Written by: Edrisa Ssentongo
The Uganda national mental health conference has held a three days mental health conference at silver springs hotel in Kampala supported by partners including AVSI foundation, Makerere University, TPO Uganda, strong minds, Uganda counseling association, Uganda psychiatrists association and other stakeholders in mental health professionalism.
The event brought together reaserchers, policy makers, advocates and students across psychology, counseling and social work.
The conference serves as a pivotal platform to examine the current status of mental healthcare and ground intervations in Uganda, present recent research and innovative methodologies in clinical care and social psychosocial support, strengthen collaboration by building stronger referral networks and collaborative strategies among diverse mental health professionals.
"We ask the government to professionalize mental health, we have counselors, psychiatrists, clinical social workers, therapists, nurses and Ugandans should understand mental health and who is responsible to handle and what, said Grace Obalimu the National coordinator for Uganda national mental health conference.
Uganda faces a growing mental health crisis with approximately 24% of the adults and 24% of children experiencing mental health conditions driven by economic hardships, high unemployment and substance abuse with so many cases being reported at health facilities.
The common cases are mental disorders such as anxiety and depression heavily impacting both adults and children, high pressure academic environments such as A-level and youth unemployment contribute to heavily psychological and emotional strain.
The government has taken steps to address these challenges through implantation of mental health act and introducing mental gap action program.
The Uganda national mental health conference has held a three days mental health conference at silver springs hotel in Kampala supported by partners including AVSI foundation, Makerere University, TPO Uganda, strong minds, Uganda counseling association, Uganda psychiatrists association and other stakeholders in mental health professionalism.
The event brought together reaserchers, policy makers, advocates and students across psychology, counseling and social work.
The conference serves as a pivotal platform to examine the current status of mental healthcare and ground intervations in Uganda, present recent research and innovative methodologies in clinical care and social psychosocial support, strengthen collaboration by building stronger referral networks and collaborative strategies among diverse mental health professionals.
"We ask the government to professionalize mental health, we have counselors, psychiatrists, clinical social workers, therapists, nurses and Ugandans should understand mental health and who is responsible to handle and what, said Grace Obalimu the National coordinator for Uganda national mental health conference.
Uganda faces a growing mental health crisis with approximately 24% of the adults and 24% of children experiencing mental health conditions driven by economic hardships, high unemployment and substance abuse with so many cases being reported at health facilities.
The common cases are mental disorders such as anxiety and depression heavily impacting both adults and children, high pressure academic environments such as A-level and youth unemployment contribute to heavily psychological and emotional strain.
The government has taken steps to address these challenges through implantation of mental health act and introducing mental gap action program.
