Decision makers demanded the need to protect the sector from intruders to the profession

Amman – Raed Sbeih

The head of the Association of Psychiatrists, Dr. Alaa Al-Faroukh, expressed in his statements to “compassHe deeply regretted the chaos that engulfed the psychiatry sector, whom he described as “intruders” to the profession who do not have any scientific or legal reference to practice this profession, stressing at the same time that this very important sector has become “violent” by those who claim to provide psychological treatment, energy therapy, and others without any right.

During an in-depth dialogue with him about the details of the problem, Dr. Alaa Al-Faroukh said, “The idea starts from any profession that provides services to people, especially if these services clearly and fundamentally affect their lives, especially when we talk about mental health services. There is a set of controls and elements that must be observed, adhered to, and protected.

A broader concept of mental health

He added, we must mention an important piece of information in order to spread awareness represented in the fact that “mental health” as a concept is not related to a person having a mental illness or not, but rather it is a much broader concept than that, because any person may have a problem that has psychological dimensions or intertwined with it, such as societal problems, family problems, relationships between spouses, or relationships between spouses and their children and sometimes between relatives, friends and colleagues at work, all these social problems even when we talk about family violence, community violence and student violence in universities, Actually, all of them either have psychological dimensions represented in the fact that some people are “nervous” or irritable, or they have wrong personality traits. Social problems may have psychological dimensions, and they may have “psychological consequences.”

Al-Faroukh pointed out that in all these respects we do not talk about “mental illness”, but rather about psychological problems, which are much more prevalent than mental illnesses. We do not talk about “depression” or “obsessive-compulsive disorder”, but we are talking here about social problems with psychological dimensions, and these problems have many dimensions on people’s relationships with each other, as in some families disintegration and divorce occur, and some students may lose their studies, and some people may lose their jobs, and we are here talking about vital things in people’s lives.

Regulate the profession and protect the sector

He stressed that “it is absurd to leave such problems in the hands of people who do not possess any sufficient qualifications and do not possess any academic degrees from recognized references.”

Al-Faroukh said: When we talk about our sector as psychiatrists, I am the president of the Psychiatrists Association, a member of the Doctors Syndicate, and a member of the Profession Control Committee in the Medical Syndicate, and I am part of the science and profession control system.

He continued by saying: My fellow psychiatrists and I completed the study of general medicine for six years, after which we completed the year of training to obtain the distinction, then in order to specialize in psychology we undergo residency exams like any doctor who wants to specialize in children or gynecology or other things, so in order to specialize it takes four to five years, and here I take a doctor from ten to eleven years to specialize and I can solve people’s problems and pass a series of exams, and I can only practice the profession by obtaining the Jordanian board, which is a respected and prestigious certificate in Jordan and Territory, and then practicing a profession from the Ministry of Health, this is at the level of psychiatry.

And he continued by saying: As for clinical psychologists, who are our colleagues and complement our work in the psychiatric professions, they finish four to five years in the faculties of psychology and educational sciences, and then after that many of them either finish a master’s degree in psychology or a master’s degree in clinical psychology, or one of the fields that allow practicing the profession as a specialty, not as a psychiatrist. It is necessary to obtain a practice from the Ministry of Health.

He pointed out that whether you are a psychiatrist or a psychologist, you are subject to a long process of effort to obtain certificates from prestigious and respected universities, then obtain adequate training, and then obtain a medicament from the Ministry of Health.

Total chaos and blowing up efforts

Al-Faroukh said: It is not reasonable to blow up all this effort, all this work and all this organization, and a person who does not hold any certificate of value or recognized by scientific institutions comes and practices psychotherapy.

He expressed his deep regret that there is great chaos in the mental health sector, and people who call themselves (life coach: a life coach) come from, and I do not know where they got this name from, and I do not know if such a specialization exists in any scientific institution or university that recognizes it, whether the Jordanian Ministry of Health, the Medical Council, the Jordanian universities, or any other party.

