BY FIONA MOTSA
MBABANE- “We aim at increasing accessibility to psychological services.”
This was said by Clinical Psychologist Ndo Mdlalose in an interview with Eswatini Positive News (EPN) reporter today. Mdlalose’s interview comes a day after the launch of the World Mental Health Month- which was launched yesterday.
Mdlalose, who also doubles as President and Founder of Transitions Mental Health NGO, said people with mental health conditions often experienced severe human rights violations, discrimination and stigma yet many mental health conditions could be effectively treated at relatively low costs.
“There is a need to increase investment on all fronts- for mental health awareness to increase understanding and reduce stigma, for efforts to increase access to quality mental health care and effective treatments and for research to identify new treatments and improve existing treatments for all mental disorders,” said Mdlalose.
Mdlalose further mentioned that their aim as psychologists was to increase the accessibility of psychological services while also striving to ensure high quality of service provision.
“Currently, the Eswatini Psychologist Association is advocating for a regulatory body to implement legislation for all the different levels of training and varying specialisations in the profession of psychology in Eswatini.
“We want to help improve the mental health services in Eswatini, while also working to create more opportunities for professional development and growth.
“Our psychology service does not discriminate, is not prejudiced and is holistically inclusive as we cater to people from socio-cultural and previously discriminated populations,” she said.
Eswatini has done some initiatives towards raising the awareness of mental health as on the 4th of June 2022, Eswatini Psychology Association facilitated a fundraising event dubbed #walkingformentalhealth.
The Eswatini Psychology Association (EPA) was established for psychologists in Eswatini to work together to enable professional development and promote understanding of mental health.
Depression is one of the leading causes of mental disability with Suicide following closely as the fourth leading cause of death among 15-29-year olds. People with severe mental health conditions die prematurely due to preventable physical conditions.
