The Multifaceted Issue of Mental Health
As I’m sure you have discovered, refugees are among one of the most vulnerable groups to depression, anxiety, panic disorders, PTSD, etc. The American Psychological Association recently published a study of the Rohingya refugee crisis which brought to light the issues of treatment options, funding, and a lack of professionals. I encourage you all to really focus on the versatility of this issue which is contextualized by this article. For example, it is not enough to suggest an increase of mental health professionals in areas of conflict because you fail to acknowledge the other factors that threaten these traumatized victims. In order to create strong, realistic solutions you must address the fact that the improvement of mental health is contingent on short-term as well as long term solutions, education about treatment options, and social reintegration of those affected. However, if you do feel like your solutions are underdeveloped, don’t worry! These blogs are designed to help you be more prepared once conference is upon us (again, this will be the best weekend ever).
Keep in mind that every conflict zone, although similar, faces different issues. The Rohingya crisis differs from that of Syria or Somalia; you should be trying to generalize solutions and then tailor them to the regions of conflict you are addressing. In addition, you should also consider how treatment does not necessarily have to be medication, an effective solution may possibly be educating victims of simple breathing exercises (this solution of course should be followed up by more long-term suggestions). I hope this article opens your eyes to the multiple facets of this issue; to help you use this resource to improve upon your solutions, try answering one (or more!) of these questions and share your thoughts in the comments. Hopefully asking yourself these questions will help you identify some areas that could use improvement.
- With a lack of occupational and educational opportunities, victims may experience feelings of helplessness. What long-term plans could be implemented to overcome this?
- Psychological first aid is a great short-term solution however, it only applies to individuals removed from conflict zones or post-conflict zones. How can those still in areas of conflict receive the same support?
- How can the diagnosis of mental health disorders be facilitated for health care workers?
- Could cognitive-behavioral therapy be implemented in an effective manner (really think of how large the populations in need of treatment is)?
- How can you educate the diagnosed on treatment methods? Note: medication is very costly, what alternatives could be provided?
- How can you ensure younger generations will develop strong coping mechanisms to ensure violence and crime does not become rampant as a result of mental health disorders?
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Again, I really, really encourage you to share your super cool and creative ideas (it doesn't have to be long, you could even ask another question similar to those above)! If you have any questions or concerns do not hesitate to email me. Only a few short weeks left, hope you are as excited as these dogs are! :)
Good evening! France believes it is vital to educate the diagnosed on treatment methods. One specific way we would like to do this is through the WHO Mental Health Gap Action Programme. This program was implemented in 2017 within the African state of Borno. The Federal Neuro-Psychiatric hospital teamed up and its authorities to launch the mental health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP). The partners trained 64 primary healthcare workers to recognize and treat mental disorders which are common in emergencies In the first five months of the program,
ReplyDelete5,000 people accessed mental healthcare in 36 primary healthcare facilities. In 2018, WHO will work towards scaling up the pilot intervention and training 70 additional health workers across Nigeria.
To combat the lack of constant mental and medical health care in conflict zones France would like to reform their Mental Health Care system. This has been previously been completed successfully in the Philippines in 2004 where WHO alongside other NGOs developed training materials for potential health care workers called the Basic Package of Health Services (BPHS) document and program. Through this program, more than 1,000 health workers have been trained and over 100,000 people have been diagnosed and treated properly as of 2014. However, as this solution faces the potential lack of proper funds and resources at time, France would like to implement other solutions in hand with these to ensure that individuals living in conflict and post conflict zones get equal access to mental health care facilities.
Thank you for such intuitive questions!
In regards to question number 4, “How can cognitive behavioral therapy be implemented in an effective manner?” Ethiopia believes that overtime this can be executed. In 2011, a CBT clinic was trialed in Uganda, where 202 internally displaced people of various ages worked to improve their emotional resilience and reconciliation. After this event, it was reported that 50% of these individuals felt an improvement in their mental disability after only one day. Additionally, the World Health Organization has even stated that they recommend CBT as one of the two psychotherapeutic measures that children of trauma should use. With this positive feedback, Ethiopia understands that it may take a long time to implement this solution, however in the long run it will be worth it as CBT has been proven to be quite effective.
ReplyDeleteIn order to effectively implement CBT, previously trained mental health counselors for CBT can be sent to developing countries, more specifically conflict zones. While they are temporarily stationed there, they can begin to provide CBT to the community, as well as train local mental health care providers. Once these mental health care providers are trained, they can then impart their knowledge to others, creating a chain of information. With the help of the organization vivo International, which is an alliance of trained psychotherapists, we can effectively train the entire international community to provide CBT.