GARDEN ROUTE NEWS - The Eden Karoo is Cape Mental Health's (CMH) second home, according to the team who held various workshops here in February. In a statement the CMH said in 2016 the highest suicide rate was reported in the Eden Karoo district, with one in three people suffering from a common mental disorder.
The most common causes for suicide are anxiety, depression and substance abuse. The high rate of suicide in the district highlighted the need for effective intervention, and the CMH team spent a week promoting mental health care, addressing barriers, raising awareness and challenging the stereotypes in the region in the workshops.
The aim was to empower social workers with the skills they need in different fields.
Carol Bosch, the deputy executive officer, said each team member covered a specific aspect of mental health. Bosch gave social workers the tools to work with rape and domestic abuse survivors, while others covered more of the basic mental health issues.
The CMH team hopes that properly empowered staff at local community health centres and clinics will encourage communities to entrust their mental health issues to their care.
Social workers from across the district were glad for the opportunity to share experiences and ask questions as they face an overwhelming case load, and there are days that they feel they can't handle what comes across their desks.
"But now they can. That is why it was so important to reach everyone. Some days we had to start a little late because these ladies had to travel far, but it was worth it to see how their spirits lifted after a day," said Bosch.
Bosch said providing mental health service is a human rights issue that has been inadequately addressed in South Africa. Many in rural areas are still struggling to access these services and have to live with the stigma.
The goal of these capacity-building workshops is to help sufferers lead a normal life where they are not excluded from mainstream society.
The CMH team wants people with psycho-social disabilities in the Eden Karoo to know that through counselling and support they can recover more quickly and remain included in society.
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