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Participants during the recently held virtual session organised by BANGO in partnership with its Mental Health Action Team.

Barbados needs a culture of therapy

DEVELOPING a culture of therapy in Barbados will definitely help citizens to better manage their chal- lenges as well as improve their mental health and wellness, similar to the cul- ture in Argentina.
This came out of a cross border mental health ses- sion organised by BANGO in partnership with its Mental Health Action Team held via Zoom re- cently. During the online session 22 participants joined, most attendees were from Barbados, but there was a guest from Nigeria, who wanted to follow BANGO’s lead and start a Mental health Action Team in her community.
Speakers were Franz Harewood-Hamblin Social Worker, Barbados and a member of the BANGO Mental Health Action Team; Luana Esquenazi, Research Director at RACI
Argentina; Jovana Barrow, Barbados Mental Health Care Recipient. Moderator was June Parris, BANGO’s Mental Health Action Team lead.
The key take-aways from the session included the recognition of the sharp and increasing rise in men- tal health challenges within the general popula- tion. The consensus was that this was not unique to Barbados. All countries are grappling with how to help their citizens to cope with increased emotional and mental challenges.
Luana Esquenazi, Research Director at RACI Argentina and BANGO’s partner, shared the unique case study of her country’s approach to mental health care. According to her, therapy is a big part of life in Argentina. The country has the highest number of psychologists per capita in the world, with around 198 psychologists per 100,000 inhabitants. The services are accessible and affordable to all. Argentina is well advanced in terms of outreach and in the ability of citizens to express feelings and seek help. They have a culture of therapy. Her advice to us is to “take the pandemic as an opportunity to acknowledge the importance of mental health and take a look at the situation, devise strategies to address the issues. She concludes that this will create more empathy and understanding within the society and help us to become more aware of why we need to take the time to take care of our mental health”.
Barrow shared her own experiences with trauma and therapy as healing and coping mechanisms in Barbados. She explained that self-care is extremely important for coping and healing. While trauma is something that happens that one does not want, it can happen to anyone. What we need to be able to do is develop insight and know how and where to seek help.
She described the grieving process as challenging, with many stages which must be dealt with. She emphasized that on the outside, someone can function, and look alright, but this is far from the truth. She, along with participants of the session agreed that developing a culture of therapy in Barbados will assist individuals with empathy, connecting with and expressing feelings more openly, which facilitates better decision making and more peace within. Although this was in keeping with Mental Health month, BANGO’s Mental Health Action Team aims to have regular mental health sessions focused on helping not-for-profit leaders and their teams, the people they serve as well as the general public to acquire tips and techniques for positive mental health care.

Barbados Advocate

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