The Covid-19 pandemic has increased the risk of mental disorders, with online counseling services seen as a way to help those in need amid the social restrictions still in place.
By
KOMPAS TEAM
·4 minutes read
KOMPAS/RIZA FATHONI
A number of residents took part in counseling and psychotherapy organized by the Sahabatku Foundation at a meeting place in the Sukmajaya area, Depok, West Java, Friday (28/9/2018). Consultations guided by 31 psychotherapists aim to help people build themselves better and find solutions to personal problems.
Resa Nur Azizah (19) has endured life problems that appeared to become aggravated during the Covid-19 pandemic, prompting her to feel like ending her life.
She was fortunate to have access to professional psychiatric counseling, and support from her family also turned out to help significantly.
Resa began developing an emotional disorder when her grandmother died while she was in senior high school. “My parents were out of town quite often. I stayed with grandma. When she died, I felt lonely,” she said this past weekend.
The Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated her situation, as she felt more isolated and alone. She found herself screaming at times. Realizing that she was not doing well mentally, she felt she needed to talk to someone. This led her to a consultation with psychologist Herlina S. Dwantaran based in Cirebon, West Java.
Resa was among the many youths who experienced mental or emotional disorders during the pandemic and sought professional help from psychologists or psychiatrists.
The pandemic has been blamed as a cause of increased risk of mental illness, especially when a spike in the caseload was detected a few months ago. At that time, in addition to seeing patients at the hospital where she worked, Herlina decided to join fellow psychologists under the Gadjah Mada University Alumni Family (Kagama) to provide free online counseling services.
But this led to overwork, and the53-year-old mother of two contracted Covid-19 in July. Herlina had to take a break, but on the 10th day of self-isolation, she was back online, providing counseling services.
Another psychologist in Cirebon, Rini S. Minarso, also extended herself beyond her regular work, giving her spare time and energy to help patients through a community initiative for mental health.
Kompas
Doctor Ratna Dewi (right) serves patients at the Curhat Clinic, Krian Health Center (Puskesmas), Thursday (1/10/2020). Mental health checks and counseling are part of the services provided by the Krian Puskesmas.
Apart from working at the Plered and Beber community health centers (Puskesmas), as well as at Arjawinangun Regional General Hospital, she has been providing free consultation services for journalists since July.
"This is a form of my empathy. If there's something I can do, why not?" she said.
A group of psychologists from the Psychology School of Soegijapranata Catholic University Semarang is also providing free mental health services to the public, offering creative counseling and therapy programs for Covid-19 patients, both offline and online.
In Jakarta, the Indonesian Clinical Psychologists Association (IPK) has opened free public consultation services.
IPK Jakarta chairwoman Anna Surti Ariani said that as many as 2,000 people had registered, but because of limited resources, they could only see 200 patients this month. "This shows that the public need for mental health services is very high," she said.
Anna added that the pressing need to address public mental health would require a collective effort. All stakeholders must work together to overcome the problems they faced as a community.
Meanwhile, Marzoeki Mahdi Hospital in Bogor, offers 24-hour free mental health consultation services that is accessible by telephone.
It is not just health workers and psychologists, but religious leaders have also initiated a mental healthcare outreach program. One such initiative is provided by the Kerja Insani Group in East Nusa Tenggara.
The initiative’s coordinator, Pastor Aven Saur of the Society of the Divine Word (SVD) said that Kerja Insani had not only mobilized members of his congregation members with a counseling background, but also collaborated with psychologists to provide therapy services for people whose mental health had been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Many people need counseling from psychologists, but most choose to remain silent. They are difficult to monitor because they tend to conceal their problems,” said Saur.
Kompas/AGUS SUSANTO
Therapist Suharyono massages the heads of people with mental disorders while being treated at the Jamrud Biru Foundation mental disability rehabilitation center, Mustikasari Village, Mustikajaya District, Bekasi City, West Java, Wednesday (14/4/2021).
Kristiana Haryanti, secretary at the Industrial and Organizational Psychology Association (APIO), encourages anyone who feels anxious or distressed to seek professional help.
She said that community outreach centers could provide help, while the government was expected to issue policies to facilitate such activities.
Stigma
Iman Hanggautomo, the founder of health tech platform KALBU that focuses on public mental health, pointed out that there was a need to fight the social stigma that might deter people from using online psychological consultation services.
“We have to remove the negative stigma over psychological consultations. Seeking help for mental disorders should not be taboo. Therefore, knowledge about the importance of mental health must also be developed from an early age, for instance, through education at school,” he said.
We have to remove the negative stigma over psychological consultations.
Intellectual entrepreneur Denny J.A. said that mental health impacts of the pandemic should be a shared concern between the government and the public.
The principles of social solidarity and mutual cooperation were expected to manifest in holistic efforts to strengthen communities in facing the pandemic.
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