Thinking Healthy: A manual for psychological management of perinatal depression

Women across the globe deserve to enjoy equal health. When they become mothers their health needs should be addressed in all aspects. The Millennium Development Goals have highlighted the importance of maternal and child health and the post 2015 development agenda and the UN Commission on the Status of Women 2014 further stress on gender equality and women’s empowerment, a strategic direction strongly supported by WHO.

About 20% of mothers in low and middle income countries suffer from a mental disorder after childbirth. This is almost double the percentage in high income contexts. WHO’s Global Mental Health Action Plan 2013-2020 endorsed by the World Health Assembly in 2013 recommends comprehensive, integrated and responsive mental health and social care and implementation of strategies for promotion and prevention and refers to integrated child and maternal mental health as examples.

This is a manual for training community health workers on how to support mothers with depression through evidence based cognitive behavioral techniques that are recommended by the mhGAP programme. The innovative manual was developed in Pakistan and later applied in many other countries. WHO in collaboration with Prof Rahman and with the advice from an international group of experts, has now produced a generic version of the manual for global use. I hope that you will use this manual, after necessary adaptions for your context and share your feedback with us so that we can further strengthen future revisions.