COVID-Mental Health Response launched by Taskeen

Taskeen and coalition partners unveiled the official website www.covidmh.pk

(Taskeen Media Desk)

The COVID-19 crisis threatens to lead to a mental health pandemic, due to the tremendous distress caused by the crisis leading to:

• Mass hysteria leading to an influx of unaffected paranoid people, at already overburdened hospitals, for testing of corona virus.
• Mental health problems in people because of:
  1. Fear and anxiety of contracting the virus
  2. Fear and anxiety of vulnerable loved ones contracting the virus
  3. Financial problems due to layoffs loss of earnings of daily wage earners
  4. A sense of confinement due to the sudden transition from an active working life to being quarantined at home.
• Causing exacerbation of psychological problems in people with pre-existing conditions.
• Causing stigma and discrimination against individuals/families/communities exposed to or thought to be the main vectors of the virus.
• Causing people to reject social distancing because it conflicts with their socio-cultural beliefs.

 

To counter this problem,

An MOU was signed between the partners to facilitate effective collaboration.

The COVID Pakistan Mental Health Response is a coalition of organizations and individuals who are passionate about alleviating the psychological suffering being experienced by the Pakistani population due to the ravages of the COVID pandemic

This user-friendly website is a portal to access a variety of free mental health services including:

Informational Videos about Coping with Stress during COVID
Lay Counselling Helpline
Online Stress Management workshops and support groups
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services
Online Consultations with Psychiatrists and Psychologists

Members and Services:

The current core members of the response and their roles are as follows:

Taskeen Health Initiative; public mental health information campaigns on social and mass media focusing on building resilience against COVID related distress, and a helpline for needs assessment of beneficiaries and referral to relevant partners.

Interactive Research and Development; a mental health helpline with lay counsellors catering to the public for mild to moderate mental health problems; a proactive helpline for COVID-19 patients, caregivers, and patients of other chronic illnesses.

Saaya Health; online mental health workshops for laypeople and vulnerable populations like healthcare providers and COVID patients.

Sehat Kahani; telehealth consultations over mobile app with psychologists and psychiatrists for diagnosed COVID 19 patients, individuals presenting with moderate to severe mental health conditions, and frontline workers

Aga Khan University; child and adolescent mental health services through online parent-mediated therapies for children and adolescents, with pre-existing mental illnesses or neurodevelopmental disorders, who are experiencing disruption in treatment due to the pandemic.

British Asian Trust; financial and technical support for the different services being offered by the response.

Aside from the core organizations, the general body of the coalition consists of more than 20 passionate individuals and organizations volunteering their time to the cause. All services of the response are offered free of cost.