EXCLUSIVE

West Midnapore launches mental counselling for quarantined people especially migrants for the first time in the state

“While putting people in quarantine centers has proved to be effective in controlling epidemics, it is important that the process is sensitive enough to ensure that such people do not suffer mental agony. Due to misconceptions going around about the disease, some people think that they are going to die and such thoughts may affect their recovery”, said Dr Bera.

Biswabrata Goswami

MIDNAPORE, 4 JUNE: Staying under quarantine with fears of a possible Covid-19 infection can be traumatic and this has led the West Midnapore district health department to start counselling the quarantined people isolated from homes.

This is for the first time in the state, a district has launched a mental counseling programme at quarantine centers to eradicate mental agony and fear of death developed amongst the quarantined people especially migrants.

District mental health counsellors are following up through telephonic counseling apart from regular follow up by surveillance team with maintaining social distancing norms, said Dr Girish Chandra Bera, chief medical officer of health.

“While putting people in quarantine centers has proved to be effective in controlling epidemics, it is important that the process is sensitive enough to ensure that such people do not suffer mental agony. Due to misconceptions going around about the disease, some people think that they are going to die and such thoughts may affect their recovery”, said Dr Bera.

He said a team of clinical psychologists under the district mental health programme has started carrying out such programmes at various quarantine centers across the district.

“Yesterday, a team of clinical psychologists conducted such a programme at a quarantine center in Keshiary where all the quarantined people were taken in an adjacent field where they were counseled by the psychologists. All quarantined people sat on the field maintaining social distancing norms”, said Dr Giri.

With the grim reality of coronavirus becoming more prominent in the state, local residents are understandably restless and confused. But the most affected are the ones who have tested positive for Covid-19 and are now in quarantine. To deal with this mental health crisis, the team of clinical psychologists are counseling patients and enabling them to undergo the isolation process.

The state health department has even issued a circular to the all district health and family welfare officers and mental health programme officers along with district mental health programme (DMHP) teams, district hospital mental health teams and medical college mental health teams to make an action plan on a daily basis regarding the activities to improve mental health that the people in home quarantine or isolation will undertake, a district health official said.

The teams will call them every day and reassure them that quarantine does not mean they are being stigmatised, the official added.

A senior official from the mental health programme said, “Most of them will initially be anxious when the tests are given. Sometimes, they might experience disturbances in sleeping because of the new place and isolation from kith and kin. They feel most anxious during the initial two or three days and once they get the information about isolation and quarantine they understand that it is for their benefit and the benefit of their family”.

The official said many of them have expressed that they felt better after the counseling. Providing the right information has helped them.

“We teach them how to be productive, how to relax and to stay in touch with their relatives through video calls”, said an official.