He continued by saying: There are others claiming the story of “energy therapy”, which is a specialty that does not exist or in any Jordanian university, nor is it recognized by the Ministry of Health, nor does it exist in the Jordanian Medical Council.

He added, we are talking about a field that is permissible by many intruders to the profession, who do not hold educational qualifications recognized by the institutions that we respect and appreciate and have wide respect in the region.

He wondered: How do you abandon these names that do not have any academic qualifications or references to count on, nor a recognized practice from the Ministry of Health, Higher Education, or any other respectable party, and practice what I call today “exploitation” of people’s psychological and social needs and pay very large sums of money, and this in itself is “chaos.”

Al-Farroukh said: As a doctor, I have a syndicate and a ministry that follows me, and those who follow them, and who is responsible for licensing and regulating their profession.

Multidirectional messages

Al-Faroukh said: As the head of the Association of Psychiatrists and on behalf of my colleagues, I send a message to our Jordanian society, which has become more aware, and we have a large percentage of them who have higher university degrees.

He added, “I pity the people today, because the needy is reckless, and the people are tired and have problems and do not know where to go, then they find an advertisement on the social media and social media, and these people have the skill, the “savvy” and the sweet tongue, and through some applications and videos, and whom we see on a daily basis among the empty people created by the communication platforms, but in the end they take advantage of the people’s need.

Al-Faroukh said: I send a message to the entire community, do not go to someone to solve a problem for you when you do not know what his specialization is or where he got his certificate from and he does not have a certificate to practice a profession.

He pointed out that all doctors, if you enter his clinic, you will find him putting a Jordanian board certificate, a certificate of practicing the profession from the Ministry of Health, and putting many scientific certificates and conferences that the clinics may not be able to place at times.

And the head of the Psychiatric Association added, by saying: But when you go to these people, you do not find any testimony, so he tells you: (I am a life coach), and what is your testimony? And what is your education? And who authorizes you to practice the profession, and who authorizes you to work in this work, so whoever says to me: I work in energy therapy, I say to him: What research, studies and respectable references do you have that say that this type of treatment is real and has a scientific reference.

He stressed that this is a message to people so that they know which doctor to go to, and how to make sure of the qualifications of the person they go to in order to solve their problem with him.

Al-Faroukh also directed his second message to the state and the decision-maker, that the state must be the one responsible for regulating the professions, and we unions have the authority of the Syndicate of Engineers, Pharmacists, Doctors, Nurses and others to organize work.

He pointed out that professions that do not have a reference, who regulates their work, and who is responsible? And why is society left to chaos, and these people who practice psychotherapy and sometimes if we go to ask them they say we are just giving advice to people.

Al-Faroukh said: These are the ones who were allowed to practice this profession, where is the Ministry of Health about these people and the organization of this market, which is in chaos and futility.

He pointed out that it is not permissible for any person to announce himself on social media that he is able to solve a problem while he does not have the sufficient qualifications for that and the considered certificates that qualify him to provide service to people.

He continued by saying: The Ministry of Health monitors doctors and pursues some specialists in psychology that you have a practice or not, and do you have a sufficient training certificate or something else, even though they have clear references, and as for those who do not have certificates, no one follows them, whether they have a certificate or not with them, and no one asks these people.

Profiling in the case of the Jordanian psychiatrist

And about the prejudices and stereotypes that the psychiatrist suffers from in Jordan, Al-Faroukh explained by saying: In an example and in an application, and here we say the example is psychiatry and specialization, and he has a scientific reference and a recognized certificate from the Jordanian Medical Council, and he has a ministry that grants him practice represented by the Ministry of Health, and in the foundations and rules of the profession.

He pointed out that one of the basic rules is that you, as a psychiatrist, listen to the patient enough time and give him his time to explain his problem, and do not rush into diagnosis or treatment. Many people visit us in the clinic and I tell them: You do not have a problem, but you need some behavioral guidance.

Al-Faroukh pointed out that some people come to us and we assure them that they do not need medical treatment, but they need behavioral modification or cognitive therapy. Others tell them that you need medication for a certain period, after which the problem disappears, but when we receive late cases, we have to admit them to the hospital.

