The escalating war in Syria has brought with it the significant deterioration of all aspects of life for its citizens, particularly in the area of psychosocial factors. It had also been noticed that there was an acute shortage of organized mental health professionals; these two factors were the catalyst to the formation of the Syrian Association for Mental Health (SAMH).
SAMH is an independent Syrian association for psychiatrists, psychologists and clinical social workers.
SAMH has been officially registered in the United Kingdom on the 10th September 2013...
For the past six years, children in Syria have been bombed and starved. They have seen their friends and families die before their eyes or buried under the rubble of their homes. They have watched their schools and hospitals destroyed, been denied food, medicine and vital aid, and been torn apart from their families and friends as they flee the fighting. Every year that the war goes on plumbs new, previously unimaginable depths of violence against children, and violations of international law by all sides.
Civil demonstrations that began in March 2011 were met with force which escalated into a civil war that now is in its sixth year. Millions of Syrians, almost half the Syrian population, have been displaced either internally or as refugees in neighbouring countries and beyond.
World Mental Health Day (10 October) is a day for global mental health education, awareness and advocacy. It was first celebrated in 1992 at the initiative of the World Federation for Mental Health, a global mental health organization with members and contacts in many countries. On this day, each October, thousands of supporters observe an annual awareness program to bring attention to Mental Illness and its major effects on people’s lives worldwide. In some countries this day is part of an awareness week, such as Mental Illness Awareness Week in the US and Mental Health Week in Australia.
This years's theme ‘Dignity in Mental Health-Psychological & Mental Health First Aid for All’ 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 first meeting of the Syrian Refugees Taskforce took place on Thursday 21st July at the RCPsych Headquarters in London.
RCPsych Members, representatives from Public Health England and the British Psychological Society came together to hear presentation about the situation in Syria and to discuss the role of the RCPsych in meeting the needs of Syrian Refugees in refugee camps in the region and those who were in the UK ...
The war on civilians in Syria is still waging and the number of refugees and internally displaced continue to grow with endless suffering. Syrian mental health professionals and other sympathisers continue to work hard to meet some of the mental health needs of the affected Syrians...
War trauma leads to a wide range of psychological consequences and disorders that can be quite disabling to individuals and their families. At times of war, existing resources become strained to cope with all demands of trauma sufferers. The survivors’ role of managing their own mental conditions becomes highly important and relevant as a way of reducing the resulted suffering. Unfortunately, this role is often ignored or trivialized by all concerned. The self‑efficacy and resilience of people are the factors not to be underestimated and should be built upon.
1- The humanitarian emergency settings perceived needs scale (HESPER): manual with scale, World Health Organization.
2. Assessing mental health and psychosocial needs and resources: toolkit for humanitarian settings, World Health Organization.
3. Psychological first aid: Guide for field workers, World Health Organization.
This Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) Intervention Guide module contains assessment and management advice related to acute stress, post-traumatic stress and grief in non-specialized health settings...
How much did the following symptoms bother you during the past week? ...
Internally Displaced Persons and Other Populations Affected by Conflict: A Call for Action...
The conflict in Syria, now in its fifth year, is unprecedented in the magnitude of humanitarian and public health catastrophe: more than 220 000 people are estimated to have been killed, most of whom were civilians with a high Proportion of women and children. An estimated 9 million Syrians have fled their homes and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that more than 4 million have fled to Syria’s immediate neighbouring countries ...
A Review for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Staff Working with Syrians Affected by Armed Conflict. 2015 ...
The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that in 2012 there were 15.4 million refugees in the world (UNHCR, 2013a). Including internally displaced people, asylum seekers, and refugees, there are 47 million people forcibly displaced worldwide, which is the highest number since 1994 (UNHCR, 2013a). In the last 2 years, the conflict in Syria has forced many people to flee their home country to find a safer place. According to UNHCR reports, in 2013 there were 2,846,186 displaced Syrian people worldwide (UNHCR, 2013a).
The third annual conference of the Syrian Association for Mental Health (SAMH) was held in Gaziantep, Turkey on 24-25 April 2015.
SAMH has several College members who all actively participated the organisation and delivery this conference, with other Syrian expatriate professionals from different countries also involved. The theme for the conference was ‘Towards Better Mental Health for all Syrians’.
It was well attended by over a hundred multidisciplinary Syrian professionals including psychiatrists, GPs, psychologists, counsellors and support workers...
The 3rd conference Timetable / (Updated 20/04/2015) PDF-Program ...
Syrian Association for Mental Health is now a Voting Member of the World Federation for Mental Health ...
