The Diploma of Global Citizenship in Global Health – Mental Health & Psychiatric Care is a 12-week immersive Academy experience based in Arusha, northern Tanzania, combining a professional mental-health internship, Global Citizenship learning, personal development, cultural immersion and travel.

Think of it as travel, an international internship and learning all rolled into one.

For three months, Tanzania becomes home. You'll live alongside an international Academy cohort, spend your weekdays gaining consistent experience within the Mental Health Department of a local Tanzanian hospital, learn alongside psychiatric-trained nurses, counsellors, psychotherapists, social workers and other mental-health practitioners, take part in practical workshops and cultural experiences, explore your own personal development and work towards a substantial Legacy Project connected to your placement.

Around all of that, you'll experience the reason Tanzania is such an extraordinary place to spend a gap year. There are safaris and mountains, waterfalls and coffee country, Swahili and local food, cultural experiences and weekly adventures, social nights in Arusha and an unforgettable journey to Zanzibar.

The experience is designed to be fun, social, adventurous and professionally valuable, while giving you something substantial to carry forward into your studies, career and life when you return home.

Alongside the Academy, you'll complete the academic requirements of the relevant Level 3 Diploma in Global Citizenship in Global Health, giving you an accredited outcome alongside three months of international practical experience.

The Academy takes inspiration from the Scandinavian folk school concept: bringing young people together to live, learn, travel and grow through shared real-world experiences rather than making education something that only happens inside a classroom.

We've adapted that philosophy to something we know extremely well — international internships, ethical volunteering and community-based learning in Tanzania.

After years of working with international participants, we've learned that ethical international experience is a collaborative effort. Choosing an ethical, locally led organisation is incredibly important, but the participant themselves also plays a major role in whether their contribution is genuinely positive.

Working within another country's healthcare system can be complex. Approaches to mental health are shaped by far more than clinical theory alone. Culture, family structures, socioeconomic circumstances, stigma, religion and beliefs, access to services, available resources and community attitudes can all influence how mental illness is understood, discussed and treated.

That's why the Academy doesn't simply send you to a hospital each morning.

We provide structured guidance and Global Citizenship education alongside your practical experience, helping you understand cultural context, question assumptions, explore global health inequalities and consider what culturally responsive and ethical mental-health practice can look like across different settings.

The goal isn't to tell you what to think. It's to give you the tools, experiences and perspectives to think more deeply about the mental-health system you're experiencing firsthand.

Your Mental Health & Psychiatric Care internship takes place within the Mental Health Department of a local hospital in Arusha, where you'll learn alongside Tanzanian professionals supporting people experiencing a broad range of psychological, behavioural and psychiatric needs.

The department brings together professionals including psychiatric-trained nurses, counsellors, psychotherapists, social workers and mental-health practitioners, providing an opportunity to observe how multidisciplinary mental-health care operates within the Tanzanian healthcare system.

Depending on your existing education, experience, professional scope and supervision, your internship may expose you to clinical assessments, counselling and group sessions, case discussions, treatment planning, psychoeducation, family support, documentation and other aspects of psychiatric and psychological care.

Learning may also extend beyond the hospital through community mental-health initiatives, awareness activities, sober houses and other community-based services where available.

Mental-health challenges exist in every part of the world, but the resources, attitudes and systems available to respond to them can differ enormously.

In Tanzania, mental-health professionals work within a social and healthcare environment shaped by factors including stigma, limited resources, socioeconomic circumstances, family and community structures, cultural understandings of mental illness and barriers to accessing professional support.

Experiencing mental-health practice in this environment provides an opportunity to look beyond the theories and systems you may be familiar with at home.

Rather than assuming one model of mental healthcare can simply be transferred from one country to another, you'll be encouraged to explore how professionals adapt their approach to the cultural, social and practical realities of the communities they serve.

Boresha Global Academy was created around the belief that ethical volunteering is a collaborative effort between both the organisation and the volunteer.

Finding an ethical organisation is only one part of the journey. Understanding another culture, recognising different perspectives, navigating complex social challenges and learning how to contribute respectfully are equally important.

