President for integrated mental health helpline

President Dr Arif Alvi emphasised the need to set up an integrated, effective and standardised national-level mental health helpline to provide mental health services and counseling at the grassroots level.

The president, chairing a follow-up meeting on mental health helpline, said a coordinated, sound, and singular approach at the federal and provincial levels, with the participation of the public and private sectors, should be adopted to address the issues of mental health and well-being in Pakistan.

Country Director of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr Palitha Gunarathna Mahipala, representatives of the National Commission for Human Rights, Pakistan Psychological Association, Pakistan Psychiatric Society, other organisations, and officials of the federal and provincial governments attended the meeting.

The president emphasised that all resources and initiatives taken at the federal and provincial level and in the private sector related to mental health and well-being should be enlisted and incorporated into a single national helpline for providing speedy and prompt mental health services to the people of Pakistan.

He called for enlisting mental health institutions, teaching hospitals, and other mental health facilities, besides creating a database of mental health providers, which should be integrated into the helpline for providing efficient and effective referrals to the patients.

The president said that avenues in the public and private sectors should be explored to meet the financial need of Rs45million for the establishment and launching of the first-ever national mental health helpline.

He added that after the establishment and activation of the mental health helpline, there should be a fully coordinated awareness campaign through conventional and social media and other means of communication to sensitize the masses to seek counseling and help through the helpline.

President Alvi called for creating a curriculum on mental health and well-being in coordination with relevant stakeholders from the public and private sectors and teaching it at an appropriate level in educational institutions to sensitise students on stress and tension management during their studies and handling emotional and social issues.

He said that such students would also be able to educate their family members regarding the importance of mental health and well-being. The president underlined that a separate initiative may be taken to educate parents and family members to remain engaged with their family members and provide mental health counseling and help.

Higher Education Commission, universities and teaching hospitals should create additional seats to encourage enrolment in mental health education to create a critical mass of psychologists and psychiatrists to cater to the need for growing mental health issues in society, he said, adding that the management of the national helpline may also consider engaging final-year students in the psychological and psychiatric disciplines for six-month internships to respond to the queries and provide counseling to the patients using the helpline.

President Alvi appreciated the committee for coming up with a fully integrated comprehensive and all-inclusive first-ever national helpline model with an integrated WhatsApp chatbot, web-based counseling and referral system across the country at par with the world standards.

The president said that a separate committee may be set up comprising stakeholders from federal and provincial governments and the private sector and legal fraternity to review all the existing laws and rules that exist at different levels and propose improvements and suggestions while factoring in best practices around the world.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 21^st, 2022.