PM Plus effective for treating depression by non-specialists under expert supervision

Rawalpindi

A two-day dissemination event for the WHO Psychological therapy programme ‘Problem Management Plus (PM+)’ held here at Institute of Psychiatry and WHO Collaborating Center for Mental Health Research and Training at Benazir Bhutto Hospital showcased the value and effectiveness of providing simplified evidence based psychological support to Pakistanis exposed to devastating disasters and humanitarian emergencies by non-specialists health workers under expert supervision.

The event held on Thursday to Friday was attended by international and local high-level policy makers, scientists from international and national academic institutions, the development sector partners working in the disaster relief and humanitarian emergencies and public health practitioners.

The event was organised to disseminate the findings from the implementation and evaluation of World Health Organisation (WHO) psychological therapy programme, ‘Problem Management Plus (PM+)’ in Peshawar between 2014 and 2016.

Developed by WHO, Problem Management Plus (PM+) is a brief, simple psychological intervention delivered by lay health persons with no or little prior mental health background to help people with a range of reactions to adversity, including depression, anxiety and stress under expert supervision.

The research was conducted in collaboration with the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse at the World Health Organisation (WHO), University of Liverpool, UK, The University of New South Wales, Australia, Institute of Psychiatry, Rawalpindi, Human Development Research Foundation (HDRF), Pakistan and the Department of Psychiatry at the Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar.

Trained non-specialists successfully delivered the PM+ programme to participants in three primary care centers in Peshawar despite the challenges such as fragile law and order situation and overburdened health and social care systems. The findings from the study proved to be promising as outcomes showed significant reduction in depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress as well as improved functioning in the clients who received the new therapy.

The findings proved Problem Management Plus (PM+) a practical, scientifically proven approach for helping adults with disabling psychological distress in post-conflict areas and humanitarian emergencies.

Director at Institute of Psychiatry and Dean Faculty of Psychiatry at College of Physician and Surgeons, Pakistan Professor Dr. Fareed Minhas appreciated the efforts of mental health experts working on the project and congratulated all research collaborators especially Professor Dr. Saeed Farooq from Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar, Professor Atif Rahman from University of Liverpool, UK and the Human Development Research Foundation, Islamabad, Dr Khalid Saeed from WHO EMRO office and Dr Mark van Ommeren from the World Health Organisation (WHO) for their commitment and dedication for the provision of culturally appropriate, evidence-based mental health services in low resource settings.

Professor Minhas also emphasised the need for more effective collaborations between institutions and organizations as the only way forward towards making progress in making much needed evidence-based mental health services available in the country and the region.

The meeting was also attended by the Director General at National Health Emergency Preparedness Response Network (NHEPRN) Dr. Munir Ahmed Mangrio.

In the meeting, the participants explored the potential ways to incorporate initiatives like Problem Management Plus (PM+) programme for psychosocial support into the disaster management policies, curriculum of the undergraduate and post graduate programs and pre-service training for public sector employees as potential ways to make psychosocial support available in low resource settings.