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DTSTART;TZID=Africa/Cairo:20260505T200000
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SUMMARY:Telepsychiatry and Digital Group Therapies
DESCRIPTION:CME Course Proposal\n“Title”\n“Telepsychiatry and Digital Group Therapies: Safe Implementation in Line with WPA Telepsychiatry Global Guidelines”\nDate:  5 May 2026\nTime:  17:00 pm – 20:00 pm 3 hours (180 minutes)\nCourse Lead:\nDavor Mucic, MD, PhD\nChair, WPA Digital Mental Health Section\nTarget Audience\nPsychiatrists, psychiatry trainees, clinical psychologists, psychotherapists, mental health nurses, and multidisciplinary team leaders.\nLevel\nIntroductory to intermediate (no prior digital experience required)\nCourse Rationale\nTelepsychiatry is now an established modality of psychiatric care. However, implementation without structured training may expose clinicians and services to ethical, legal, and safety risks.\nThis CME course provides a practical, step-by-step implementation framework directly aligned with the WPA Telepsychiatry Global Guidelines (2024) and WPA AI & mHealth Guidelines (in press), covering professional standards for identification, consent, confidentiality, documentation, emergency management, platform security, and digital equity.\nSpecial emphasis is placed on online group therapies as a distinct clinical modality requiring adapted facilitation skills and governance safeguards.\nEducational Objectives\nUpon completion, participants will be able to:\n\nDefine telepsychiatry according to WPA standards and describe its indications and limitations.\nEstablish a structured, guideline-aligned telepsychiatry service (technical setup, documentation, workflow).\nConduct compliant remote consultations including identity verification, informed consent, and confidentiality clarification.\nImplement a stepwise emergency response protocol for high-risk scenarios (e.g., suicidality, sudden disconnection).\nSafely configure core videoconferencing platform controls to minimise preventable privacy incidents.\nAdapt group therapy processes to online delivery using structured facilitation techniques.\nApply basic principles of digital tool and app evaluation consistent with data-minimisation and patient-centred care.\n\nCourse Content Overview (3 Hours)\n\nFoundations of Telepsychiatry (30 min)\nWPA definition, evidence base, indications/contraindications, ethical framework.\nSetting Up a Professional Telepsychiatry Service (45 min)\nMinimum technical standards; secure environment; consent procedures; identity and location verification; documentation standards; governance workflow.\nPatient Safety and Emergency Management (30 min)\nRemote risk assessment; location confirmation; emergency contact procedures; escalation pathways; documentation.\n\nBreak (10 min)\n\nOnline Group Therapies (35 min)\nConfidentiality limits in digital groups; tele-group contracting; facilitation micro-skills; managing disruption and third-party presence.\nDigital Adjunct Tools (20 min)\nOutcome measurement, symptom tracking, app evaluation framework (privacy, security, clinical foundation).\n\nAssessment (10 min integrated)\nPre/post MCQ and case-based safety scenario.\nCompetency Mapping (Aligned with WPA Guidelines)\n\nProfessionalism & Ethics: Realistic confidentiality limits, informed consent in digital care.\nPatient Safety: Structured remote emergency workflows.\nClinical Governance: Documentation standards and identity verification.\nDigital Competence: Platform configuration and risk mitigation.\nEquity & Access: Consideration of digital exclusion and hybrid models. \n\n\nUpon completion, participants will be able to\n\nDefine telepsychiatry (WPA standards), including key indications and limitations\nSet up a structured, guideline-based telepsychiatry service\nConduct compliant remote consultations (identity, consent, confidentiality)\nManage high-risk situations with clear emergency protocols\nEnsure data privacy through secure platform use\nDeliver effective online group therapy\nEvaluate digital tools using patient-centred and data-minimisation principles\n\nExpected Outcomes\nParticipants will gain practical competence to:\n\nImplement a compliant telepsychiatry service within national regulatory frameworks.\nReduce preventable privacy and safety incidents.\nDeliver online individual and group psychiatric care consistent with WPA global standards.\n\nCourse Lead:\nDavor Mucic, MD, PhD\nChair, WPA Digital Mental Health Section\nSUGGESTED READINGS\n\nMucic D, et al. World Psychiatric Association (WPA) telepsychiatry global guidelines. J Technol Behav Sci. 2024; 9:580–596.\nAmerican Psychiatric Association; American Telemedicine Association. Best practices in synchronous videoconferencing-based telemental health. Washington (DC): APA; 2022.\nWorld Health Organization. Guideline: recommendations on digital interventions for health system strengthening. Geneva: WHO; 2019.\nWorld Health Organization. Ethics and governance of artificial intelligence for health. Geneva: WHO; 2021.\nS. Department of Health and Human Services. Telehealth for behavioral health: group teletherapy best practice guide [Internet]. 2024 [cited 2026 Feb 16]. Available from: https://telehealth.hhs.gov ( https://telehealth.hhs.gov/ )\nAndrews K, et al. Online group psychotherapy: a systematic review. 2024.\nLaurito LD, et al. Online group therapies for anxiety-, obsessive–compulsive-, and trauma-related disorders: a systematic review. 2024.\nSandre A, et al. Comparing in-person to videoconference group cognitive behavioural therapy for depressive disorders in an outpatient mood disorders clinic. Behav Cogn Psychother.\nTorous et al. The evolving field of digital mental health: current evidence and implementation issues for smartphone apps, generative artificial intelligence, and virtual reality. World Psychiatry, 2025 May 15;24(2):156–174.\nLustgarten SD, et al. Digital privacy in mental healthcare: current issues and recommendations for technology use. Curr Opin Psychol.\nLagan S, et al. Mental health app evaluation: updating the American Psychiatric Association’s framework through a stakeholder-engaged workshop. Psychiatr Serv.\n\n \n
URL:https://rakhawyinstitute.org/events/cme-course-proposal/
CATEGORIES:Workshops
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