Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
Timeline
Languages
Accomplishments
TECHNOLOGICAL PROFICIENCY
Grants and scholarships Awarded
Publications
REFERENCES
Professional Associations
Volunteer
Joel Agorinya

Joel Agorinya

Accra

Summary

I have amassed over seven years of extensive experience as a mental health professional in Ghana, having worked in various capacities within both public and private healthcare institutions throughout the country. My professional journey has solidified my belief in the power of health policy to shape human behavior, motivating individuals to make informed and healthy decisions.

Over the past four years, I have been actively engaged in training fellow healthcare professionals in the realm of mental health. My dedication to capacity building led me to contribute significantly to initiatives such as the Ghana Health Service and World Health Organization's mhGAP projects, where I served as a trainer and supportive supervisor.

My commitment to mental health advocacy and leadership was recognized in 2021 when I was honored as a participant in the prestigious Mandela Washington Fellowship for young African leaders, a program sponsored by the United States government. My involvement extended to the Alumni Enrichment Institute, further enriching my skills and knowledge.

Currently, I serve as a Psychiatrist at the Accra Psychiatric Hospital while concurrently holding part-time lecturer positions at several tertiary institutions in Ghana. My overarching goal is to leverage my expertise and experience to drive high-quality research endeavors that can bring about tangible changes in mental health policy not only in Ghana but across the African continent.

My particular research focus centers on interventions for the treatment of individuals experiencing their first episode of psychosis. I am determined to contribute significantly to this field and aspire to pursue a Ph.D. to further advance our understanding and capacity to provide effective care for this vulnerable population.

Overview

6
6
years of professional experience

Work History

Constitutional Review Committee

Psychiatric Association of Ghana
11.2023 - Current
  • Part of the team tasked by the Psychiatric Association of Ghana to review the current constitution of the association and make necessary proposals to ensure it is up to date.

Part-Time Lecturer

Narh Bita College
Accra
08.2023 - Current
  • Created instructional and lecture plans for classes in compliance with course objectives.
  • Utilized diverse teaching methods, lectures, presentations and class activities to deliver curriculum.
  • Delivered course lectures using modern technology to enhance student comprehension.
  • Evaluated student progress, delivering feedback for individual improvement.
  • Developed lectures to accommodate for different learning styles, maximizing students' comprehension.
  • Tutored students requiring additional assistance in mastering concepts.

Head, Early Intervention in Psychosis Program

Accra Psychiatric Hospital
06.2023 - Current
  • Conceptualized a hub and spoke model for the Early Intervention in Psychosis Program
  • Formed a multidisciplinary team made of psychiatrists, psychiatry residents, clinical psychologists, Social workers, community psychiatric nurses, pharmacists and psychiatric nurses
  • Collaborated with and trained community psychiatric nurses at 10 psychiatric units in Greater Accra region to serve as care coordinator
  • Collaborated with the Schizophrenia Research Foundation in India to provide 18 hours training on various modules on early intervention to members of the multidisciplinary team
  • Compiled assessment tools into a single document to facilitate record-keeping
  • Communicated the essence of the program and its operations to all staff of the hospital

Part-Time Lecturer

University of Ghana Medical School
Accra
04.2023 - Current
  • Utilized diverse teaching methods, lectures, presentations and class activities to deliver curriculum.
  • Delivered course lectures using modern technology to enhance student comprehension.
  • Tailored lectures to meet student needs, emphasizing skills and concepts necessary for professional and academic success.
  • Collaborated with fellow lecturers to design course content and teaching policies.
  • Used exams, quizzes and projects to assess how well students grasped learning material and concepts.

Head of Research

Accra Psychiatric Hospital
Accra
04.2023 - Current
  • leading the research and ethics committee to review all applications to conduct research at the hospital
  • Ensuring all research involving vulnerable populations are compliant with established protocols
  • Supervised data collection, data quality, analysis, evaluation, and dissemination for research projects.

Chairperson, Continuous Professional Development

Psychiatric Association of Ghana
Accra
01.2023 - Current
  • Developed a database of CPD topics relevant to members of the association
  • Liaised with executive committee to get CPD point accreditation from the Ghana Medical and Dental Council.
  • Coordinated with various facilitators to ensure smooth implementation of CPD programs

Part-time Lecturer

Family Health Medical School
Accra
05.2022 - Current
  • Designed, planned and carried out lesson plans incorporating diverse learning aids and activities.
  • Tailored lectures to meet student needs, emphasizing skills and concepts necessary for professional and academic success.
  • Prepared, administered and graded exams and assignments to evaluate student progress.
  • Facilitated clinical rotation of students at the psychiatric hospital

