Penkwase (B/A), April 23, GNA – Forty pastors
including three females, were on Friday awarded certificates in mental
health training and called upon to educate their church members
on the management of mental health cases.
Mr. William Saawil Sopiimeh, Chief Health Educator of Ghana
Health Services who made the call also asked them to advocate the
fundamental human rights of persons with mental problems.
“These people who are sometimes handled badly as a result of
their status, are human beings like us and as you have acquired this
knowledge, I entreat you all to advocate their fundamental human
rights”, he said.
Mr. Sopiimeh was speaking at the graduation of the pastors
drawn from various churches in Brong Ahafo after a five-month
training workshop in clinical psychotherapy and counseling (pastoral
perspective), facilitated by Pro-healthcare, a non-governmental
organisation at Penkwase in Sunyani.
The chief health educator stated that “by accepting and treating
them as human beings it will psychologically heal them, as well
as manage the increasing number of mental health cases in our
society”.
Mr Sopiimeh urged the pastors to be worthy ambassadors in the
sensitization and education of the people on the barbaric treatment
meted out to people with mental cases to help curb the menace in
Ghana.
The Reverend Father Peter Gyabaah, director of Prohealth-care,
who is a clinical psychiatrist and a lecturer at Kintampo
Psychological clinical center later explained to the Ghana News
Agency in an interview that since pastors commanded respect in
society there was the need to equip them with knowledge in the
education and management of mental health cases.
He said the pastors were drawn from churches including the
Methodist Church of Ghana, Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Church
of Pentecost, Anglican, Assemblies of God, Temple of Praise and
Divine Yard Ministry.
They were trained in mental health courses as the concept of
nature, the mind-body relationship, integrating spiritual and
psychotherapy in pastoral counseling, psychological perspective of
psychopathology, personality disorder and treatment to help detect
such illness early for quick intervention.
Other topics were: supportive counseling, first aid in handling
mental illness, dream analysis and interpretations, family therapy
counseling, spiritual directions versus psychological counseling,
counsel skills and techniques, pastor-client relationship, crisis
interventions and management, as well as the phobia of mental health.
Rev. Father Gyabaah urged the pastors not to relent on what they
had acquired but to put it into practice to help “our mothers, fathers,
brothers, sisters and children who are being tortured at various
psychiatric and church centers”.
He called on all stake holders to join in the campaign and
contribute in cash or in kind to help the NGO to achieve its intended
goals in mental health service delivery.