CPRP Training for 42 Practitioners in Singapore

I recently had the privilege of leading a 40-hour Certified Psychiatric Rehabilitation Practitioner (CPRP) credential preparation training course for a group of Singaporean practitioners. The training was organized by the Association for Psychiatric Rehabilitation of Singapore and it its president, Chee Wai Koh. During the week, I was fortunate to work with three exceptional co-trainers from the association, Sally Thio, Yvonne Kiang, and Helen Yong. We were a great team and helped this large and enthusiastic group of practitioners prepare for the March, 2014 CPRP exam.

This was my fifth trip to Singapore, and much has changed since I first traveled there to support their early development of psychiatric rehabilitation. During my first trip in 2001, psychiatric rehabilitation was very new and the work was being done by a small but dedicated and visionary group. Today, Singapore has many more practitioners and a much deeper base of expertise. There are supported employment programs, ACT team, multiple comprehensive case management teams, a small base of residential services, and programs modeled after clubhouses. One of the newest additions to psychiatric rehabilitation in Singapore is an agency that provides family support and education. Led by Sally Thio, Caregivers Alliance Limited has close ties to National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Ohio and NAMI Urban Cincinnati in the United States, and an ambitious agenda that includes both support for families and advocacy for new and expanded services.

It takes commitment to sit through 40 hours of training, and this class was up to the challenge. The participants were focused, engaged, and thoughtfully contemplated how to apply the training to programs across Singapore.  The class was a remarkable cross section of the psychiatric rehabilitation community and included staff from Singapore Anglican Community Services, Singapore Association for Mental Health, Singapore Institute for Mental Health, and Singapore General Hospital. Trainees held positions across a range of disciplines, including supported employment specialists, case managers, inpatient staff, and residential staff. We even had a great group of peer specialists from Singapore Association for Mental Health. As always, the dedication and energy of the peer specialists elevated the class discussions during the week and made the learning far richer for all of us.

Training in the area of diversity was especially interesting since Singapore and the class has such vibrant cultural and linguistic diversity. In every respect, it was a great week for psychiatric rehabilitation in Singapore and a big step in PRA’s efforts to share psychiatric rehabilitation and the CPRP internationally. I am following up on the trip by continuing to support the evolution of psychiatric rehabilitation services and connecting my Singaporean colleagues with researchers and practitioners here in the U.S.

I have spent the past 35 years working in psychiatric rehabilitation, and there is nothing that I enjoy more than meeting with new interesting colleagues. This was a very special opportunity to “talk shop” and trade ideas about the work that we do. I look forward to welcoming a new group of CPRPs from Singapore after members of this class pass the CPRP exam in March, and to a long and delightful collaboration with my ambitious friends in this wonderful country.

Anthony M. Zipple, ScD, MBA, CPRP, is the President and CEO of Seven Counties Services in Louisville, Kentucky. Dr Zipple holds a Doctorate in Rehabilitation Counseling from Boston University and an MBA from the University of New Hampshire. He is a licensed psychologist and a Certified Psychiatric Rehabilitation Practitioner with 35 years of experience as a manager, consultant, researcher, and teacher. Dr. Zipple is the recipient of PRA’s John Beard and Irving Rutman Awards.