Am in support of spiritual care for such patients Vernon Nyangulu However, the healing process must come from inside the patient, i.e. sound professional and medical knowledge is needed about psychotherapeutic approaches and mental health.

Wishing you success with your studies about the affected Malawi population, especially in identifying the common roots of the mentioned cases, with respect to successful remedies.

Psychiatric illness is not caused by personal or religious fault or deficiency and consequently would require other resources.

Education of whole communities (not only the affected patient) is necessary to decrease stigma and increase resources. Access points to care (medications and treatments/therapies) are far to limited and are likely to need to begin at the primary care level .

Effects of poverty, quality of life issues, also cause severe stress making physical and mental illness more likely and exacerbating existing illness.

There has been some interest internationally to be of assistance.

Perhaps some religious sister organisation would also wish to help?

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Malawi Quick Guide to Mental Health

12 November 2020

Title: Malawi Quick Guide to Mental Health

Authors: Scotland-Malawi Mental Health Education Project (SMMHEP), Government of Malawi, Ministry of Health, University of Malawi (College of Medicine, Kamuzu College of Nursing, Chancellor College), St John of God Hospitaller Health Services, Malawi, Mental Health Users and Carers Association (MeHUCA)

Type of resource: PDF report

Length: 93 pages

Date: May 2020

About:

“Who is it for? The Malawi Quick Guide to Mental Health was produced to provide practical information for the assessment and management of mental disorders in Malawi. The Guide is for the busy primary care healthcare provider working at first- and second-level healthcare facilities in Malawi. Brought together in May 2020 during the global COVID-19 pandemic, it particularly aims to support non-specialist healthcare workers who find themselves caring for people with mental disorders for the first time. In Malawi, there are three Consultant Psychiatrists for a population of approximately 20 million people. It is clear that we cannot rely solely on specialists to provide mental health care.

What does it contain? The Malawi Quick Guide to Mental Health opens with advice for managing mental health during a time of crisis, such as the current global COVID-19 pandemic (Part 1). There is detail on how to perform mental health first aid and quick reference sheets for managing Mental Health Emergencies (Part 2). Principles of Assessment and Management(Part 3) provides an overview of good clinical practice and describes how to perform a mental health assessment. The guide prioritises disorders based on their level of burden in terms of mortality, morbidity and disability. These priority disorders include delirium, depression, anxiety disorders, psychoses, self-harm/suicide, drug and alcohol use disorders, epilepsy, and dementia. In Assessment and Management of Psychiatric Disorders and Epilepsy(Part 4) the guide focuses on management approaches identified based both on evidence about their effectiveness and their feasibility in Malawi. Important considerations in the assessment and care are described for Special Patient Groups(Part 5) including older adults, mothers, and children. There are Information Leaflets for Patients and Carers (Part 6) in English and Chichewa that have been in part adapted with permission from material available on the websites of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, Mind and the National Centre for Mental Health. These leaflets can be photocopied and handed to patients and their carers as appropriate. Other Resources(Part 7) includes advice on how to ask assessment questions in Chichewa and a temporary treatment order for photocopying.

What it is not: This quick guide is not a comprehensive textbook and there will be many cases that cannot be managed by following the guidance contained in it. Recognising your limits and those of your service is important for the safety of patients. There is information on when to refer to specialists in the section titled Key Principles of Managing Mental Health in Part 3.”

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Home / News / The Friendship Bench, Reimagining Mental Healthcare in Malawi

