Judah
Enlightened
- Oct 1, 2020
- 1,540
I want to share with you the following report that I found from a news page from Venezuela, the country in which I was born.
The mental health of the youngest in Venezuela is seriously compromised, in the first quarter of 2021 the requests for psychosocial care to Cecodap have almost doubled.
The prognosis of experts on the impact of the pandemic on the mental health of children and adolescents in the context of a country in crisis such as Venezuela, unfortunately, was not wrong.
As "devastating", Abel Saraiba, psychologist and deputy coordinator of Cecodap, classifies the mental situation of the smallest and most vulnerable in the country.
This Tuesday, May 4, Cecodap presented its report "We are news: mental health chapter" which reflects how the year 2020 was in the psychosocial care service of this organization, in charge of ensuring the human rights of children and adolescents. adolescents, as well as preventing violence and promoting good treatment of children.
Throughout 2020, Cecodap provided attention to 3,516 people, focused on the youngest. Most of the consultations occurred at the request of the mothers, but at least 34% of the requests for therapy were made by the same patients, who privately and individually requested the psychological care service.
In a pandemic context and faced with the impossibility of providing face-to-face care, Cecodap reinvented itself and changed traditional care methods to suit the needs of people. A care scheme was developed for 365 days a year.
66% of the patients cared for by this organization were children and adolescents, while the other 34% were fathers, mothers, grandmothers and caregivers, all part of the environment of the most vulnerable.
In 57% of the cases, the attention was directed to women, while 43% identified with the male gender, which shows that, although women are more vulnerable to various scenarios, there has been a growing need for men in seeking care, even though the country has developed a tendency not to seek help, especially from men.
For the first time, Cecodap was able to provide psychosocial assistance to people in the 23 states of the country and the Capital District, which they classified as "impossible" in the context prior to the pandemic. The states with the highest number of requests for assistance were: Miranda, Aragua, Carabobo and Caracas.
The mental health crisis generated by covid-19 began to be evident in July, when the growth in the number of consultation requests was exponential, reaching up to 105 requests per month.
The most common reasons for inquiries were:
39% of the cases were due to alterations in the mood: pictures in order of anxiety, depression and within this umbrella are features of suicide.
14% Conflict in the family group.
14% disruptive behaviors at home, parents report that the child is misbehaving.
12% violence.
6% migration.
Anxiety and depression
It was in the second half of 2020 when mood alterations increased significantly, going from 29% during the first six months of the year to being 44% of the reasons for consultation as of July.
"The number of cases of children and adolescents affected by anxiety and depression practically doubled," says Saraiba.
Of the total of these consultations, 19% of the cases the depression was marked as single or recurrent episodes.
16% of the cases presented anxiety, which can present as generalized anxiety, panic, specific phobia or muteness.
13% presented irritability and an outburst of rage.
13% presented a feeling of frequent crying or sadness.
12% presented a grieving process.
6% presented mixed anxiety combined with depression.
In 21.24% of the consultations for mood alterations, the patients presented suicidal ideation and risk. Suicidal ideation can present itself in two ways, one structured and the other unstructured. The first is when the person thinks that he wants to end her life, has plans and has thought about how to do it, in the second the person has recurring thoughts, but has not thought about how to do it.
For the psychologist Abel Saraiba it is essential that children and adolescents have adequate care at the right times, "we at Cecodap do not have cases where these suicide risks have materialized, which reflects that timely care" can serve as a retaining wall for patients.
"Starting in March, there is a peak that crystallizes in the month of April, where the family sees the impact of the pandemic, people begin to adapt, but quickly a dramatic increase begins over the months of September and October", details.
Violence enters the house
12% of Cecodap consultations
they were due to cases of violence, which is divided into subcategories. Of the total number of patients, 34% of the cases were caused by sexual violence, and although this organization has the rights of children as a focus, the attention of these cases was not always its strength, considering that since the creation of Cecodap, In the country there were already serious and responsible organizations aimed at dealing with this problem in a specialized way.
Saraiba emphasizes that most consultations for sexual violence emerge in the context of therapeutic appointments attended by patients for other problems.
It is common to know that the majority of violence is based on gender, since about 43% of the situations of violence affect mainly women, this added to the complaints from organizations that reflect that during the mandatory confinement generated by the pandemic , the victims have come to live in their entirety with their aggressors.
While in 19% of the cases people went to consultation for domestic violence, in the specific case of children and adolescents, "the fact that the school is physically closed represents a great threat to the mental health of children and adolescents, because, due to its characteristics, it is a natural space of protection ".
In his report "We are News: Mental Health chapter", he details that despite being away from the classrooms, the youngest continue to be victims of school bullying, now in a virtual way that is carried out through different platforms.