Psychiatrist

Ministry of Health Ghana
09.2021 - Current
  • Conducting psychiatric evaluation and management for both inpatient and outpatient clients.
  • Prescribing and administering psychotherapeutic treatments or medications to treat mental, emotional or behavioral disorders.
  • Working directly with patients suffering from range of mental health problems and their caregivers to provide good standard of care.
  • Collaborating with nurses, doctors, social workers and psychologist to discuss treatment plans and progress of clients.
  • Providing training and supervision for Psychiatry residents, Medical Officers, Allied Health workers and Medical students
  • Demonstrated leadership by making improvements to work processes and helping to train others.
  • Collaborating with members of the hospital management committee to solve emerging challenges in the day-to-day running of the hospital

External Faculty

College of Health Kintampo
Kintampo
06.2021 - Current
  • Helping students understand topics by initiating and moderating classroom discussions.
  • Meeting with students to understand educational desires, identify current issues and provide advice on academic, career and vocational plans.
  • Evaluating and grading students' classwork, papers and assignments to assess course success and student understanding of materials.
  • Meeting course and department instructional goals by integrating key competencies into lesson plans.
  • Committed to student development through hands-on training..

Projects Director

The Health Project
Madina
01.2021 - Current
  • Responsible for planning and executing free health outreach programs for residents of the La Nkwantanang Madina Municipality
  • Coordinates health projects collaborations between the office of the member of parliament and philanthropic organizations
  • Organized 10 major free health outreaches in 12 out of the 15 electoral areas in the La Nkwantanang Madina Municipality over the past 2 years
  • Over 10,000 people have directly benefited from these programs

MhGAP Trainer and Supervisor

Ghana Health Service
09.2020 - Current
  • Collaborating with team members to provide training for primary care providers across the country using the mhGAP-Intervention Guide
  • Devised innovative ways to deliver course content in a manner consistent with the socio-cultural needs of the community and available resources
  • Providing continuous Supportive supervision to trainees both at the facility level and remotely
  • Writing and submitting reports to project lead in a timely manner

Volunteer

Cedar Medical Outreach Team
03.2018 - Current
  • Planning and implementing free medical outreach programs across the country
  • Providing free mental health and physical healthcare to members of the Cedar Mountain Assemblies of God Church
  • Serving as a mental health resource person to various departments within the Cedar Mountain Assemblies of God church

Mental Health Specialist

FreeThink Health Consult
02.2018 - Current
  • Providing mental health services at selected private hospitals across the country
  • Using telemedicine to reach clients to promote access to quality mental healthcare
  • Training and consultancy services for Human Resources managers of corporations and organizations on employees mental wellbeing and how to optimize productivity at work

Observership

Oxford Early Intervention Service
Oxford
11.2022 - 12.2022
  • One-month observership under Africa Oxford Initiative travel grant
  • Participated in patient intake assessments
  • Observed virtual and in-person patient reviews
  • I joined social workers for home visits
  • Joined physical and wellness teams for sporting activities with patients
  • Participated in weekly Multi-Disciplinary Team Meetings
  • Participated in research meetings
  • Participated in psychology sessions for patients
  • I spent time with researchers at the Oxford University psychiatry department.

Education

Fellowship - Community And Rehabilitation Psychiatry

Ghana College of Physicians And Surgeons
09.2024

Certificate of Completion - Advanced Research Methods

Leaders of Africa Institute
04.2023

Certificate of Completion - Systematic Literature Review

Research And Grants Institute of Ghana
Accra, Ghana
04.2023

Certificate of Completion - Civic Engagement

African Civic Engagement Academy
12.2022

Certificate of Completion - Alumni Enrichment Institute

Georgia State University
08.2022

Certificate of Completion - Research Process And Proposal Development

Research And Grants Institute of Ghana
Accra
03.2022

Master of Science - Global Mental Health Policy

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science And Technology
Kumasi, Ghana
11.2021

Membership - Psychiatry

Ghana College of Physicians And Surgeons
09.2021

Certificate of Completion - Leadership in Civic Engagement

University of Georgia
Georgia, USA
08.2021

Certificate of Completion - Intermediate To Advanced Grant Writing

Mandela Washington Fellowship
05.2021

Certificate of Completion - Project Management For Global Health

University of Washington
Washington, USA
04.2019

Certificate of Completion - Epidemiology For Global Health

University of Washington
Washington, USA
04.2019

MB ChB - Medicine

University For Development Studies
Tamale, Ghana
11.2014

Bachelor of Science - Human Biology

University For Development Studies
Tamale, Ghana
11.2014

Skills

  • Medication prescribing
  • Therapeutic counseling
  • Suicide risk assessments
  • Health services coordination
  • Collaboration
  • Project Management
  • Organization
  • Policy evaluation and development
  • community engagement and sensitization
  • Public speaking
  • Health System design and change management
  • Data Science Policy design and analysis