He explained that the level of diseases is different and uneven, but the basis for it is always that the doctor must listen to the patient and must give him enough time and be keen on an accurate diagnosis, and not rush in prescribing medications, or even in practicing pharmacological treatments.

He added, however, the problem in our society is that many people do not come to the doctor until it is too late, because unfortunately the psychological culture is few and weak, and the stigma and shame make many people do not go to the doctor until late in the disease and are forced to give medicines.

There is oversight and accountability for psychiatric errors

Al-Faroukh reassured the community that the wrong practices of doctors and we are not a society of angels, we are human beings, and there may be a mistake on the part of some colleagues, and it is not an argument, because there is a specialization that has its respect and medical errors occur in all specialties and not only in psychiatry.

He said: But in the end, this is a doctor who has a scientific reference, and in the end, even if a doctor makes a mistake, whether psychological or otherwise, he can go to the syndicate, and I am a member of the Council of the Medical Syndicate, and you can come to the syndicate. We have a complaints committee and a professional control committee, through which we can take your right if there is a medical error.

And he emphasized that this is a system that has a reference and has control tools, while those things that we were talking about are without reference and without any control, and where will you go in the event of problems with you? There is no reference and there is nothing clear to refer to, but we have a scientific reference and we have an appeal, a syndicate and a ministry, and we have foundations.

Al-Faroukh expressed his hope that there would be a broader psychological culture in our society, and that respected media outlets like you would exercise their role more in guiding and educating people, and we and you in controlling the profession even over colleagues whose work may not have been perfect.

Are there statistics about mental health in Jordan, and is our society mentally ill?

In his answer to this question, Dr. Alaa Al-Faroukh said: I am against judging society as “mentally ill.” On the contrary, our society has many positives and many values ​​and morals, despite some observations. But in the end, we are a society like all societies that is not immune from mental illness.

He added, as far as I know, there are no statistics on the prevalence of mental illnesses, and I have not read or viewed scientific studies, and I believe that there is a shortcoming in this aspect that may be remedied in the future.

And he added, “But based on global numbers and statistics, the level of mental illness in society represents 25 percent of people suffering from various types of mental illnesses, whether anxiety, depression, panic attacks, and other common mental illnesses.”

20% of Jordanians suffer from mental illness

The Director of the National Hospital for Mental Health, Dr. Khaled Al-Hadidi, said in media statements in mid-July that nearly 20 percent of Jordanians suffer from depression and psychological anxiety, according to statements he made to the Jordanian Kingdom Channel.

Al-Hadidi added that the percentage of mental illnesses among Jordanians is the same as the global percentage that appears in annual statistics. For example, the annual percentage of cases of psychological depression and anxiety in all its forms ranges between 15-20%.

He pointed out that the number of visitors to the National Center for Mental Health Hospital during the past year amounted to more than 23 thousand people, according to the director of the hospital, Dr. Khaled Al-Hadidi.

And he added that 2,481 patients who visited the center were admitted for treatment due to a disease relapse, indicating that there are 52 clinics distributed among public hospitals, comprehensive health centers, family protection, and correction and rehabilitation centers.

According to the National Center for Mental Illness, more than 25 percent of Jordan’s population, most of them young people, need appropriate psychological treatment, as a result of various mental illnesses, according to press statements by the center’s director, Nael Al-Adwan.

Al-Adwan estimated the number of psychiatrists in Jordan to be about 110, 75 of whom work in the private sector, and the rest work under the umbrella of the Jordanian Ministry of Health, which makes Jordan the least number of countries compared to neighboring countries.

According to the statistics of the World Health Organization, the number of Jordanians with depression is estimated at 200,000, while the number of people suffering from depression globally is about 350 million.

The organization indicates that less than 30 percent of them receive the necessary treatment, as most cases of severe depression may lead to suicide, as the number of people who kill themselves due to untreated depression in the world every year reaches about one million people, while the percentage of people who are exposed to mental disorders during their lifetime is estimated at one in every four people around the world.

(compass)