AMID growing concern about the impact of the novel coronavirus on the mental health of Jamaicans, child guidance clinics across the island have introduced telephone counselling or tele-therapy to help children cope.

“A lot of the children are fearful. They are really fearful,” said Theresa Wallace, coordinator of counselling services for child guidance clinics in Kingston and St Andrew.

“They worry about their caregivers being harmed and about loss of income for the household. There are also post-traumatic stress symptoms, as children know people who have died. And not being able to interact with their peers— that sensory deprivation can cause pre-disposed disorders to manifest. Some even start abusing substances,” added Wallace.

Since schools were closed in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Wallace and her team of counsellors — including social workers, psychologists and psychiatrists — have been providing tele-therapy to these stressed children.

According to Wallace, the closure of schools created an opportunity to help ensure that students who needed clinical support could still get it —without having to risk exposure to the virus by visiting their counsellors in person.

Over the past four months, 829 sessions have been conducted in the two Child Guidance Clinics of Kingston and St Andrew Health Department.

Of these, 62 were from referral through the Schoolwide Positive Behaviour Intervention and Support framework, which has been piloted by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information in some 60 schools across Jamaica, with support from UNICEF which provided 50 mobile phones —with monthly unlimited data and telephone service plans — through the Guidance and Counselling Unit of the education ministry to the Ministry of Health and Wellness.

This gave referred students the opportunity to access tele-mental health services via child guidance clinics islandwide and Wallace is concerned that with the pandemic continuing for the foreseeable future, the need for tele-therapy may surge.

“You will find a lot more mental health issues coming up now. Children can be pre-disposed to some disorders but without significant pressure, they can be fine and functional. But with the stress of [COVID-19] cases going up, a lot more persons are having diagnoses that need urgent attention,” added Wallace.

The issue of mental health challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic was placed on the front burner by Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton on Tuesday as he announced in Parliament a $20-million allocation for the administration and coordination of all elements of a national mental health intervention.

Tufton noted that in recent weeks Jamaica has seen the detrimental impact that COVID-19 can have on our mental health and overall sense of well-being.

“In the general population, we hear of the elevated levels of fear, anxiety and loneliness from children and parents who access the child and adolescent mental health clinics.

“They admit to feeling overwhelmed and not being able to manage the demands of online schooling. We also hear of the stressors associated with the financial challenges that have accompanied the pandemic, such as among tourism workers in the west,” said Tufton.

“The Ministry of Health and Wellness has heard and is intent on making the necessary interventions to arrest the problem, understanding what is at stake in the effort to ensure the best possible health outcomes for all as we face down COVID-19.

“It should be noted that since the start of the pandemic, the ministry has been alerted to the mental health challenges that can arise from having people in quarantine or isolated from family and friends, to say nothing of the economic challenges that can come with a pandemic of this scale and the stress faced by health care workers responding to the demands of the various public health interventions,” added Tufton.

He noted that isolation and loneliness during any pandemic presents specific mental health risks for teenagers and the elderly and added that his ministry has been monitoring these vulnerable groups, as part of its COVID-19 response.

“As the number of COVID-19 cases and related deaths increase, the ministry is anticipating that the prevalence of mental illness will also increase,” underscored Tufton.

Even before COVID-19 several Jamaican students were displaying violent behaviour with many struggling with mental health issues such as depression, suicidal thoughts and post-traumatic stress disorder.

“More than 800,000 children live in Jamaica, and even taking a conservative figure of 15 per cent, nearly 120,000 of them may have a mental disorder and five per cent or 40,000 of them may be suffering from a severe mental disorder,” said Dr Ganesh Shetty, a child and adolescent psychiatrist.

“Approximately 3,500 children access the facilities offered through the 20 Child Guidance Clinic sites islandwide. Hence, more than 95 per cent—or just over 110,000 children and adolescents with a mental disorder may be going unrecognised and untreated in government settings,” added Shetty.