World Mental Health Day, PKS Opens Counseling Services

Chairperson of the PKS DPP for Women and Family Resilience (BPKK) Kurniasih Mufidayati/Photo: PKS.id

JAKARTA - World Mental Health Day falls today, Sunday, October 10. Chairperson of the PKS DPP for Women and Family Resilience (BPKK) Kurniasih Mufidayati, assessed that mental health issues should be the main awareness that is no less important than physical health.

Moreover, she said, the Ministry of Health released that one in five Indonesians or 20 percent of the population has the potential to have mental problems. The level of mental disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic is also said to have increased.

Therefore, Mufida explained, BPKK PKS through the Indonesian Family House (RKI) has started a family counseling program since 2006 to help people who have mental health problems.

"Consultation or counseling at RKI has been officially an official activity as a consulting service since 2016. In the form of consulting services, people who have family problems come to RKI and agree on a time for consultation/counseling," said Mufid, Sunday, October 10.

"There are also consultants who pick up the ball. Open the schedule for consulting services and anyone who wants to consult can go directly to the schedule," continued this member of Commission IX of the DPR RI.

Mufida revealed that the most common issues raised in counseling sessions at RKI were generally husband and wife communication issues, husband and wife harmonization, and child problems. According to her, the family must be the first and foremost support system in any problem that has the potential to disrupt the mental health of family members.

"PKS is concerned (focused, ed) to make the family a system of resilience to problems that threaten, including mental health," said the Jakarta legislator.

Mufida added that family members can be the first helpers when other family members face problems. Of course, she said, every family member can receive training to understand human psychological problems in general.

"Moreover, our number of psychologists and psychiatrists is very limited, still lacking from ideal needs. Our number of psychiatrists is only 1,053, so for national needs, 1 psychiatrist treats 250 thousand people. Families and communities can be the first helpers," said Mufida.