Free phone counselling needed

2003-07-09 14:52

Johannesburg - The South African Depression and Anxiety Group said on Wednesday the staggering number of calls it received daily highlights the need for a free telephone counselling service for people in distress.

Spokesperson for the organisation Gareth Mitchell said Sadag can only help patients who can afford to pay for telephone lines.

She said following media coverage in June, Sadag's telephones "never stopped ringing" and the number of calls "clearly highlights the need for organisations like the Sadag".

She said callers were as young as 10 years old, and from all over the country. Problems included suicidal feelings, post-natal depression, a business man who has had social phobia for three years, and severely depressed Aids patients.

"The most critical and contentious problem is that Sadag can only help people who can afford to pay for a phone call.

"There is no free help line for callers," she said.

A recent story in the Mail & Guardian online examined the plight of South Africa's mentally ill, who were in the process of being discharged from psychiatric facilities all over South Africa, in accordance with the government's policy regarding "de-institutionalisation", she said.

"Although aimed at re-integrating the mentally ill into mainstream society, and thereby relying on communities to provide support and care, this policy appears to lack the resources needed to make it a success."

Sadag chairperson Annemarie Potgieter said the closures of mental institutions were according to the government's policy on primary health care, but the plan had not worked.

"People now have to travel very long distances to get help and sometimes it is just not there," she said.

She said many hospitals have deteriorated and offer sub-standard conditions, which applied particularly in less developed areas like Mpumalanga, Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal.

Mitchell said poverty was a major cause of depression and suicide, especially among the increasing numbers of unemployed youth in South Africa.

"People who need help the most are therefore those most deprived of it."

Sadag offers free, confidential telephone counselling by trained counsellors, referrals to mental health professionals and over 180 support groups across South Africa, as well as literature on various psychiatric illnesses.

It can be contacted Monday to Friday 08:00 to 19:00 and Saturday 08:00 to 17:00 on 011 783 1474.

- SAPA