That's why your placement is supported by our Global Citizenship curriculum. Throughout the Academy, you'll explore topics including culture, ethics, development, sustainability, root causes versus symptoms, responsible engagement and capacity building—all while connecting these ideas directly to your experiences in Tanzania.

Rather than asking, "How can I help?" you'll also learn to ask, "How can I listen, understand and contribute in a way that is genuinely useful?"

Every day can look different depending on the needs of the department, current patients, your professional background and the level of supervision available.

Depending on your qualifications and scope, opportunities may include observing or participating appropriately in clinical assessments, individual and group counselling, case discussions, treatment planning, psychoeducation, family support, patient documentation and community mental-health activities.

You may also have opportunities to learn through external services and initiatives, including mental-health awareness activities, sober houses and community-based programs, helping you understand how support can extend beyond a hospital setting.

Your level of involvement is always determined by your existing education, experience and professional scope, alongside the judgement and supervision of the local healthcare team. This is a learning environment first: participants are there to learn alongside and support Tanzanian professionals, never replace them.

Because mental healthcare involves sensitive and confidential information, professionalism, appropriate boundaries, patient dignity and confidentiality are essential throughout your internship.

One of the biggest advantages of a longer mental-health internship is having the time to move beyond simply observing a different healthcare system.

Your first weeks focus on listening, observing and understanding — becoming familiar with the department, local approaches to care, professional expectations and the cultural context surrounding mental health in Tanzania.

As your relationships with the team develop and supervisors better understand your skills and experience, you may become increasingly involved in appropriate activities within your professional scope.

Over time, you'll also begin connecting what you're experiencing in the hospital with the wider questions explored through your Global Citizenship learning: Why do people seek—or avoid—mental-health support? How does culture affect diagnosis and treatment? What happens when demand exceeds available resources? How can mental-health initiatives remain culturally relevant and sustainable?

This consistency creates a much richer experience than simply visiting a hospital for a short observational placement.

Towards the later stages of the Academy, you'll complete a meaningful Legacy Project connected directly to your placement.

This isn't about arriving with a Western solution to Tanzania's mental-health challenges. Instead, you'll work collaboratively with local professionals to identify something they consider genuinely useful.

Depending on the department's priorities, this could involve psychoeducation resources, mental-health awareness materials, patient or family information, community education tools, workshop resources or another initiative identified by the local team.

The Legacy Project brings together everything you've explored throughout the Academy: global mental health, ethics, cultural awareness, sustainability, teamwork and responsible international engagement.

Your internship is only one part of the Academy experience.

Every week combines practical community work with interactive Global Citizenship lessons, personal growth workshops, Swahili and cultural learning, reflection through your Global Impact Journal and plenty of opportunities to experience Tanzania beyond the classroom.

Travel is built into the program, with regular Adventure Days exploring northern Tanzania through waterfalls, coffee country, cultural experiences, mountains, local food, cycling, hot springs and much more.

You'll also experience an unforgettable multi-day safari and finish the journey with an included four-day Zanzibar excursion, discovering the completely different landscapes and Swahili coastal culture of the Indian Ocean.

Back at your Academy home in Arusha, life is equally memorable. Shared meals, games nights, movie nights, social events and Thursday nights out quickly turn your international cohort into a close group of friends from around the world.

By completing the Academy, you'll gain far more than international experience.

You'll develop a deeper understanding of global mental health, culturally responsive practice, interdisciplinary care, communication, professional boundaries, healthcare inequality and cross-cultural collaboration, while seeing firsthand how social, cultural and economic factors influence mental-health care.

Alongside your internship, you'll complete the academic requirements of the Level 3 Diploma in Global Citizenship in Global Health, creating a valuable qualification that complements the real-world experience gained throughout your twelve weeks in Tanzania.

Most importantly, you'll leave with greater confidence, independence, resilience and a much broader perspective of the world—having spent three months not simply visiting Tanzania, but genuinely living, learning and contributing within it.