Traumatic events are common in people’s lives. In a WHO study of 21 countries, more than 10% of respondents reported witnessing violence (21.8%) or experiencing interpersonal violence (18.8%), accidents (17.7%), exposure to war (16.2%) or trauma to a loved one (12.5%) (Stein et al., 2009). Stress-related problems and disorders are also common. A meta-analysis of post-conflict studies using representative samples and full diagnostic assessment found that 15.4% of people reported posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and 17.3% reported depression (Steel et al., 2009)...
MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT, George N. Christodoulou
WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY THEME FOR 2015, ”Dignity in Mental Health”, 10 October 2015
NOTES FROM THE VICE PRESIDENT FOR CONSTITUENCY DEVELOPMENT, Mohammed Abou Saleh
WFMH CONFERENCES IN 2015
WHO REPORT ON INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE
UN COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN
NEWS FROM VOTING MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS
- Egyptian Society for the Rights of People with Mental Illness
- Vox Pro Salud Mental
- Psychiatric Association for Eastern Europe and the Balkans
- Enosh, the Israel Mental Health Association
- Syrian Association for Mental Health
BRIEF REVIEW OF WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY
JIM BIRLEY SCHOLARSHIP
Syrian people were part of the “Arab Spring” and started an uprisal against their oppressive regime aiming for political change and freedom. The Syrian regime responded with extreme force and brutality from day one that led later on to what is now described as civil war.
An estimated 9 million people have fled their homes since the start of the Syrian crisis in 2011, taking refuge in neighbouring countries or within Syria itself. According to the United Nation UNHCR over 3 millions have fled to Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq.
On the 27-28 September 2012, a group of Syrian mental health professionals, including psychiatrists, psychologists and clinical social workers, met in Istanbul, Turkey for a two-day conference entitled: “The psycho-social effects of the Syrian uprising and ways to deal with them”. The aim of this first conference was to address the psychological consequences of the current conflict in Syria, which is now in its fourth year. (1) What motivated these mental health professionals is the human cost of the current conflict in Syria, which has been regarded as a “humanitarian and public health catastrophe” (2). It is estimated that over 200,000 people have been killed, the majority of whom were civilians with a high proportion of women and children (3). Some 1.1 million people were wounded, 45% of them women and children, of whom 10-15% suffered various disabilities including limb amputations.
The escalating crisis in Syria has brought with it significant deterioration of all aspects of life for its citizens. The historical shortage of mental health professionals in the area made the psychosocial consequences more obvious and in a greater need for some remedy.
This prompted many expatriate Syrian professionals who have already volunteered their expertise from the beginning of the crisis to come together and form the Syrian Association for Mental Health (SAMH) to formalize the way forward.
SAMH was established following the recommendations of the first Syrian conference on "The psycho-social effects of the Syrian uprising and ways to deal with them", which was held in Istanbul on 27 and 28 Sep 2012. It was officially registered in the UK (its current location) on the 10 Sep 2013.
The association membership includes psychiatrists, psychologists and clinical social workers with its vision being to promote better psychological health and wellbeing. SAMH aims to serve all Syrians irrespective of gender, age, religion, and sect, whether inside or outside Syria, and all others living in Syria.
It also aspires to become an established leading scientific association, offering supervised services, consultations, studies and research in the field of psychiatry, psychology and clinical social work.
SAMH held its second conference in Gaziantep, Turkey on 15-16 Feb 2014 with the theme being "For better mental health care during crisis". The conference was well attended by 120 Syrians, including psychiatrists, psychologists and other volunteers. Good number of participants came from inside Syria with others arriving from different parts of the world. The vast majority have already been involved and working with displaced Syrians with both existing psychological problems and those arising as a consequence of the crisis.
The conference program included 25 different presentations, lectures and workshops with various emphases on psychological therapies and other psychosocial support. There was also a full Programme of workshops, training sessions, supervision which ran for one week before the conference and one week after. This focused on participants gaining skills on psychological first aid, group therapies, use of EMDR, CBT, self support and training for teachers who are dealing with children with psychological problems.
Recommendations of the conference
- to develop a strategy to cover the mental health needs of displaced Syrians,
- continue to offer support and supervision to teams on the ground,
- work alongside and coordinate efforts with other humanitarian and support agencies working in the area,
- establish links with other international bodies interested in helping displaced Syrians
- offer advice and help to facilitate their efforts.
We highly acknowledged the need to offer supervision and other refresher courses to current volunteers and those joining later to support them in maintaining their skills and to avoid burn out.
SAMH has UK members of the Royal College of Psychiatrists who are keen to carry out a scoping exercise of the mental health needs of Syrian refugees and the College capacity to assist.