On October 7-8, 2016 in Moscow, at the AZIMUT Moscow Olympic Hotel, the Congress “Mental health of a person of the XXI century” will be held. About 600 experts from more than 30 countries will take part in it.
Psychiatrists, psychotherapists and psychologists, doctors and officials, experts from various fields will gather to look for ways to preserve and strengthen the mental health of mankind.
The progress of science, technology and medicine not only changes our lives for the better, but also creates new problems. including in the field of mental health. Leading psychotherapists who will take part in the work of the Moscow forum are sure of this.
For example, such an unconditional conquest of civilization as the growth of life expectancy entails an increase in the likelihood of developing mental and psychiatric disorders. And technological and social progress leads to the emergence of new disorders, such as Internet addiction or gambling addiction. And for psychotherapists themselves, progress not only opens up new opportunities (for example, online counseling), but also adds difficulties.
Thus, the therapist should avoid relationships with the client outside of therapy, including refusing to disclose personal information. But with the development of social networks, it is becoming increasingly difficult to comply with this rule and maintain a distance.
Solving mental health problems requires a concerted effort. The need for a comprehensive, multilateral approach is noted by the Secretary General of the Yoga and Psychotherapy Association of India (YPAI), Professor Ganesh Shankar. “Many personal disorders that were previously considered incurable are now highly treatable,” the expert notes, “with the help of both new drugs and new methods of psychotherapy, which has also made significant progress. Today we have a much better understanding of the causes of many disorders and therefore can find ways to overcome them through psychotherapeutic means. I believe that the diversity of therapeutic approaches is an important condition for our further success in strengthening the mental health of people.”
It’s time to act
It is not necessary to count on the fact that progress will solve all problems without creating new ones. According to the forecasts of the World Health Organization (WHO), by 2020, mental disorders will be among the top five diseases of mankind. Already today, mental health problems cost the UK economy about £70bn (4,5% of the country’s GDP) annually. In the United States, mental disorders and substance abuse are the 2nd leading cause of temporary disability and the 3rd leading cause of permanent disability in the working population. In Russia, according to experts, about 21 million people in the country need the help of psychiatrists, which is about 14% of the population.
Representative of the International Association of Applied Psychology and the World Council for Psychotherapy at the United Nations, psychologist Judy Kuriansky (Judy Kuriansky) considers the Congress an important practical step: “I talk a lot in my works and in lectures about what is psychological stability, how to achieve it, where to find inner strength. But discussions should lead to action, which is why I work with the UN.”
Judy Kuriansky considers the Congress in Moscow to be the same real thing, in the preparation of which she actively participates. “Caring for mental health today is no less important to the well-being of society than maintaining physical health.”
Another participant in the Congress, psychoanalyst Nicole Aknin, rector of the University. Sigmund Freud (Paris, France), Vice-President of the European Confederation of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, believes that a more conscious attitude to life, which is now spreading more and more, can serve as psychotherapy in itself.
“If we can listen to life and what it offers us, then we will understand that it always offers us evolution. And life itself becomes a therapy, if, of course, we consider it from this perspective, the psychoanalyst reflects. – I often cite as an example the South African leader Nelson Mandela, who writes how, while in prison, he suddenly caught a spark of sympathy in the eyes of his jailers, and this gave him strength. It happened by itself, he was not undergoing psychotherapy at that moment and was subjected to torment. But he was able to make life itself a psychotherapy.”
“I believe that we came into this world to develop, evolve. And if we go through psychotherapy, then we develop faster, – emphasizes Nicole Aknin. – And then the trials that fall to us will not be perceived so hard. We will be able to live all the events of our life as offers to change that she makes to us.
Within the framework of the Congress, which will be held under the auspices of WHO, international conferences, panel discussions, master classes, forums will be held with the participation of leading international experts in the field of psychiatry, psychotherapy, psychology and other events. A mental health declaration will also be prepared, which will include innovative approaches and practical recommendations regarding scientific research, the implementation of pilot programs, the development of mechanisms for evaluating their effectiveness, based on advanced achievements in this area.
Chairman of the Russian Organizing Committee Igor Kagramanyan, First Deputy Minister of Health of Russia, I am sure that the participants of the Congress will be able to hear each other, openly discuss problems and successes, join forces to take a step forward together. “This is not a figurative expression at all,” emphasizes Igor Kagramanyan. “Behind every such step is the health and well-being of millions of people who need real help. I am convinced that together we can find solutions to even the most difficult problems.”