S1 | E4 | P1 - Mental Health in Guyana: Understanding Mental Health Kanuku Forum

Season 1 | Episode 4 | Part 1 of 2

Episode Title: Mental Health in Guyana

Part 1: Defining mental health, understanding mental illnesses, and listening to vulnerable groups of people such as LGBTQ folks.

In this fourth episode of Kanuku Forum, guests Ramona Chanderballi (Medical Professional), Terrence Isaacs (Mental Health Advocate), and Alessandra Hereman (Social Activist), help us to understand why mental health is important. 

According to The Borgen Project, an NGO working on the fight against global poverty, among other things, Guyana has several challenges to confront in the domain of psychological well-being, four of which profoundly affect the social development prospects of the country. These are:


Poverty
Lack of resources/facilities
Social stigma towards mental health/illness
Shortage of psychology or psychiatry professionals in the country

The discussion explores what exactly is mental health, what are the current deficiencies in Guyanese society that risks an escalation of mental illnesses, what sorts of mental illnesses that are common, what we can do for our own mental wellbeing, and government's role in combating against the surge of mental disorders affecting many Guyanese. 

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Kanuku Forum aims to ground Guyanese political discourse through meaningful and respectful exchanges among often unheard of guests that we think can offer us invaluable insights from their perspective. For our forum is centered on the citizen's perspective. Be sure to follow our page for more future episodes.

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