February 18, 2025

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Start mental health education in schools | Local News

Start mental health education in schools | Local News

PSYCHIATRIST Dr Varma Deyalsingh said fighting the stigma associated with mental health in T&T must begin at the nation’s schools.

The Social Sector Investment Programme (SSIP) which was tabled as part of the 2025 budget revealed that Trinidad and Tobago has the third highest prevalence of mental illness in the Caribbean.

Some of the illnesses listed in the document were schizophrenia, mood disorders, substance abuse and death by suicide.

In the document, the Government noted that it will be moving away from the centralised model of mental health services toward community settings.

Deyalsingh, speaking yesterday during a phone interview with the Express, said globally there is an increase in mental illnesses and, as such, the Government “would have made the thrust that they would to have these centres available, existing health centres to try and improve it to get medication”.

In response to whether or not more psychiatric centres are needed to combat mental illness in Trinidad and Tobago, he replied, “We need ways to capture people to come into (existing) clinics and the stigma is always there.”

He said combating this stigma must start from the classroom.

“So, it has to be a liaison between the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health. For instance, a child comes in and that poor child has an alcoholic father or something going on in the home and the home is dysfunctional, we want to say that if teachers can look at a child and recognise that child has some sort of problem and now get that child into counselling,” he explained.

“If I am going to reduce the number of mentally ill patients in my clinics, if you could catch them earlier when they now in primary school and something is happening in their homes, abuse or whatever. If we catch them there and we pull them into therapy treatment get them out of the homes et cetera. The high schools where you have personal problems, where you have children who are trying to figure out how they can manoeuvre the hormones, so schools and the Ministry of Education needs to get on board in a better way,” he added.

Deyalsingh, who is also a former independent senator, suggested that mental health should be part of the education curriculum in schools.

Write down

their emotions

“They should have mental health classes where students could learn mindfulness, write down their emotions. Little children could have faces where they tick off ‘I’m feeling sad today’ or ‘I’m feeling good today’. So, those children could learn and they could recognise it in themselves,” Deyalsingh explained.

He said citizens need to be educated about the importance of treating with mental illnesses adding that “It is increasing and one in five of us will have it.”

He urged people who are at risk or have family members or friends to reach out to the centres for treatment. While he acknowledged that there may be staffing challenges at the centres, he said medication to treat with mental illnesses are available.


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