The Guyana Foundation recently held two mental health workshops led by Dr Latchman Narain, a mental health professional and volunteer from Canada.
A release from the foundation said that the workshops were held on March 7 at the Roadside Baptist Church Skills Training Centre, Number 68 Village, Corentyne, where some 100 individuals attended, and on March 10 at the CIDA Support building in Main Street, Georgetown.
In Berbice, the participants included health workers, social workers, religious and community leaders, police officers, and family members of individuals who had committed suicide. The foundation said that many individuals and village leaders expressed interest in being trained as professional counsellors so that centres can be set up across the region.
At the Georgetown workshop, social workers, representatives of non-profit organisations and religious leaders were targeted. Dr Narain also delivered a presentation on mental health issues. Both discussions were very lively and interactive, the foundation reported.
Dr Narain holds a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in bio-chemistry, Masters and Doctorate degrees in counselling psychology and a diploma in cross cultural counselling (St John’s University, New York City).
The release said that he has presented many seminars, facilitated many group discussions and counselled at-risk youth. Currently, he runs the Anger Management Centre of Toronto focusing on individual, couples and family therapy with an emphasis on anger management and preventing domestic violence.
Managing Director of the Guyana Foundation, Anthony Autar, explained that although the mental health programme was originally planned as a phase two activity of the foundation, it was brought forward for a number of reasons.
He said, “As we travelled around the country to conduct our 2013 programmes, we heard so many persons voicing frustration and concern about the senseless loss of human lives. Then, 2014 began with so many reported cases of suicide that we could not sit back and do nothing and wait – watching the people around us sink into hopelessness and despair. We realised that the needs were more urgent than we thought and that we do not have the luxury of time on our side. Every suicide is an irreparable loss – a tragedy for our country. We therefore had no choice but to launch our mental health programme in January of this year.”
According to the release, the Guyana Foundation does not offer any counselling or treatment, but has created a database of local professionals in the field in order to connect persons in need with the resources available in communities.
Autar explained that the foundation recognised that there was no quick, easy fix to the mental health crisis in Guyana, but knew that it will be a process that will take time.
He said, “Our hope is that by raising awareness, through the social media and workshops, we can spark conversations about the issues and needs in this area and hope that other NGOs can be empowered to collectively pool their skills and resources to work together in this area. We have expressed our willingness to collaborate with the Ministry of Health in this area and remain open to doing so.”
Members of the public who would like to support or know more about the work of the Foundation can follow its Facebook page at www.facebook. com/theguyanafoundation, and its website www. guyanafoundation.com. The office is at 203 Duncan Street, Lamaha Gardens, Georgetown. The telephone number is 225-4414, and email address is guyanafoundation@gmail.com.