The Friendship Bench, Reimagining Mental Healthcare in Malawi February 19, 2024A new study published in Lancet-Global Health introduces the results of a five-year trial in Malawi that tested two implementation strategies for integrating mental health with general medical care. Led by Bradley Gaynes and Brian Pence, the study includes a cost-effectiveness analysis that will help inform scale-up decisions about the relative benefits of implementing each strategy. The following introduces a case study for one of the strategies, using a mental health champion. Find the published study here.When a young woman named Chimwenwe arrived at Malawi’s Kamuzu Hospital for prenatal care, she was joyful and preparing for a new baby. But she left with an unexpected HIV diagnosis. The life-altering news put her on a path to depression marked by sadness, and a dark mood interfered with daily life.At a follow-up visit, Chimwenwe was screened for a new mental health study led by researchers with Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases at the UNC School of Medicine and UNC Project-Malawi in partnership with the Malawi Ministry of Health.📷Building on UNC Project-Malawi’s long-term HIV research investments, the team’s studies began to address a critical need for depression treatment in HIV care in 2016. Since then, their work has steadily expanded into a series of mental health projects that are testing different strategies to make mental health care accessible for everyone. This includes the Friendship Bench, which trains community volunteers with no prior medical experience to offer talk therapy.Depressive disorders represent a major source of global disease burden. While the U.S. may struggle to meet the need for quality mental health care, people in low- and middle-income countries often have no access to care at all. Left untreated, the condition can become disabling and even fatal. Malawi is a country of 20 million, with five psychiatrists and only a handful of mental health professionals. Researchers are rethinking mental health care to meet the scale and need.📷UNC Project Malawi’s Friendship Bench Study Team “IGHID is proud to partner with Malawian researchers, academics and policy makers to re-imagine mental health care for Malawi,” said investigator Dr. Bradley Gaynes. Gaynes leads WARMHEART, a mental health training program funded through the National Institutes of Health’s Fogarty International Center, with Dr. Kazione Kulisewa, the first Malawian doctor trained as a psychiatrist in decades. Kulisewa now heads Kamuzu’s Psychiatry and Mental Health Department, which is training a new generation of psychiatrists.Engaged partnership with the Malawian Ministry of Health’s noncommunicable diseases and mental health division has advanced meaningful policy changes in Malawi. Health policy now prioritizes the integration of mental health care into general medical care. In support, the Malawi Health System’s human resources department has created the first team of psychosocial counselors.📷Bradley Gaynes, MD, MPH (front-left) and Brian Pence, PhD (left-behind) participate in a Friendship Bench training session. “The Friendship Bench initiative as part of treatment provides the necessary evidence for strategy and policy direction, for introducing psychosocial counseling to different service delivery areas,” said Michael Udedi, assistant director of the Ministry of Health’s curative and rehabilitative services.IGHID Investigator Brian Pence says the team is developing and testing mental health interventions that will go beyond HIV. “We are learning how to integrate mental health into general care for adolescents, pregnant women, older adults with chronic illness, and people with severe mental illness.”Malawi research coordinator and Friendship Bench master trainer Steve Mphonda sees results with each client who goes through the program.“Friendship Bench provides a safe space for people to express their feelings without being judged. The service is becoming increasingly popular, praised for its innovative support and education about mental health, while creating a sense of community that connects people,” he says.Chimwemwe participated in six sessions of Friendship Bench, and the experience destigmatized everything she had known about HIV. Today, she feels empowered to take responsibility for her psychological well-being and she expresses gratitude.“I have stopped having bad thoughts, and I have learned how to rely on myself and solve problems. The experience has helped me get back to old friends, it brought peace to my family and focus to my HIV care,” she says.

From Seed Global Health.org

Strengthening Mental Health Services in Malawi

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Mental health is a critical issue in Malawi. Reports estimate that nearly 30% of patients in the country are affected by mental health conditions. Despite the significant need, the availability of mental health services is limited, largely due to a scarcity of mental health professionals. Stigma and lack of knowledge further limit access to much-needed services.

Unfortunately, very few institutions in Malawi can help train specialized professionals. Additionally, primary health workers are most often not equipped to deal with mental health issues. To close these gaps, Seed partnered with St. John of God College of Health Sciences (SJOG) to strengthen mental health education and advocate for policies to better integrate mental health services into primary care delivery.

Last October,  Seed’s Associate Director of Primary Care and Community Health Nursing Dr. Kate York, Nursing and Midwifery Advisor Margaret Phiri, and SJOG Principal of Nursing Zelipher Chimlala created training sessions to share teaching and learning strategies with mental health faculty and educators at the college. The sessions included short lectures on evidence-based teaching and learning, reflection on current teaching practices, and ways to incorporate new teaching methodologies in the classroom to enhance student learning.

Containing information about rights and obligations pertaining to Mental Health treatment:

Mental Treatment Act

MalawiLII

https://media.malawilii.org › files › legislation › a...

PDF

Dec 31, 2014 — Mental Treatment Act. Malawi. 58. Person received into mental hospital to be detained until discharged....