University hosts workshop with focus on source of mental health disorder

The American University of Peace Studies hosted a mental health workshop on Saturday at the University’s Sheriff Street, Georgetown Campus where members of the public were invited to obtain knowledge on mental health disorder and how it affects the lives of victims and people around them. The Mayo Clinic states that mental illness, also called mental health disorders, refers to a wide range of mental health conditions; disorders that affect your mood, thinking and behaviour. Examples of mental illness include depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, eating disorders and addictive behaviours.
The one-day workshop was conducted by the University’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr Eton Simon, and had a great turnout of persons who wanted to gain insight on mental health issues. Dr Simon in his address spoke of the importance of focusing on the root causes and source of mental health as failure to do so will allow for those suffering from mental health issues to face illations as human beings which will lead to a break down in society. This, he said, is dangerous as it can result in conflicts, suicide and other harmful activities because societies are all wrapped up in the symptom consciousness.
Dr Simon emphasised the need for society to have a shift in consciousness and place more emphasis on the bigger picture as this will save lives and the world.
The latest information provided by the Pan American Health Organisation/World Health Organisation (PAHO/WHO) suggests that the challenges of mental health in Guyana consume more resources than HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis (TB) combined. This is an idea of the extent of the problem.
While mental health issues have been dealt with from a reactionary standpoint over the years, Guyana’s Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr Shamdeo Persaud, in a recent interview with <<<Guyana Times>>> stated that a more holistic approach is needed to tackle mental health, which has become an unpalatable pill to swallow.
“What we have started to do is started to develop the Primary Healthcare Integrated Mental Health Programme. So our efforts, with support from PAHO, have been to implement training on the mental health treatment gap. It is a module that PAHO developed that allows us to train the primary care doctors who are general practitioners on measures for mental health intervention.”
He explained that the Public Health Ministry is aggressively pursuing tackling the issue of mental health challenges in Guyana and, therefore, the focus is no longer on only deploying social workers and psychologists in every region by 2020 to tackle the growing problem of mental disorders. The Ministry now has a much broader goal.
Presently, there are some voluntary groups which assist the Public Health Ministry in relation to providing much-needed services in addressing mental health issues, however, there are now more psychologists available to help Government-run health facilities in identifying and treating mental disorders.
According to the CMO, focus will still be placed on the capacity development of communities to tackle the growing problem of mental health issues and this includes the Gatekeepers’ Programme that armed communities with lay counsellors who took proactive action to not only prevent the act of suicide but also address various forms of abuse.
According to PAHO/WHO, half of all mental illnesses begin by the age of 14, but most cases go undetected and untreated. In terms of the burden of the disease among adolescents, depression is the third leading cause.
Suicide has been identified as the second leading cause of death among 14-29-year-olds while the harmful use of alcohol and illicit drugs among adolescents has been pointed out as a major issue in many countries and can lead to risky behaviours such as unsafe sex or dangerous driving.
PAHO/WHO is of the view that much can be done to help build mental resilience from an early age to help prevent mental distress and illness among adolescents and young adults, and to manage and recover from mental illness.