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The Place of Exchange Programs

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Education about Mental Health and Illness

Abstract

Over the last decades, interest in international educational experiences has increased among students at all levels and in every field of education. Many educational institutes and organizations around the world have acknowledged the need to prepare students for a globalized work environment and actively promote international exchanges. In this chapter, we explore the historical and political contexts which allowed for the development of these exchange programs in different regions of the world, and how these have changed over time. We review several existing exchange programs within the field of mental health which range across the different educational and professional levels. Some of these programs are well-known and large-scaled operations, such as the Erasmus programs, whereas others are successful examples of smaller-scales initiatives independently ran by (associations of) healthcare professionals. We go on to evaluate the impact which the duration of the exchange, language barriers and psychological cultural adaptation phenomena may have on the outcomes of an international experience. Finally, we critically evaluate the limitations and the merits of exchange programs on an individual and societal level, in a contemporary context where local and global mental health are increasingly connected.

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Correspondence to Livia De Picker .

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© 2018 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

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De Picker, L., Casanova Dias, M., Kjellstenius, A. (2018). The Place of Exchange Programs. In: Hermans, M., Hoon, T., Pi, E. (eds) Education about Mental Health and Illness. Mental Health and Illness Worldwide. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-0866-5_24-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-0866-5_24-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-10-0866-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-10-0866-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

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