Accepting Mental Health Patients Is Key To Recovery

ACCEPTING MENTAL HEALTH PATIENTS IS KEY TO RECOVERY.

In recent years, there has been an increasing acknowledgement of the important role mental health plays in achieving global development goals. The inclusion of mental health in the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations illustrates this, because, being in the right frame of mind and making sound decisions about one’s life and social circumstances are important for the development and growth of the individual and society at large. However, according to the WHO, despite progress made in certain countries, people with mental health conditions often experience severe human rights violations, discrimination, and stigma.

The situation is no different in our country. This is so much so that individuals or families with experience of mental illness are either forced to go to lengths to conceal it or are negatively labeled. But mental health or illness is not the preserve of any person or group of people. Like other ailments of the human body, such as stomach ulcer or hypertension, mental illness, which is primarily a disorder of the nervous system, can occur whenever conditions or situations that trigger disease response are present. It is not a result of witchcraft or demon possession.

For instance, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a marked increase in behaviors and symptoms associated with mental ill-health. Faced with new realities and pressures of working from home, lay-offs, collapsed businesses and financial difficulties, home-schooling of children, and lack of physical contact with other family members, friends and colleagues, the upsurge in domestic violence, suicides and spousal murders in Ghana in recent times, may only be a painful indicator of how close anybody can get to mental health issues and their unfortunate consequences.

Indeed, the WHO records that one in four people in the world will be affected by mental or neurological disorders and need mental health services at some point in their lives. But despite the chronic and long-term nature of some mental disorders, with proper treatment, most people can live productive lives and be a vital part of their communities.

Essential in this treatment mix, as studies show, is family intervention. In their commissioned paper titled, “Providing Sustainable Mental Health Care in Ghana: A Demonstration Project”, consultant psychiatrists Julian Eaton and Sammy Ohene, state that Comprehensive mental health services must provide access to biological, psychological, and social interventions or facilitate access to such services for those who need them. From this report, the importance of social or family intervention in treating mental ill-health cannot be stressed enough. Man is a social being and individuals thrive and function best when they are accepted and nurtured within their respective families and social groups.

Therefore, a Daily Graphic front page report last Thursday that 222 cured patients – out of 333 patients on admission – at the Accra Psychiatric Hospital are still stuck there because their families have abandoned them is most disheartening. The Mental Health Act 2012 (Act 846) that established the Mental Health Authority of Ghana emphasises community care and integration of the mentally ill into society. It thus stalls the efforts of Prof. Akwasi Osei and all the hardworking staff and partners in mental health delivery in the country.  It does not portray the love and care of neighbour which religious tenets expect from us as a people.

Mental illness is not a personal failure. In fact, if there is failure, it is to be found in the way we have responded to people with mental illness as Dr Gro Harlem, former Norwegian Prime Minister and Director-General of the WHO, said at the release of the World Health Report of 2001. This meaningful observation confirms Mahatma Gandhi’s insightful remark that “A nation’s greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members.”

So, to achieve such “Great Nation” status, increased investment in Social Protection, like operationalising the Mental Health Fund, is critical. The main responsibility for action lies with governments. The vital message is that every country, no matter its resource constraints, can do something to improve the mental health of its people. What is required is the courage and the commitment to face the fears and rid the country of discrimination and petty prejudices.

By Raymond Tuvi, Media and Development Consultant.