Rapid intervention team reaches out to mental health sufferers in Kuwait
Consultations available for people at home or in hospital quarantines
KUWAIT: The lockdown of the country is going on much longer than anyone expected, and the almost three-month-long partial and total curfews have seriously affected the mental health of people. Therefore, the Kuwait Psychological Association (KPA) decided to provide consultation by phone for people suffering psychological problems during this tough period, and it has a rapid intervention team to face the impact of the pandemic.
“As part of our social responsibility, we formed a rapid intervention team that consists of psychological specialists and consultants. We set a plan of work that includes a free hotline for citizens and expats to provide psychological consultations related to the coronavirus by experienced psychologists who are members of KPA,” Dr Asya Al-Jary, Educational Psychological Consultant and the President of KPA, told Kuwait Times yesterday.
Many people have benefited from these services. KPA provided Kuwait Times with statistics of people who have approached them through the hotline: The ages of people who availed consultation services ranged between 7 to 75 years. The total number until June 1, 2020 was 119 cases - 97 Kuwaitis and 22 expats. Based on gender, they included 23 males and 96 females. In addition, 20 people from outside Kuwait also used the consultation service of KPA.
“The majority of the cases (98) were suffering from various disturbances including fear, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, depression and phobia. The rest suffered from other problems,” stressed Jary.
KPA volunteer consultants provided psychological guidance and support to the hotline callers. “We also provided help seekers with a special program to follow, and we continued to follow up in applying it and their improvement. We provided consultation not only for people at home, but also in hospital quarantines,” she added.
Members of KPA went on field tours to follow up the latest news and events. “We are also cooperating with different institutions to provide psychological awareness during this crisis. For instance, we have produced awareness videos on this subject. In addition, we posted informative and psychological advice on social media on the coronavirus,” noted Jary.
“We are cooperating with other authorities and official institutions to provide volunteer psychological consultants for those who are in home or institutional quarantine. And we are still working on new ideas to face the coronavirus,” she concluded. Doctors are available on the hotline as follows:
Dr Rashed Al-Sahl on Mondays and Wednesdays from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm. Tel no. 97976168
Dr Kadhem Abul on Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm. Tel no. 90904807
Dr Fahd Al-Tasha daily from 8:00 pm to 12:00 am. Tel no. 99048258 Dr Othman Al-Asfour daily from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm - 99385350
Dr Mariam Al-Marzouqi on Mondays and Wednesdays from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm; Sundays and Tuesdays from 12:00 pm to 6:00 pm - 99673233 Dr Mohammed Al-Khaldi daily from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm. Tel no. 99036470 (head of the team)
Dr Ahmad Al-Khaldi daily from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm - 99107965 Dr Muneera Al-Qattan on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm - 99533108
Dr Zainab Al-Saffar on Sundays and Thursdays from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm 99549908
Dr Sameera Al-Kandari on Tuesdays from 9:00 pm to 12:00 am - 67709434 Dr Kawthar Al-Yaqout on Mondays and Wednesdays from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm - 55210088
For information and 94014283/99036470
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