Mental health is an issue that the world at large has to constantly work on. According to data from WHO, there are now 350 million people living with mental disorders, much higher than the number of people with cancer, which is just 74,1 million people. Research on primary health (Riset Kesehatan Dasar/Riskesdas) conducted by the Ministry of Health in 2013 found that around 14 million Indonesians aged 15 and above are living with symptoms of depression and anxiety. Ironically, Indonesia has not yet made mental health a priority. In 2015, the treatment gap for mental health issues in Indonesia reached over 90%. There is also a serious lack of practitioners working on mental health advocacy to defend the rights of people with mental disorders. In developing an integrated mental health system, advocacy is needed to raise awareness and fight for the prioritization of mental health issues Indonesian societies are facing.
As one of the efforts to make the vision of ‘Indonesia Sehat Jiwa’ a reality, UGM through the faculty’s Centre for Public Mental Health (CPMH) held an international workshop and short course. The workshop was held on September 23 – 24, 2017, themed “International Workshop on Free Pasung Program: “Eliminating Restraint of Persons with Mental Illness in Indonesia: A Review of Progress”. The two-day event aimed to review the challenges and other opportunities regarding one of the programs to eliminate the shackling (pemasungan) of people with mental disorders. That program is nationally known as Program Bebas Pasung Indonesia, which has been running for 7 years. Sources that attended this event were experts on the field of mental health. Prof. Harry Minas (International mental health expert, University of Melbourne), Prof. Dr. Subandi, MA (National expert in mental health, Universitas Gadjah Mada), Dr. Erminia Colucci (International mental health expert, Middlesex University London), dr. Eka Viora, Sp.KJ (Former Director of Bina Kesehatan Jiwa, Ministry of Health, Indonesia), dr. Irmansyah, Sp.KJ (Former Director of Bina Pelayanan Kesehatan Jiwa, Ministry of Health, Indonesia, Drs. Bambang Sugeng, MM (Ministry of Social Affairs, Indonesia), and also other excellent sources, including individuals who have been shackled before due to their mental health disorders.
Not only did experts in mental health and policy makers attended this workshop, people from outside of this field who care about mental health issues were also in attendance. The first day started with a presentation of the material and also on the progresses Program Bebas Pasung has made throughout the years. Then, a documentary was screened to the attendants, titled “Breaking the Chains”, a film by Dr. Erminia Colucci. On the second of the workshop, there was a discussion on recommendations and alternative solutions for this program through the technical supervision of the stakeholders of Program Bebas Pasung in the Faculty of Psychology.
After the international workshop, the faculty held a short course on advocacy skills for the development of an interdisciplinary, intercultural mental health system. The theme of the short course was International Short Course on Advocacy Skills in Mental Health System Development: From Research to Policy. The event lasted for two days, starting from the 25th of September to October 6th, 2017. The sources for this event were Prof. Harry Minas (University of Melbourne), Prof. Hans Pols (University of Sydney), Dr. Sudipto Chatterjee (University of Melbourne), Dr. Erminia Colucci (Middlesex University London), Prof. Theo Bouman (University of Groningen), Prof. Ali Ghufron Mukti (Directorate General of Resources for Science, Technology and Higher Education – Indonesia), Prof. Laksono Trisnantoro (Universitas Gadjah Mada), Prof. Sofia Retnowati (Universitas Gadjah Mada), Dr. Rahmat Hidayat (Universitas Gadjah Mada), Dr. Elan Satriawan (Universitas Gadjah Mada), and Dr. Diana Setiyawati (Universitas Gadjah Mada).
The event was held as a short course with lectures in class, group discussions, and also field research. The attendants visited Tirto Jiwo, a rehab facility for people with mental disorders in Purworejo and also Padepokan Mbah Marsiyo in Kebumen. Hopefully these events can develop international relationships and collaboration to strengthen the hard work psychology has to put into mental health advocacy in Indonesia, as well as placing the foundation for the development of mental health systems in ASEAN and other low/middle-income countries. [Alifah]