Timeline

Constitutional Review Committee

Psychiatric Association of Ghana
11.2023 - Current

Part-Time Lecturer

Narh Bita College
08.2023 - Current

Head, Early Intervention in Psychosis Program

Accra Psychiatric Hospital
06.2023 - Current

Part-Time Lecturer

University of Ghana Medical School
04.2023 - Current

Head of Research

Accra Psychiatric Hospital
04.2023 - Current

Chairperson, Continuous Professional Development

Psychiatric Association of Ghana
01.2023 - Current

Observership

Oxford Early Intervention Service
11.2022 - 12.2022

Part-time Lecturer

Family Health Medical School
05.2022 - Current

Psychiatrist

Ministry of Health Ghana
09.2021 - Current

External Faculty

College of Health Kintampo
06.2021 - Current

Projects Director

The Health Project
01.2021 - Current

MhGAP Trainer and Supervisor

Ghana Health Service
09.2020 - Current

Volunteer

Cedar Medical Outreach Team
03.2018 - Current

Mental Health Specialist

FreeThink Health Consult
02.2018 - Current

Fellowship - Community And Rehabilitation Psychiatry

Ghana College of Physicians And Surgeons

Certificate of Completion - Advanced Research Methods

Leaders of Africa Institute

Certificate of Completion - Systematic Literature Review

Research And Grants Institute of Ghana

Certificate of Completion - Civic Engagement

African Civic Engagement Academy

Certificate of Completion - Alumni Enrichment Institute

Georgia State University

Certificate of Completion - Research Process And Proposal Development

Research And Grants Institute of Ghana

Master of Science - Global Mental Health Policy

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science And Technology

Membership - Psychiatry

Ghana College of Physicians And Surgeons

Certificate of Completion - Leadership in Civic Engagement

University of Georgia

Certificate of Completion - Intermediate To Advanced Grant Writing

Mandela Washington Fellowship

Certificate of Completion - Project Management For Global Health

University of Washington

Certificate of Completion - Epidemiology For Global Health

University of Washington

MB ChB - Medicine

University For Development Studies

Bachelor of Science - Human Biology

University For Development Studies

Languages

English
First Language
English
Proficient
C2
French
Elementary
A2

Accomplishments

  • Ghana National Petroleum Corporation Postgraduate Scholarship Recipient
  • WHO Quality Rights coach
  • Mandela Washington Fellow
  • Alumni Enrichment Institute participant
  • Certified Life Coach
  • Certificate in Metacognitive therapy

TECHNOLOGICAL PROFICIENCY

  • MICROSFT WORD
  • MICROSCOFT EXCEL
  • MICROSOFT POWERPOINT
  • R software
  • SPSS

Grants and scholarships Awarded

  • Ghana National Petroleum Corporation Postgraduate Scholarship award (2018)
  • Africa Oxford Initiative travel grant (2022)
  • Mandela Washington Fellowship Reciprocal Exchange Award grant (2022)
  • Africa Oxford Initiative Catalyst grant (2023)

Publications

  • Joel Agorinya et al. When little can do more: the case for investing in mental healthcare in Ghana. Pan African Medical Journal, 2023, 45:86. [doi: 10.11604/pamj.2023.45.86.40409]
  • Kusi-Mensah, K., Nuamah, N. D., Wemakor, S., Agorinya, J., Seidu, R.,Martyn-Dickens, C., & Bateman, A. (2022).Assessment Tools for Executive Function and Adaptive Function Following Brain Pathology Among Children in Developing Country Contexts: A Scoping Review of Current Tools. Neuropsychology Review, 32(3), 459–482.https://doi.org/10.1007/S11065-021-09529-W2.
  • Kusi-Mensah, K., Nuamah, N. D.,Wemakor, S., Agorinya, J., Seidu, R.,Martyn-Dickens, C., & Bateman, A. (2022). A Systematic Review of the Validity and Reliability of Assessment Tools for Executive Function and Adaptive Function Following Brain Pathology among Children and Adolescents in Low- and Middle-Income Countries. Neuropsychology Review, 32(4), 974–1016. https://doi.org/10.1007/S11065-022-09538-311

REFERENCES

Prof. Sammy Ohene

Faculty Chair

Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons

Faculty of psychiatry

sammyohene@gmail.com

Prof Vincent Agyapong

Head of Psychiatry Department

Dalhousie University, Canada.

vincent.agyapong@nshealth.ca

Professional Associations

  • Ghana Medical Association (GMA)
  • Psychiatric Association of Ghana (PAG)
  • Mandela Washington Fellows Association of Ghana (MWFAG)
  • Schizophrenia International Research Society (SIRS)
  • International Early Psychosis Association (IEPA)
  • Africa Civic Engagement Academy
Joel Agorinya