Syria is a Middle Eastern country that has recently suffered from several political and economic crises. This has resulted in a high prevalence of mental struggles and disorders among the Syrian population, the most frequent being stress, anxiety, depression, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, with almost 85% of Syrians suffering from the latter. However, the preparedness of the country to meet these needs for mental health care is limited. This chapter begins with the presentation of Syria, noting the evolution of its mental health services, and also tackles the epidemiology of mental illness in this country. Afterward, the chapter discusses the current state of the mental health care sector in Syria, highlighting challenges that it is facing, and then presenting ways out of the limited access to and scarce resources in mental health care in Syria. Challenges included poor research and funding, lack of education about mental health and thus high stigma about the topic, restricted access to mental health services, fleeing of professionals post-war, over-the-counter psychotropic sales, gaps in the distribution of treatment to the population, and disruption of basic services. Later, ways to manage and improve this state and these services are explained.

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Mental Health Care in Syria

  • Laetitia Gerbaka,
  • Feten Fekih-Romdhane,
  • Souheil Hallit,
  • Sahar Obeid

摘要

Syria is a Middle Eastern country that has recently suffered from several political and economic crises. This has resulted in a high prevalence of mental struggles and disorders among the Syrian population, the most frequent being stress, anxiety, depression, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, with almost 85% of Syrians suffering from the latter. However, the preparedness of the country to meet these needs for mental health care is limited. This chapter begins with the presentation of Syria, noting the evolution of its mental health services, and also tackles the epidemiology of mental illness in this country. Afterward, the chapter discusses the current state of the mental health care sector in Syria, highlighting challenges that it is facing, and then presenting ways out of the limited access to and scarce resources in mental health care in Syria. Challenges included poor research and funding, lack of education about mental health and thus high stigma about the topic, restricted access to mental health services, fleeing of professionals post-war, over-the-counter psychotropic sales, gaps in the distribution of treatment to the population, and disruption of basic services. Later, ways to manage and improve this state and these services are explained.