KINGSTON, Jamaica – More than 100 Problem Management Plus (PM+) providers, who have been trained to deliver support to individuals coping with adversity, received certificates at a graduation ceremony held at the Summit in New Kingston on August 10.

Areas of training include basic helping skills, stress management techniques, and signs and symptoms of common mental health disorders.

A mental wellness intervention of the Ministry of Health and Wellness, with support from the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), PM+ is aimed at meeting people where they are in communities to help them resolve problems and preserve wellness.

It engages faith-based and community leaders to assist people to cope with mild depression, anxiety and stress resulting from death of family/friends, financial loss, experience with violence, natural disasters, among other adversities.

It is particularly useful in communities that do not have mental health specialists.

Consultant psychiatrist, University Hospital of the West Indies, Senator Dr Saphire Longmore, who addressed the graduates, commended them for taking “up this very significant mantle and commitment”.

She noted that the programme is an attempt to normalise mental wellness and reframe the stigma associated with mental health.

“You are taking part in an initiative that we are very hopeful for because I think we can all understand and relate to the circumstances of not just mental health but the overall health of our people,” she said.

“We are about the preventative approach and the early intervention to enhance mental wellness. When you are looking at mental wellness in the population, you recognise that the role of government is basically to see to the best health of people,” she added.

Dr Longmore pointed out that the experience of COVID-19 has highlighted the need for this type of intervention.

“We knew that people were undergoing stress; we knew we were in a culture that is predisposed, unfortunately, to trauma and violence. What the pandemic did was heighten whatever was pre-existing,” she said, noting that various stakeholders lobbied for quick intervention, with the Ministry of Health and Wellness responding.

“The ministry collaborated with PAHO, recognising the need, and this is one of the many initiatives that we are rolling out,” she added.

Senator Longmore implored the providers, as they care for others, to ensure that they are looking after their own health. “As a professional, it comes at you heavy and you have to develop your own outlet,” she noted.

During the event, PAHO/World Health Organisation (WHO) Representative to Jamaica, Ian Stein, handed over 40 tablets from the organisation valued at $4.2 million to the programme.

Stein in his remarks, noted that the pandemic exposed gaps in mental health services, and commended Jamaica for taking a “very proactive step” in initiating the programme.

-JIS