Africa-Press – Cape verde. Have a psychologist to call yours” is the name given to a Facebook page, created by clinical and health psychologist Suzy Chantre, which, as the name says, encourages people to pay more attention to mental health.
As a professional, Suzy Chantre, born in São Nicolau and residing in Praia, says that she felt the need to have another way of reaching people and, in addition to providing my service, to help in this very relevant matter these days.
“It was from this perspective that I created the page, in 2018, to help people promote their mental health and help in some aspects that can improve their quality of life”, explains the psychologist, in an interview with A NAÇÃO.
The page, he says, is sought after mainly by teenagers, aged 16, and people up to 40 years of age. It has served as a bridge between the population and professionals in the field.
“When someone contacts me through the page, the first thing I do is call and chat, to do an initial assessment. After a small intervention, depending on where the person is, they can be referred to the clinic where I work, or by another professional from the airline, closer to them, for care and follow-up.
Know how to ask for help
According to the mentor of the page, there are still few people who interact in the visible spaces (comments). They prefer to send private messages, which shows that there is still some difficulty in breaking this taboo around mental health and seeking help.
“Usually people put mental issues aside, to the detriment of other health problems. Just looking for help they start having other complications,” she notes.
These are cases, he said, of people who have not slept for several days, have a lack of appetite, and do not want to do their usual tasks, but who see the problem as normal.
demand has increased
The demand in recent times, he says, is mainly related to mental health problems that surfaced during the pandemic, culminating in anxiety or depression.
“Most people who seek help through the page are linked to anxiety and depression. There are more and more young people with anxiety. It’s like we’re living in a world where everything has to wait. Plans, studies, work, the idea of financial autonomy, those who were working and lost work, and this caused widespread anxiety and many cases of depression, especially among the youth”, he warns.
As a result, he observes, there has been an increase in cases of suicide, which may be related to the “pressure of today”.
“The quality of life is not the same, many cases are related to life goals, the globalized world, excessive worries, other types of worries that were not there before, and many people end up seeing suicide as a way to get rid of them. of the problems. Because the person who commits suicide does not want to end their life, but the problem and suffering they are facing”, explains the psychologist.
Other cases, he says, are related to self-esteem problems, but also to children’s behavioral issues. “Many parents end up looking for help on the page to understand the reason for some of their children’s behavior”, she adds.
Given this framework, the creation of the page and the idea of the name aims to show people that they should look for a professional. “It doesn’t have to be me. If you understand that it must reach me, great, but when they do, I make a point of referring them to a professional who is present where the person is. The focus is not psychologist Suzy Chantre,” she explains.
Pay attention to the signs
Suzy Chantre draws attention, on the other hand, to the signs that appear in people with mental and psychological problems, and that can be detected within their social circle.
“We are talking about signs of people who are experiencing psychological distress. Family and friends should be on the lookout for these signs. The first thing is the change in behavior, the person stops doing the things he normally does, he is no longer as sociable as he used to be, he does not show interest in anything, he has changes in his sleep – either he does not sleep well or he sleeps too much -, he has changes in appetite, conversations become full of pessimism, referring to their existence, meaning of life, emptiness, among others”, he exemplifies.
The first approach for those who detect these signs, guides, should be non-judgmental, listening and understanding. “Show support, but also try to refer them to a specialized service”, he points out.
Mental health in Cape Verde
In Cape Verde, says Suzy Chantre, an effort has been made to bring psychologists as close to the population as possible. “Almost all health centers already have psychologists, which is an asset, but there is still much more to be done”, she considers.
However, according to the same source, it is necessary to be more on the ground and work more in terms of prevention.
As for the class, he says that there is still some appreciation of his work. “At the moment, the creation of the Order of Psychologists of Cape Verde is underway. With this step, we will be able to acquire many rights, show the value of the psychologist professional in the teams”, says Chantre.
One of the problems to be overcome is linked to the psychologist’s own autonomy within the health system. “To this day we do a psychological report, for the INSP, for example, but this report has to be approved by a general practitioner. It’s a job that we do, but it has to be validated by another professional, who isn’t even in the area”, he says.
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