SINT MAARTEN (CAY HILL) - Mental Health Foundation (MHF) Social Psychiatric professionals at the Faraja Day Center, Janice Djaoen-Busby and Aisha Mathew, have successfully completed the Mental Health Professional – POH-ggz Caribbean course, an advanced-level certification offered by RINO Zuid in collaboration with Mental Health Caribbean.
The intensive program, which ran from September 2024 to May 2025, brought together 26 participants from across the Dutch Caribbean, including Aruba, Curaçao, Bonaire and Sint Maarten. The course was designed to enhance mental health services throughout the region, with a focus on generalist care, transcultural approaches and short-term interventions for chronic psychiatric conditions.
Training included an initial one week of face-to-face instruction, followed by biweekly online coaching and various assignments. To promote collaboration and peer learning, study partners were randomly assigned, a structure that both Aisha and Janice found valuable. They noted that this approach enriched their appreciation of shared challenges and regional solutions in mental health care.
Throughout the course, participants strengthened skills in non-verbal and experiential therapy, E-health tools, psychopharmacology and culturally sensitive care.
Reflecting on the experience, Aisha described the training as a great refresher, helping her to relearn and reinforce effective, client-centred approaches in her daily work. For Janice, the program was a completely new and eye-opening experience, providing her with fresh perspectives on how to engage more meaningfully with clients.
Both shared that although they offered occasional updates to colleagues during the course, the demands of balancing work and study made in-depth sharing difficult. Now that they have completed the program, both professionals plan to host a workshop for all MHF staff, and in the near future, will share their insights in greater detail with the Faraja Day Center team.
Aisha and Janice are the second cohort of MHF staff to complete this prestigious course, following two MHF nurses who graduated from the same program in 2023.
MHF extends its heartfelt congratulations to Janice and Aisha for their dedication and accomplishment and looks forward to the positive impact their enhanced expertise will bring to mental health care in Sint Maarten.
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