Russian psychologists support colleagues in Kyrgyzstan in tackling mental disorders caused by COVID-19
The global pandemic caused a threat not only to the physical health of millions of people but to their mental health as well. Central Asian countries were affected gravely due to the existing gaps in their health systems. In particular, in Kyrgyzstan, the Republican Center for Mental Health concluded that currently 0.4% of the population of Kyrgyzstan experience pronounced mental health problems, and 20% have minor mental health issues, while 2/3 of psychotherapists and psychologists lack the necessary knowledge to provide first aid to victims of emergency situations due to limited funding for mental health care from the state.
Experts from the Russian Academy of Sciences delivered a series of online psychological trainings for 37 members of the Republican Crisis Response Headquarter in the Kyrgyz Republic aimed at improving the capacity of mental health and psychosocial support experts in the Kyrgyz Republic under the circumstances of the global health crisis. The trainings involved practical classes and consultations covering issues of diagnosis, therapy, and treatment of psychiatric diseases in emergency cases of different age groups: from children to the elderly. Special emphasis was put on mental disorders among women in emergency situations.
The webinars conducted by Russian specialists were highly appreciated by the national beneficiaries who expressed gratitude for organizing a series of trainings on providing first psychological aid to victims of COVID-19: “During training, our practicing psychotherapists and psychologists got acquainted with the peculiarities of providing psychological and psychotherapeutic assistance to the most vulnerable group of people in emergency situations, like the elderly. Also, during the training, attention was paid to the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders in women in emergency situations. The methods of psychotherapy of adolescents who have experienced psychological trauma from the perspective of the theory of adolescent vitality turned out to be very interesting and informative.” said the Director of the Republican Center for Mental Health under the Ministry of Health of the Kyrgyz Republic.
The expert assignment was implemented under the Knowledge Management and Capacity Building in UNDP-Russia Partnership project.