PETALING JAYA: Modules related to mental health literacy that incorporate anti-bullying elements should be introduced in schools, says Malaysian Mental Health Association (MMHA) president Datuk Dr Andrew Mohanraj.
He said this is to encourage students to take care of their well-being and inculcate practices which will ensure good mental health.
“The MMHA is in the process of engaging with the Academy of Medicine of Malaysia’s Psychiatry chapter to introduce such modules within the schools’ teaching structure,” he said when contacted.“Those with mental health issues should be referred to mental health professionals as early as possible once school counsellors realise that it is beyond their scope to offer adequate support in identified cases.
“The elephant in the room continues to be the stigma surrounding mental health. Teachers and parents need to be on the same page to ensure early intervention rather than prolonging the suffering due to shame of obtaining evidence-based services.
“Normalising the conversation on mental health within the school environment and the home front will help tremendously,” he added.
Dr Andrew said the Covid-19 pandemic and the changes that came with it resulted in a lingering effect on children and teenagers, hence causing continued mental health decompensation.
He said the increased use of social media is another factor which causes children to develop poor social skills, low self-esteem, being prone to online bullying, unhealthy comparisons and body shaming.
Parents, he said, must set good examples for their children, use respectful approach when dealing with them, while also being firm on the use of social media.
Teachers, on the other hand, should improve their mental health literacy to enable early detection in students, he added.
Consultant paediatrician Datuk Dr Amar-Singh HSS welcomed the announcement that the National Centre of Excellence for Mental Health (NCEMH) is looking at developing an action plan to address the psychosocial crisis.
“But to plan any meaningful and real action plans, we need to understand the reasons behind this global growing psychosocial pandemic,” he said.
The reasons are complex and include the loss of social community, especially among extended families, growth of impersonal cities, addiction and dependence on screens and social media, loss of green lungs with an environmental or climate crisis, academic pressure and the loss of future for the children.
Therefore, he said, in addition to initiatives to help those inflicted, the action plans must also work towards long-term prevention via a transformation of cities and social life.
“We require meaningful connections and relationships that are not screen-based. We require numerous city-based green lungs for families to hang out and get to know each other,” he added.
Dr Rahima Dahlan, a child and adolescent psychiatrist at Hospital Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah, Universiti Putra Malaysia, said it requires a holistic and multi-level approach to ensure an effective mental health and psychosocial support system (MHPSS).
It includes interventions that promote well-being, addresses risks, strengthens protective factors and ensures high-quality and accessible care.
“This requires mobilising all sectors – including health, education, social care and justice – and engaging communities, schools, parents, service providers, children and youth,” she said.
Providing recommendations for the action plans, she said mental health laws must be strengthened to spell out specific considerations and protection for children and youth.
“Legal protection for children and youth must be strengthened, including through decriminalising suicide, combating discrimination, improving protection in the justice system and removing legal barriers to accessing MHPSS – such as the requirement of mandatory parental consent and barriers for undocumented migrants,” she said.
She also called for a multi-sectoral steering committee led by the Health Ministry on child and adolescent mental health to be established to coordinate policy, implementation and accountability.There must also be a body to assess the quality, compliance and performance of MHPSS programmes and services.
Dr Rahima said there should also be protocols for early detection and screening tools for this age group, as well as detailed guidance on their use in various settings.
This includes referral procedures for cases, stronger protection for children in conflict with the law and child victims within the justice system and management of cases that involves child protection among others.
Aside from that, she said mental health services including outpatient services must be a part of the national health insurance programme, with the government allocating funds for all levels of mental health care, prevention and promotion.
