Upgrading mental healthcare

Steps taken by the Social Service Ministry to upgrade and expand mental health care is a worthy move particularly in present times when tensions caused by social and economic factors are prominent.

The open economy and economic liberation have put a hitherto docile Lankan society in a mad scramble to outdo each other leading to tensions and loss of mental equilibrium. Not surprisingly, all statistics show a rapid increase in the number of mentally disturbed and psychologically affected in our midst.

Hence the decision to grapple with the problem in a more structured and organised manner it is hoped would bring the anticipated results.

The conflict too has taken a toll on the hitherto relaxed and tranquil psyche of the people. More than anything else the expansion of the existing Counselling services it is hoped would specifically target the people of the North and East who more than any other segment are in need of attention in this respect.

This is especially welcome in the context of the ongoing liberation of areas from the grip of the LTTE. These residents would have undergone immense trauma and privations over the years and would be in need of emotional sustenance.

In a message to mark the National Counselling Day Social Service Minister Douglas Devananda stated that the Government was confronted with an enormous challenge in catering to the mental health of the people in the cleared areas.

The Minister's concern is understandable for no amount of development or economic empowerment of a people long subject to the ravages of war and dislocation would have any effect if they are unable to erase the scares of their nightmarish experience.

This no doubt would be a Herculean task requiring expert handling and carefully worked out stratagems. It is no easy task to heal the scars of over three decades of war overnight. The experiences of countries plagued by conflict proves this in ample measure where especially children and adolescents are unable to come out of their shell.

The Government would need to muster the best possible expertise for this task. A sustained programme should be carried out to gradually deliver these people at the brutalised mentality.

The most challenging task however is to get these people to integrate with their brethren in the South.

Measures should be taken to eradicate all suspicions and hostility which the LTTE has craftily ingrained into these people. Not only have they got to be healed of the trauma of conflict but these segments will also have to be weaned off their hatred and bitterness towards their Southern brethren.

No doubt they would have been brainwashed by the LTTE to treat other communities as their enemies.

Minister Devananda states that the Counselling Division of his Ministry has drawn up concerted plans for the next year to uplift the mental health of these people. He has urged the participation of counselling bodies of other State institutions and NGOs to help expand the services islandwide.

As the Minister has rightly pointed out counselling services in Sri Lnaka are not as developed and sophisticated as is in certain developed countries. Today apart from the counselling services available in prions, elders homes and children's homes, correction centres etc we have not expanded to cater to the present challenges that cover many areas.

The day today tensions undergone by society caught up in the rat race, drugs and alcoholism need be dealt with under a different approach.

These tensions have also been a large contributory factor to the rise in the crime rate in the country.

The Government alone cannot be expected to handle this vast subject. It needs the support of religious bodies, civic organisations and society groups.

Hence the call for a national policy in this regard is a timely one and should be pursued with vigour. The consumerist culture in our midst has also eroded moral and ethical values that were held aloft in the past. This too has led to tensions and emotional problems which have caused the destruction of people's mental equilibrium.

In fact the society at large has lost the sense of direction leading to emotional upheaval. All steps therefore should be taken to arrest the decline and regain our collective emotional balance leading to productive minds that would be a boon to the country.