The National Mental Health Helpline has received over 43,000 calls since its inception in April 2020.

The National Mental Health Helpline, established with the support of the Ministry of Public Health and managed by Hamad Medical Corporation, is celebrating three years of successful launch as it offers its services free of charge to protect the confidentiality and privacy of callers. .

As the primary access point for mental health care and treatment in Qatar, the helpline has fundamentally changed the access of people in need of specialized mental health support to the services they need.

Ian Tully, head of the National Health Strategy’s mental health and wellness priorities and chief executive of mental health services at Hamad Medical Institute, said: “The coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, however, was a catalyst for the establishment of the helpline. 2020, the National Strategy for Health “2018-2022” always reflects the importance of mental health and improving access to care.

Creating awareness

In a press release today, he said that raising awareness of the symptoms of mental illness, easy and confidential access to psychological support and integration of physical and mental health care have all contributed to the progress. Exceeding all expectations, the service has won the level of public trust.

In turn, Dr. Majid Al-Abdullah, Head of Psychiatry and Medical Director of Mental Health Services at Hamad Medical Corporation, said: The National Mental Health Center was established at a time when the number of individuals in Qatar was high. Due to the “Covid-19″ pandemic, high levels of stress and anxiety have increased. 19”, however, it was soon noticed that many sought special support to guarantee confidentiality and privacy to help deal with other forms of mental disorder.

He pointed out that the national helpline service provides quick and personalized access without the fear or tension of social stigma often associated with traditional mental health services.

He explained that the service helped many individuals overcome the problems they faced, and provided them with specialized support, saving them the need to seek long-term care and treatment.

Equal proportions of callers

Over the three years of the service’s operation, the demographic distribution of callers is fairly even, as callers are from a wide range of nationalities, male and female callers are in equal proportion, and callers are between 24 and 35 years of age.

Over time, interpretations of the causes of contact have changed and diversified, leading to the strengthening of the service after peak periods of the epidemic, as the service is no longer limited to early interventions aimed at avoiding mental health deterioration. but increasingly expands to include more complex phenomena.

The helpline has four routes as it provides assistance to parents with children and adolescents, adults and the elderly, and there is a specific route for health professionals where the helpline services can be reached by calling 16000.