthen regional capacity in training and supervision and enhance professional skills for implementing mhGAP across Persian-speaking countries in the region. The course will continue over the following three days, combining practical learning with a focus on sustainable regional collaboration in mental health.