Workshop Description:
The rising mental health burden in East Africa- marked by high prevalence, treatment gaps, and socio-cultural stigma- demands innovative, scalable, and culturally attuned interventions. Parallel to this challenge is an unprecedented digital transformation across the region, characterized by increasing connectivity and the rapid diffusion of mobile and AI technologies.
This convergence of public health challenge and technological opportunity underscores an urgent need to equip African mental health professionals with the competencies to ethically and effectively integrate Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) into clinical, educational, and community-based mental health practice.
This Introduction to GenAI for Mental Health Professionals in East Africa workshop equips Clinicians, Counselors, and Educators with essential Ethical, Practical AI Tools and methodologies necessary for Enhanced Mental Health Service Delivery.
Target Audience:
This workshop is tailored for people listed below from all East African Community (EAC) member states: Burundi, DRC, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda:
- Mental health professionals,
- Educators,
- Researchers, and
- Policy advocates
Workshop Goal and Objectives:
This workshop aims to build capacity among East African mental health professionals for informed, ethical, and contextually relevant use of Generative AI in practice, research, and education.
Specifically, the objectives are to:
- Demystify the structure and function of GenAI tools for clinical and psychoeducational tasks.
- Demonstrate practical GenAI applications in therapy, screening, and supervision.
- Equip participants with foundational skills in prompt engineering tailored to mental health contexts.
- Critically examine the ethical, legal, and cultural limitations of using GenAI in clinical settings.
- Foster cross-country collaboration on responsible AI integration into mental health systems in East Africa.
Expected Outcomes:
By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:
- Demonstrate clear understanding of GenAI capabilities and limitations.
- Develop simple AI-enhanced interventions for client education and support.
- Apply ethical reasoning when evaluating AI use in therapy.
- Build professional networks across EAC for collaborative digital mental health innovation.
- Produce a shared draft of guidelines for responsible GenAI use in EAC mental health settings.
Training Format:
- Blended learning: Expert-led sessions, hands-on labs, group discussions, and real-world simulation
- Inclusive pedagogy: Language diversity support, gender-balanced facilitation
- Problem-based approach: Training built around East African use cases
- Practical Application: Apply theoretical concepts to real-world scenarios through case-based assessments.
Language: English only
Mode of Delivery: Physical
Application Procedure:
The Chair, Education and Training
The Psychological Society of Kenya (PSK)
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Website: www.kenyanpsychology.org
