Psychiatry in Iran

Abstract

The Islamic Republic of Iran is located in the Middle East between the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf. Iran's total land area is 1 648 000 km2. Its total population in 2003 was about 68 920 000 (UNICEF, 2003). The population growth rate is 1.41%. Of the total population, 60.4% live in urban and 39.6% in rural areas (Yasamy et al, 2001).

Psychotherapy training in Iran: A survey of Iranian early career psychiatrists and psychiatric trainees

“…The national curriculum of psychiatric postgraduate training has been revised twice and, importantly, two of the main recent revisions were increasing the time of training from 3to 4 years, and incorporating 9 months of full‐time psychotherapy training (Education., 2013; Sadeghi & Mirsepassi, 2018; Tavakoli, 2014). Therefore, psychotherapy is a major part of postgraduate psychiatry training in medical universities in Iran.…”

Duration of untreated psychosis and pathways to care in patients with first‐episode psychosis in Iran

“…At the base of the pyramid, there are health workers who are mainly local residents of each primary healthcare area and are trained to recognize, refer and follow psychiatric cases to the higher level. 11,12 However, the programme is underdeveloped in urban areas and there is no active case identification or referral system in these regions. In fact, patients and their families select their own care provider that could be from public and/or private sectors, and could be a general practitioner and/or a specialist, and might include a psychiatrist or not.…”

“…One aim was to establish a hierarchical, pyramid‐like referral system. At the base of the pyramid, there are health workers who are mainly local residents of each primary healthcare area and are trained to recognize, refer and follow psychiatric cases to the higher level 11,12 . However, the programme is underdeveloped in urban areas and there is no active case identification or referral system in these regions.…”

Evaluation of the performance of general practitioners in a collaborative care program by employing simulated patients

“…GPs are expected to diagnose common psychiatric disorders, manage these illnesses and refer those with severe or complicated psychiatric disorders such as psychotic disorders or suicidal patients. Psychiatric education in the undergraduate medical programs in Iran includes a 1-month mandatory rotation of psychiatry clerkship and a 1-month mandatory rotation of psychiatry internship [30]. GPs, who work collaboratively with the CMHC program, have regular and continuing psychiatric training every 3 months, have regular contacts with psychiatrists, by telephone or in supervisory meetings, while other physicians may or may not have any psychiatric course in their usual postgraduate continuing medical education programs [6].…”