Providenciales, TCI, October 6, 2016 – The Department of Mental Health and Substance Dependence (DMHSD) in the Ministry of Health, Agriculture and Human Services joins the rest of the world to commemorate World Mental Health Day on Monday October 10th. This day provides an occasion for the spotlight to be placed on a selected aspect of mental health and the DMHSD supports this initiative through raising awareness on specific mental health issues.
The theme of this year’s World Mental Health Day is “Dignity in Mental Health- Psychological and Mental Health First Aide for All”. According to Dr. Alicia Malcolm, “This theme will enable us to contribute to the goal of taking mental health out of the shadows so that people in general feel more confident in tackling the stigma, isolation and discrimination that continues to plague people with mental health conditions, their families and carers”.
The purpose of psychological and mental health first aid is to:
- Preserve life where a person maybe at risk of harm
- Provide help to prevent the mental health problem from becoming more serious
- Promote recovery of good mental health and;
- Provide comfort to a person with a mental health problem.
Training in this area is important because mental health problems are common, especially depression, anxiety and misuse of alcohol or other drugs”. According to the World Health Organization World Mental Health Surveys, there is a high lifetime prevalence of mental disorders across the globe. Therefore, throughout the course of a person’s life, it is highly likely that an individual will either develop a mental health problem themselves or have close contact with someone who does.
As part of this year’s observance, the Department will be conducting the following activities:
- 3rd Annual Mental Health Conference
Friday October 7th 9:00am to 3:00pm
Ocean Club Resort Conference Room, Providenciales
- Appearances on outreach media including Health Matters
The community is therefore encouraged to support these events.
For further information on World Mental Health Day, kindly contact the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Department at: 338-3613 in Grand Turk, or 338-4737 in Providenciales or visit our face book page at www.facebook.com/TCIDMHSD
