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Public education can help reduce the stigma of mental illness
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Posted on May 27 2009
A sweeping public education program and training could help reduce the stigma of mental illness, according to Kaye Christian of the Mental Health Planning Council.
Christian said patients usually do not come out in the open because they are stigmatized from the beginning.
“But through education we can reduce that stigma,” said Christian, who was the guest speaker at the regular meeting of the Rotary Club of Saipan Tuesday at the Hyatt Regency.
She said patients need to know that with proper care and attitude, they can recover. But the lack of proper recovery facilities at the Commonwealth Health Center and an in-house psychiatrist are some of the biggest challenges.
Christian said mental health service in the CNMI is almost nonexistent, with only one psychiatrist serving all patients on Saipan, Tinian and Rota.
At the same time, the CHC Psychiatric Unit only has eight beds that easily fill up during specific times of the year like the holidays, when stress factors are high.
There is no available number of patients in the Psychiatric Unit as they come and go, she said, “but there are more patients out there who refuse to go for check-up and treatment.”
She said patients are usually just confined to their beds. There is a walled area outside that patients could use to breathe fresh air, but the place is hot.
To remedy this, Christian has initiated a project to beautify a walled section just outside the Psychiatric Unit, turning the area into a garden for the patients to enjoy.
“We’ve been raising funds for this,” she said.
The area will be used by the patients for their recovery. “The patients need to breathe fresh air and not face the grim, high walls because this could add to their depression,” Christian said.
The project will be completed soon with the assistance of the Northern Marianas Cooperative Research Extension and Education Services.
