Changing mental health in Pakistan
While mental health and wellness has become a buzzword in recent times, there is still a lot of taboo and uncertainty which surrounds the concept, especially in Pakistan.
The areas that Sehat Kahani is currently working in with the British Asian Trust are all BOP communities which lack even basic physical healthcare facilities. Going into the project, we anticipated a lot of pushback from community members at the introduction of this sensitive subject matter. Imagine our surprise when, instead of repulsing our efforts, these communities helped us to cut down on our awareness raising activities by accepting us with (mostly!) open arms. This in turn led us to start focusing on the provision of mental health experts and the formation of a structured referral system. We’re currently working to destigmatize mental health issues through the training of doctors, nurses, and community health workers. These individuals then spread awareness and provide support to clients through screening, support groups, school sessions, and online consultations.
In our weekly “Muhalla Meetings” –a support group of sorts for the community- we have made tremendous progress in just a few months. Women who were reluctant to even attend our awareness raising sessions now openly share their troubles, and are empathetic listeners to others’ stories.
Clients have shared how these meetings have helped them to feel both emotionally and physically better, resulting in better relationships with others, but most importantly with themselves. And while we primarily work with women, we’ve even had a few men contact us for online counseling with our therapists. Two of these men have even gone on to find employment, effectively being reintegrated into society after suffering from mental health issues for years.
Even the clinical staff that we have trained for the provision of community counseling and mobilization has benefited by the introduction of this program. Witnessing various mental health issues-some unfortunately concluding with suicide-in their neighborhoods and within their practice, they were relieved to finally find a programme which worked with this under-catered demographic.
There is still a lot of work to be done in Pakistan for increasing acceptance and provision of mental health services. I am really excited to see where our partnership with the British Asian Trust will lead us in the years to come!
Hufsa Sarwar, Mental Health Project Manager, Sehat Kahani.