Likewise, in 18% of cases, children are victims of physical and humiliating punishment. In addition, a message is transmitted of "I love you because I hit you, I can inflict harm on you and it is for your good", that is why from Cecodap they insist on promoting the good treatment of children.
The main reason children are physically punished is for their behavior at home.
Something that draws a lot of attention is that children who suffer from mood disorders that lead to anxiety or depression are victims of violence, and it is that many parents may think that reluctance, apathy and their behaviors are challenges to their caregivers, when "this may be framed in a context of emotional problems".
"Depression and anxiety are not cured with a leash, but feelings of handicap are reinforced, these are chains in cycles, violent parents with children, siblings, what they do is perpetrate a cycle of violence.
In 3% of the cases of violence derived from violations of the human rights of children and adolescents, who have had to suffer the arrest of their parents for political reasons, they have witnessed the extrajudicial execution of their loved ones.
Childhood left behind
For several years, Venezuela has begun to live a migratory cycle never seen before, a process of flight marked by pain.
Children left behind represented 6% of the total number of care consultations provided by Cecodap in 2020. This continues to be a serious problem that affects Venezuelan society. They estimate that more than 839 thousand children in the country may be affected by the migration of their parents, who left them in the care of their grandparents, grandmothers, relatives or even third parties.
Less than 4.2% of all this child population victim of migration receives some type of psychosocial care, families that are going through this type of process do not identify this emotional support as a priority for children and adolescents, who remain in a state vulnerability.
In the case of children left behind, 6% of all the consultations that Cecodap attended, the children migrated to be reunited with their relatives. "Even with the borders closed, with the risk of a pandemic, without sufficient access to identity documents that allow them to register migratory status to the country where they reside, Venezuelans have continued to migrate," says Saraiba.
2021 a dark panorama
Between January and March 2021, from Cecodap they have recognized the following findings, remote care continues because the pandemic has not stopped.
So far the organization has received 322 requests for appointments, which warns a bit of the outlook for this year, which so far accumulates almost half of the total requests for all of 2020.
60% of the applicants are girls and women. 48% of the cases treated so far have been due to mood alterations, which shows that almost 50% of the cases presented are due to this situation.
Likewise, suicidal ideation has increased by 25.93%, as well as the use of physical and humiliating punishment. "The mental health of children continues to worsen, the outlook does not look encouraging," warns Abel Saraiba, a psychologist at Cecodap.
Source
The mental health of the youngest in Venezuela is seriously compromised, in the first quarter of 2021 the requests for psychosocial care to Cecodap have almost doubled.
The prognosis of experts on the impact of the pandemic on the mental health of children and adolescents in the context of a country in crisis such as Venezuela, unfortunately, was not wrong.
As "devastating", Abel Saraiba, psychologist and deputy coordinator of Cecodap, classifies the mental situation of the smallest and most vulnerable in the country.
This Tuesday, May 4, Cecodap presented its report "We are news: mental health chapter" which reflects how the year 2020 was in the psychosocial care service of this organization, in charge of ensuring the human rights of children and adolescents. adolescents, as well as preventing violence and promoting good treatment of children.
Throughout 2020, Cecodap provided attention to 3,516 people, focused on the youngest. Most of the consultations occurred at the request of the mothers, but at least 34% of the requests for therapy were made by the same patients, who privately and individually requested the psychological care service.
In a pandemic context and faced with the impossibility of providing face-to-face care, Cecodap reinvented itself and changed traditional care methods to suit the needs of people. A care scheme was developed for 365 days a year.
66% of the patients cared for by this organization were children and adolescents, while the other 34% were fathers, mothers, grandmothers and caregivers, all part of the environment of the most vulnerable.
In 57% of the cases, the attention was directed to women, while 43% identified with the male gender, which shows that, although women are more vulnerable to various scenarios, there has been a growing need for men in seeking care, even though the country has developed a tendency not to seek help, especially from men.
For the first time, Cecodap was able to provide psychosocial assistance to people in the 23 states of the country and the Capital District, which they classified as "impossible" in the context prior to the pandemic. The states with the highest number of requests for assistance were: Miranda, Aragua, Carabobo and Caracas.
The mental health crisis generated by covid-19 began to be evident in July, when the growth in the number of consultation requests was exponential, reaching up to 105 requests per month.
The most common reasons for inquiries were:
39% of the cases were due to alterations in the mood: pictures in order of anxiety, depression and within this umbrella are features of suicide.
14% Conflict in the family group.
14% disruptive behaviors at home, parents report that the child is misbehaving.
12% violence.
6% migration.
Anxiety and depression
It was in the second half of 2020 when mood alterations increased significantly, going from 29% during the first six months of the year to being 44% of the reasons for consultation as of July.
