Over 20 global experts earmarked for mental health conference

Over 20 global experts will be converging in Guyana next week for the Guyana Mental Health and Well-Being Conference, where significant knowledge and studies will be shared on related topics.
The Guyana Mental Health and Well-Being Conference is being organised in collaboration with Columbia University, New York. It returns for the second time from November 15 to 18, 2022.

Featured this year is Professor Christina Hoven from Columbia University, who specialises in epidemiology and psychiatry. She is also the Head of the Psychiatric Institute in New York.
However, Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony said that the 20 global experts and local stakeholders will play key roles.
“Next week, we look forward to welcoming this prestigious group of people to Guyana as we launch the second edition of the Mental Health and Well Being conference here in Guyana…For persons who are interested in learning more about mental health and how to prevent suicide and so forth, it is a good opportunity to come to the conference and be able to interact with some of the most prestigious professors in mental health globally,” Dr Anthony added.
The conference is open to the general public and is free of cost.
The Mental Health Protection and Promotion Act, which was passed on August 10, 2022, paves the way for mental health services to be more accessible to Guyanese.
Enshrined in the law is a series of rights for mental health patients, including access to care.
The Act provides for the mental healthcare of persons suffering from mental illness and protects, promotes and fulfils the rights of those persons during the delivery of mental healthcare. Additionally, it seeks to promote the mental health and well-being of persons in Guyana and to ensure that all persons receive the best mental healthcare.
When the Bill was tabled in the National Assembly, it provided for the setting up of a Mental Health Board, while repealing the mental hospital ordinance.
Clause 52 outlined that the Board also has to “receive and investigate complaints on any matter connected with mental health care and treatment (and) undergo a periodic review at least once every six months of all persons receiving mental health care in a mental health facility”.
Most recent statistics show that 15-20 per cent of the Guyanese population have some form of mental health illness, be it mild, severe, or acute. There are another 150 different conditions that can be classified as mental health illnesses.
With this in mind, there has been growth in the number of psychiatrists in the country, with provisions to train more doctors who wish to specialise in this field.