The seminar was attended by Deputy Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Van Hoi, Principal of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Prof. Dr. Hoang Anh Tuan, and many experts in the fields of psychology, social work, sociology, etc.
Four Pillars of Treatment for People with Mental Health Problems
Speaking at the seminar, Deputy Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Van Hoi highly appreciated the efforts and attention of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities and the Center for Interdisciplinary Research of Social Sciences in the field of mental health care. He affirmed that this also coincides with the attention of the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs.
Deputy Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Van Hoi speaks at the seminar
The Deputy Minister shared that mental health is a difficult, broad and multi-disciplinary field. Currently, on average, about 50% of the world's population suffers from various mental health problems (from stress, anxiety, depression, autism, schizophrenia, paranoia, etc.). If not detected and treated promptly, it will cause many consequences in terms of health, economy and society.
According to the Deputy Minister, this issue is also of great concern to the Party and the State. Resolution 20 of the Central Committee on strengthening the protection, care and improvement of people's health in the new situation has major components related to mental health care. Resolution 15 of the Central Committee on social security also provides policy solutions (in sync with health care) to enhance treatment for people with mental health problems.
The four pillars of treatment for people with mental health problems include: preventive treatment, medical treatment, emergency intervention, and rehabilitation support. “All four pillars are extremely important and have the active participation and great role of social work and psychology. Only when the social aspect is combined with the medical aspect can we treat well and solve mental health problems for the people,” Deputy Minister Nguyen Van Hoi emphasized.
Forming a mental health care training major in Vietnam
The Deputy Minister said that in the issue of community mental health care, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities needs to focus on a number of key points that are unique to a university.
Firstly, build a standard screening set with a name, theoretical framework and specific criteria, based on research on screening sets in the world and apply it appropriately to Vietnamese conditions.
Second, choose one of the models: school, community, workers, etc. to apply and deploy, then learn from experience, seek advice and comments from domestic and foreign experts to continue research.
Third, conduct a trial run, a pilot. A model can be applied to students in universities in many different fields. Currently, many students also have mental health problems but sometimes do not know.
Fourth, Deputy Minister Nguyen Van Hoi suggested the establishment of a specialized training program on mental health care in Vietnam. Currently, some countries already have this training program. To implement it, it is necessary to build a theoretical and practical foundation and have a clear roadmap. It is necessary to study and learn from the experiences of advanced countries in the world to apply some specialized subjects in schools and in the training major.
Fifth, restructure the training program, focusing on practical elements in the field of social sciences.
The Deputy Minister emphasized that the above issues should be done quickly, with passion, with in-depth investment, and pursued steadfastly and enthusiastically. “In addition, we need to mobilize and gather international organizations, from the World Health Organization and relevant international organizations to join us, I think we can implement the above strategy,” the Deputy Minister said.
Interdisciplinary research towards application and service to the community
According to Prof. Dr. Hoang Anh Tuan, Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, the Covid-19 pandemic has left many consequences for human health, not only physical health but also mental health.
In recent times, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities has assigned the Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Social Sciences - a gathering place of experts in psychology, social work, sociology and many other interdisciplinary and interconnected fields - to develop a project on community mental health care activities.
Prof. Dr. Hoang Anh Tuan (Rector of University of Social Sciences and Humanities) spoke at the seminar
Professor Tuan emphasized that these activities of the school are not only limited to purely professional activities of teaching and academic research, but all of those results need to be deployed, applied and served for the community.
The pandemic has caused many difficulties for people in general, especially students. This is the reason why after the pandemic, the school has a policy of targeting students as one of the priority groups, especially children in rural and mountainous areas, where socio-economic conditions, awareness, and facilities are more difficult.
In 2022, the Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Social Sciences, University of Social Sciences and Humanities organized many practical mental health care activities such as: training on prevention of mental health problems for students, teachers and parents in 4 disadvantaged localities; assessment and psychological support for students orphaned during the Covid-19 pandemic;...
We have tested the first year, deployed in Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Hoa Binh, Da Nang, etc. The social effect is very good and the Ministry of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs is very interested because this is also one of the key programs that we are pursuing. Today's discussion is an opportunity for us to look back, to evaluate, to learn from experience and importantly, to open up new directions", Prof. Dr. Hoang Anh Tuan shared.
The President of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities added that, accepting the sharing of Deputy Minister Nguyen Van Hoi, in the coming time, the school aims to build a set of standards, filters, and rules for the project; based on international standards but adapted to the Vietnamese context, suitable for Vietnamese people and Vietnamese health. In addition, implementing practical applications into local activities in the community.
As a unit that not only trains human resources for immediate use, but also trains a team of human resources that can act as an intermediary in other training aspects (for example, training high-quality human resources for centers related to psychology, public health, etc.), the University of Social Sciences and Humanities will build theoretical frameworks, training programs, and subjects to improve the expertise and skills of learners, especially the team of experts and lecturers.
4 outstanding community mental health care activities in 2022
At the Seminar, reporting on the summary of mental health care activities for the community in 2022, Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thi Minh Hang, Director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Social Sciences, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, pointed out 4 outstanding activities.
Accordingly, the Center organized training on mental health prevention for students in mountainous and rural areas, teachers and parents in 4 localities including Vu Quang district, Ha Tinh province; Mai Chau district, Hoa Binh province; Vinh Loc district, Thanh Hoa province and Chu Se district, Gia Lai province. A total of 2,281 students, 232 teachers and parents attended the training and benefited from this program.
Second, organize psychological assessment and support activities for students who lost their parents during the Covid-19 pandemic. The total number of students examined and assessed was 101, the results showed that 56.44% of the students were assessed to have psychological trauma and other health problems (anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, behavioral disorders). The number of students at risk of mental health problems was 20.79%; the number of students with healthy mental health was 22.77%.
The Center also provides regular individual counseling and psychotherapy services. In 2022, the service providing individual counseling and psychotherapy sessions of the Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Social Sciences began to stabilize with more than 500 people using this service.
In addition, psychological examination, assessment and support for workers. According to Associate Professor Hang, this activity has just begun to be implemented, a psychological examination has been conducted for workers at a bank. This is a type of community service that promises a lot of potential in the near future, because the awareness and needs of the community in general and employers and workers regarding mental health have been and are being raised.
Nguyen Lien (People's Representative Newspaper)
Article link:People's Representative Newspaper
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