"The number of cases of children and adolescents affected by anxiety and depression practically doubled," says Saraiba.
Of the total of these consultations, 19% of the cases the depression was marked as single or recurrent episodes.
16% of the cases presented anxiety, which can present as generalized anxiety, panic, specific phobia or muteness.
13% presented irritability and an outburst of rage.
13% presented a feeling of frequent crying or sadness.
12% presented a grieving process.
6% presented mixed anxiety combined with depression.
In 21.24% of the consultations for mood alterations, the patients presented suicidal ideation and risk. Suicidal ideation can present itself in two ways, one structured and the other unstructured. The first is when the person thinks that he wants to end her life, has plans and has thought about how to do it, in the second the person has recurring thoughts, but has not thought about how to do it.
For the psychologist Abel Saraiba it is essential that children and adolescents have adequate care at the right times, "we at Cecodap do not have cases where these suicide risks have materialized, which reflects that timely care" can serve as a retaining wall for patients.
"Starting in March, there is a peak that crystallizes in the month of April, where the family sees the impact of the pandemic, people begin to adapt, but quickly a dramatic increase begins over the months of September and October", details.
Violence enters the house
12% of Cecodap consultations
they were due to cases of violence, which is divided into subcategories. Of the total number of patients, 34% of the cases were caused by sexual violence, and although this organization has the rights of children as a focus, the attention of these cases was not always its strength, considering that since the creation of Cecodap, In the country there were already serious and responsible organizations aimed at dealing with this problem in a specialized way.
Saraiba emphasizes that most consultations for sexual violence emerge in the context of therapeutic appointments attended by patients for other problems.
It is common to know that the majority of violence is based on gender, since about 43% of the situations of violence affect mainly women, this added to the complaints from organizations that reflect that during the mandatory confinement generated by the pandemic , the victims have come to live in their entirety with their aggressors.
While in 19% of the cases people went to consultation for domestic violence, in the specific case of children and adolescents, "the fact that the school is physically closed represents a great threat to the mental health of children and adolescents, because, due to its characteristics, it is a natural space of protection ".
In his report "We are News: Mental Health chapter", he details that despite being away from the classrooms, the youngest continue to be victims of school bullying, now in a virtual way that is carried out through different platforms.
Likewise, in 18% of cases, children are victims of physical and humiliating punishment. In addition, a message is transmitted of "I love you because I hit you, I can inflict harm on you and it is for your good", that is why from Cecodap they insist on promoting the good treatment of children.
The main reason children are physically punished is for their behavior at home.
Something that draws a lot of attention is that children who suffer from mood disorders that lead to anxiety or depression are victims of violence, and it is that many parents may think that reluctance, apathy and their behaviors are challenges to their caregivers, when "this may be framed in a context of emotional problems".
"Depression and anxiety are not cured with a leash, but feelings of handicap are reinforced, these are chains in cycles, violent parents with children, siblings, what they do is perpetrate a cycle of violence.
In 3% of the cases of violence derived from violations of the human rights of children and adolescents, who have had to suffer the arrest of their parents for political reasons, they have witnessed the extrajudicial execution of their loved ones.
Childhood left behind
For several years, Venezuela has begun to live a migratory cycle never seen before, a process of flight marked by pain.
Children left behind represented 6% of the total number of care consultations provided by Cecodap in 2020. This continues to be a serious problem that affects Venezuelan society. They estimate that more than 839 thousand children in the country may be affected by the migration of their parents, who left them in the care of their grandparents, grandmothers, relatives or even third parties.
Less than 4.2% of all this child population victim of migration receives some type of psychosocial care, families that are going through this type of process do not identify this emotional support as a priority for children and adolescents, who remain in a state vulnerability.
In the case of children left behind, 6% of all the consultations that Cecodap attended, the children migrated to be reunited with their relatives. "Even with the borders closed, with the risk of a pandemic, without sufficient access to identity documents that allow them to register migratory status to the country where they reside, Venezuelans have continued to migrate," says Saraiba.
2021 a dark panorama
Between January and March 2021, from Cecodap they have recognized the following findings, remote care continues because the pandemic has not stopped.
So far the organization has received 322 requests for appointments, which warns a bit of the outlook for this year, which so far accumulates almost half of the total requests for all of 2020.
60% of the applicants are girls and women. 48% of the cases treated so far have been due to mood alterations, which shows that almost 50% of the cases presented are due to this situation.
Likewise, suicidal ideation has increased by 25.93%, as well as the use of physical and humiliating punishment. "The mental health of children continues to worsen, the outlook does not look encouraging," warns Abel Saraiba, a psychologist at Cecodap.
Source
