General Objectives of the Course

Train nurses specialists in Mental Health and Psychiatric Nursing to act as educators
of citizens without training in mental health that provide support in crisis and catastrophe contexts, ensuring the safe, ethical and effective application of the APT4U program - Portugal, including its implementation, the supervision of citizens' actions and the protection of mental health of all involved

Admission Requirements

Nurses who meet the following requirements: a) To be a Nurse Specialist in Mental Health and Psychiatric Nursing (to be documented at a later stage); and preferably, b) Reside and/or exercise professional activity in territories affected by disaster situations that occurred in Portugal in January and February 2026, namely in the following priority geographical areas: Districts of Coimbra, Aveiro, Santarém,
Leiria, Setúbal, Região Norte (Cávado, Lima and Ave basins), Algarve region: Alcoutim; Castro Marim; Tavira; Vila Real de Santo António. Screening criteria: The screening of candidates will be carried out according to the following criteria, in order of application: Order of registration; Residence and/or professional practice in areas affected by identified disasters.

Candidates should check the admission requirements available on this site, in addition to the information provided here.

Mode of Study

Face-to-face

Teaching / Evaluation language(s)

Portuguese

Examination Regulations, Assessment and Grading

Criteria and weighting:
Continuous assessment at scale Approved / Failed, considering:
1. Active participation in the hours of contact and fulfillment of autonomous work (30%)
Active and contributing presence in the theoretical and practical sessions. Fulfillment of the proposed tasks, including preparation for implementation of reflective sessions, materials and records.
2. Performance in supervised practice in real context (40%)
Implementation of training with the civilian population, monitoring of the performance of civilians, application of contents and supervision strategies. Assessment based on direct observation and feedback from the course coordination team.
3. Critical reflection and learning sharing (30%)
Participation in moments of sharing, discussion of cases, identification of good practices, risks and learning.

Criteria for approval:
The trainee is approved if they demonstrate satisfactory performance on each criterion.

Learning Objectives and Intended Skills

At the end of the course, nurses specializing in mental health and psychiatry will be able to:
Implement the APT4U - Portugal program for citizens of civil society, who do not have training in mental health.
Teach citizens to identify signs and symptoms of psychosocial distress in other civilians and to properly refer them to mental health systems and/or professionals.
Teach citizens to provide basic psychosocial support to other citizens.
Supervise the performance of citizens in the context, adjusting interventions according to needs. Teach citizens to apply the APT intervention with ethical commitment, in a safe practice and culturally adjusted to the reality of the context of crisis or catastrophe.
Integrate continuous feedback from course coordination to improve civic training practice of civil society and its supervision in a reflexive way.
Promote self-care and resilience in themselves and in the citizens who participate in training.

Qualification Requirements and Regulations

Academic Regulation of the University of Coimbra