GEISHA ALONZO
Some 400 primary and secondary students are on suicide watch because they are experiencing some degree of mental illness, with primary schools pupils as young as seven facing such illnesses.
Dr Katija Khan, co-ordinator of the masters of science psychology programme and president of the T&T Association of Psychologists, cited data in a recent Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) report when she appeared as part of a panel before yesterday’s Joint Select Committee.
Contacted later for comment, Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh said he was unaware of this and referred questions to chief medical officer in the Ministry of Health, Dr Roshan Parasram. Calls to Parasram went unanswered.
Khan told the JSC the gruelling SEA exam can be a contributing factor, as the pressure faced by some of the estimated 18,000 pupils writing the exam yearly could lead to mental trauma. While she did not have tangible data to support her position she suggested that such trauma and stress could be quite significant.
“This is how critical the problem is but again what is happening to these children in terms of monitoring and follow-up, I think this is where we fall short. We need to flag these kids and get them the help they need,” she said.
Khan, who is also a lecturer in clinical psychology, said there is a “glaring lack” of child and mental health services across the country.
“If there is a medical condition with a child... say a child has sustained an injury, or if they are suicidal, then they can be admitted to hospital but past that there is very little that is available.
“Also the cut off for adolescents is 16 so. After 16 they are treated as adults but you can’t put a 17 year-old on an adult ward as they have needs that are still pertinent to their developmental age. There are little psychological and counselling services available,” Khan said.
She said the programme she co-ordinated did not have an aspect of child psychology and those who continued in that field outside of the programme are not properly trained.
“There are insufficiently trained people to deliver child therapy,” Khan said, adding that the child guidance clinics in Port-of-Spain and San Fernando often had a waiting list, of at least six months due to the demand which far exceeds available resources.
“And they deliver more assessment related services, so regarding therapy and counselling I am at pains to think about where a child in need can get those services in the public sector.
“Suicide is a public health crisis in this country and it is extending to our very young and very vulnerable,” she said.
The committee was told there are no mental health facilities specifically for children so they are placed in standard children’s home which could result in problems for caregivers.
Khan said while the masters of science psychology programme is in heavy demand there was no intake this September due to lack of funding.
Khan, who is also part of a committee to formulate a national suicide plan, said since 2015 there has been a psychiatric ward at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Mt Hope. Over a one-year period there were 121 admissions for attempted suicide and of those 80 to 90 per cent were impulsive, resulting from overbearing stress and poor coping skills.
“The vast majority is 18 to 26 years, so we are looking at a very young population,” she added.
Dr Lucretia Gabriel, chairman of suicide hotline Lifeline, described the current economic crisis as “brutal” and said it had a direct impact on mental coping skills. She reiterated that in August 2016, about 7.3 per cent of calls to Lifeline were from people considered to be at a high risk for suicide and today—within an eight-month period—that number has increased to 73 per cent, meaning seven out of ten calls received by Lifeline are from people who have seriously contemplated suicide.
On police training to deal with mentally ill people, Gabriel recommended strengthening such training, not only in dealing with the mentally ill population but also for the officers themselves to cope with the stresses of the job.
