Occupational therapy programmes for the mentally disordered

by Hiran Seneviratne

A UK based charitable organization Richmond Fellowship Lanka has commenced an occupational therapy programme for people who are really interested to open up centres to run mentally disordered personnel, its Senior Committee member Sato Jayamaha said "Sri Lanka does not have an adequate number of licensed Counsels and psychiatrists to treat mentally disordered personnel, which is a tremendous lacuna in the country," she said.

This Centre undertakes mentally ill/ mentally disordered people who could be re-habitable, due to depression, trauma and other mental ailments. This residence of the Richmond Fellowship is being charged a competitive fee to maintain them, she said.

They have also trained many people along with the Goodness Foundation. The Institute conducts staff training programmes specialized on trauma and depression victims who have been affected especially by the tsunami, recently. Further, with the increase of the ageing population the country does not have adequate places to accommodate such people and counsellors. It is said that there are only a handful of Psychiatrists and Counsellors to treat the larger number of population in the country, Jayamaha said. "Happier events were when we launched the hope lamp.

Scented floated candles and decorative glass and pottery containers to keep a safe flame burning in the memory and hope of those who need society to look at them with love and treat them with care and kindness," She said. Sato and a lady volunteer from Malaysia patronized our Exhibition and sale as a fund-raiser for our new building fund in the month of August 7 & 8, 2005.

Most of the Social Workers are trained to manage trauma and mentally disordered personnel, which charges a competitive fee. They have set up a new building at Pamunuwa Bopitiya. Jayamaha said that these programmes are basically residential programmes meant for mentally disordered people and they will be given a lot of attention by conducting workshops on art, painting, making art objects and screen printing.

A group of people who gathered to help us on the fund-raising events last year had organised workshops on tsunami psychosocial needs and livelihood (Training Programme) Totagamuwa and Hikkaduwa August 2005.

"We can say that we have great fun too. They arrange picnics, games sessions with other groups like sahanaya, carom contests, drama and they have very good writing skills", one of the persons who attended the programme, said.

There are two senior board members who were the brainchild behind the new Home of our own. Ms. Bernadine Silva (HON Secretary and Mr. Brito Motha Hon. Treasurer both great social service workers.