80% of Bangladeshi adults not getting treatment for mental health issues: Clinical Psychology Society GS
“Among adults, depression, anxiety, and somatisation are major psychiatric problems in Bangladesh," he also said
Over 18% of the adults in Bangladesh's population suffers from mental health issues, Bangladesh Clinical Psychology Society General Secretary Dr Mohammad Shahnoor Hossain said today (12 October).
"However, 80% of them are either not getting treatment or seeking to get treated due to high costs," Shahnoor, also the chairman of Dhaka University's Department of Clinical Psychology, said at a webinar organised by the BCPS marking World Mental Health Day.
"Among adults, depression, anxiety, and somatisation are major psychiatric problems in Bangladesh.
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"Besides, 12.6% of children and adolescents suffer from mental health problems. 90% of them do not get access to mental health services," he said, citing government data.
Stating that on average, 25-30 research theses are published every year from the Department of Clinical Psychology, he said one study published in 2016 showed that the real number of mental health patients in the country are three-fold than what is shown in government survey reports.
Calling for increasing investment to raise the number of medical professionals in the clinical psychology sectors, he said, "Currently, there are 500-600 psychologists working in Bangladesh, where we need more than 50,000."
Addressing the event as the keynote speaker, DU's clinical psychology professor and BPCS President Dr Muhammad Kamruzzaman Majumder said, "Worldwide, there are 60% people working in various sectors. 16% of them suffer from mental health problems. The most common reason behind this is work overload, which damages an employee's mental health and reduces performance."
