Call for counselling in communities as COVID puts residents under stress

A Democratic Labour Party (DLP) political hopeful is making the issue of mental health a major priority in her campaign, as she cautioned that threats to mental health run deeper within communities than people realise.

Psychologist Dawn-Marie Armstrong, who will be contesting the St George South seat in the next general election, believes the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the problem.

Suggesting that the trauma of lockdowns, loneliness, economic fallout and other consequences of the pandemic have resulted in some Barbadians turning to negative coping mechanisms, she called for the introduction of professional community counselling services.

“I do not think there has been enough done over the last two to three years for this community [St. George South] presently and for Barbados, with respect to mental health. I now call on the Ministry of Health and Wellness to begin to look and to see who are the trained psychologists within the community that can begin to get out there,” she said.

“The same way there are pop-up drive-throughs for COVID testing and for vaccination, I do think that we need some pop-ups and drive-throughs where people can get their first-hand mental health first aid and the interventions that people really need to cope in the times that we are living in.”

Speaking to the media at an outreach event that she hosted at Jamoons Bar, Workmans, St George for constituents over the weekend, Armstrong laid out her roadmap for the constituency. It includes a pilot mental health meet-up programme in communities across the parish that will soon be launched.

The political newcomer said in canvassing the community and speaking to residents she realised there was a need for such an initiative and she has, therefore, so far utilised her skills and expertise to provide some intervention – either through listening or offering solutions.

Her next move is to expand the programme to take it on a national scale.

“Once we get a feel for the pilot on the ground, then we as a party intend to roll out a national mental health programme at this time in order to see how we can support people. People talk about finances, and finances are important but understand that the lack of finances brings worry and it brings stress and you can’t expect people to be physically healthy if they are not mentally well and focused in order to accomplish these things,” Armstrong said.

Another pressing issue for the DLP candidate is crime and violence among the youth. Against this background, she hopes to adopt the St George Secondary School and reach out to the Parent-Teacher Association there to use her training in psychology and intervention.

Armstrong wants to implement a programme that targets at-risk youth.

“. . . . We can curb young offenders before they get into the system. In a time [when] so many people are lacking, there have not been any programmes seeking to look at the welfare of individuals in and around the community,” she said.

“I think that a lot of our children in the school set-up have been pushed aside, and without the face-to-face contact and the mentoring and the counselling that they [have] become accustomed to in the schools, we have a duty, not only as a party but as a people, to ensure that our young people are looked after in that respect.”

Addressing her readiness for the general election which is constitutionally due in 2023, the DLP candidate said she was definitely prepared and assured constituents that “you can’t go wrong with Armstrong”.

On Saturday, Armstrong and several of her political colleagues, including party leader Verla De Peiza, treated some 200 people to Christmas meals. Armstrong said she hoped it would bring people some Christmas cheer even though it was a tough time for the country.
(KC)