Functions mark World Mental Health Day in KP

PESHAWAR: Awareness-raising sessions and walks were arranged in the city and elsewhere in KP on Tuesday to mark the World Mental Health Day (October 10) with the theme “Mental Health is a Universal Human Right”.

One such session was hosted at the Ibadat Hospital by the Horizon, a non-profit organization, where the speakers called for a human-rights based approach to expedite the efforts for ensuring mental health.

In attendance were psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, teachers and students associated with the field.Among the speakers were Associate Prof Dr Ali Ahsan Mufti, Mumlikat Zahir, Zarqa Sahar, Khaista Noreen and some budding psychologists.

The speakers said food, shelter, and healthcare had remained a focus of human rights despite the fact that mental health was of critical importance as well to humans.

Dr Ali Ahsan Mufti said as per the World Health Organisation definition, mental health is a state of well-being in which individuals realize abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, work productively and are able to contribute to the community with a positive state of mental and emotional well-being.

The doctor said every human being had the right to protect himself/herself from mental health risks. “This is only possible when the mental healthcare that is available and accessed with ease,” he said, adding there was a strong link between mental health and the overall quality of life.

He deplored the social attitudes towards the people with mental health challenges, stressing these needed to be changed. “Rising poverty, discrimination and stigma are among the major obstacles which stop people from seeking support to address their mental health issues,” he elaborated.

The doctor suggested that primary healthcare and community-based mental health services should be strengthened along with incorporating international human rights instruments in the mental health policies and laws.

Mumlikat Zahir, a clinical psychologist with specialization in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or CBT, said though there were a number of factors which were leading to mental health issues, yet poverty was a major one. “Poverty level has gone up considerably. People are finding it difficult to sustain life and this is leading people to mental health issues,” she explained in the light of the cases she had to deal with.

Another speaker, Zarqa Sahar, said there must be a change in societal attitudes and government policies for mental health to be recognized as a universal human right. She called for awareness-raising and education to effect a change in mind-set.

The psychologist said that destigmatizing mental health issues remained a challenge. “Those in need of support remained hesitant fearing the stigma factor and this leads to more complications. Only added awareness-raising can address this issue,” she went on to add.

Khaista Noureen said the long-drawn out civil unrest had negatively impacted the mental health of Afghans as well who were finding it difficult to travel to Pakistan for availing themselves of the required services. She said this compelled the Ibadat Hospital to go for the tele-psychiatry, an online psychiatric service, some three years back for people living in Afghanistan in a bid to address the issue to some extent.

The psychologist said the Virtual Clinic was being conducted on zoom and patients examined online twice a week - on Tuesday and Thursday.

Another session and walk were arranged on the University of Peshawar (UoP) campus. The Khyber Medical University joined hands with the Department of Sociology, UoPfor the purpose. The event was held at the Conference Hall of the Institute of Criminology.

The speakers included Prof Dr Johar Ali, Dr Abdul Jalil, Dr Zohaib Khan and Dr NoorSanauudin. They highlighted the importance of mental health and suggested measures to improve the situation.

DERA ISMAIL KHAN: A walk was held at the Gomal University to mark the World Mental Health Day. The participants marched from the main gate of the university to the Department of Psychology. Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Shakibullah led the walk which was participated by the students and teachers.

Dr Shakibullah said that there was a dire need to create awareness among the people about mental health. He said that a counseling cell would be set up at the university to benefit the people.

Department of Psychology Chairperson Maryam Siddique also spoke on the occasion.

HARIPUR: Mohammad Ahsan Khan programme director, Human Development Organization, a human rights body working on torture prevention, mental health services and livelihood programmes for survivors of torture in KP, asked the global and regional stakeholders to revisit the Sustainable Development Goals and develop integrated policy, plans and programmes to deal with the root causes of mental health problems.

“When we talk about the mental health, we should not only treat it just as a medical condition but we need to look into it in a broader socio economic perspective of poverty, crime and torture”,” he said and called for strategic planners to integrate mental health with primary healthcare.