Srinagar: The Child Guidance and Wellbeing Centre, Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (IMHANS) organised a conference on child mental health at SKICC Srinagar.
The event, attended by specialists of the institute and clinical psychologists, deliberated on various aspects of psychological problems among children and their treatment.
They also highlighted the individual and collective responsibilities to keep children away from psychological diseases. Experts also spoke about the role of the Child Guidance and Wellbeing Centre of IMHANS and the treatment and counselling of affected children there.
Speaking on the occasion, the Minister for Health and Medical Education, Sakina Itoo, who was a chief guest, expressed concern over the increasing psychological problems among children and said that this issue requires attention.
She said that not only the elderly and the youth are suffering from various mental illnesses in the Kashmir Valley, but also schoolchildren are suffering from psychological problems.
“The reasons can be anything, but this is a matter of concern for every member of society. In such a situation, there is a need to control this problem not only at the government but also at the individual level,” he said.
Child and adolescent psychiatrist and Head of Child Guidance and Wellbeing Centre Srinagar, Dr. Zaid Ahmad Wani, said that in the daily OPD, children who are struggling with problems like frustration, bad attitude, negative tendencies, apathy towards studies, etc.
“It was a big challenge to remove the mental problems of children, to understand the conditions growing inside them, and to implement their treatment. For which, in addition to awareness, for timely treatment, we enable teachers in schools to understand the mental conditions of children and counsel them because most of the time of the child is spent in school,” he said.
The Child Guidance and Wellbeing Centre of the IMHANS provides the facilities for counselling and treatment of children who are struggling with problems like depression, irritability, bad attitude, negative tendencies, reluctance to study, etc.
The centre also provides the children with an excellent environment and gets them out of mental problems.
Established in 2019, this Child Guidance Centre has psychologists, psychiatrists, and remedial educators available for such young children struggling with mental illnesses.
Coordinator of Child Guide and Wellbeing Centre Syed Mujtaba said, “About 100 programs have been implemented at the school and social level related to awareness. In such a situation, the coming time, Child Guide and Wellbeing Centre wants to reach out to those institutions that have direct or indirect contact with children. Which is also the purpose of this conference.”
Other than IMHANS, different hospitals affiliated with GMC Srinagar also participated in the conference; the heads of several schools and other concerned persons were also present there.
