Pillar Holds an International Webibar on World Mental Health Day

On the World Mental Health Day, Pillar Centre for Conflict Resolution and Scientific Research, in partnership with a number of universities and scientific and research centers, held an international webinar, that included a number of elites and academics.

The session was opened by the General Director of Pillar Centre, Dr. Nermin Majed who praised the role of research centers in reducing crises in socities, through research and professional methods, and the importance of World Mental Health Day and Pink October.

The session was chaired by Prof. Ali Odeh, Director of the Psychological Research Center – Ministry of Higher Education in Iraq. He welcomed the participants and thanked Pillar Centre for there continous activity and for highlighting the dilemmas we face nowadays. He talked about the factors that affect psychological stability and that generate stress, anxiety and improper behavioral deviations. He also talked about the basic standards of mental health. Determining mental health is not an easy or simple process. It is a relative and hypothetical issue, and that the subjective standard of a person remains the most accurate and best standard.

The session was chaired, also, by Dr. Yasmine Elyan, Ph.D. in educational psychology, who in turn welcomed the participants and praised the importance of the human being for the renaissance of societies because one cannot fulfill his/her duties as an individual in society unless they enjoys health, whether physical or psychological. She touched on the necessity of enhancing awareness of mental health issues and conducting more open discussions on mental illnesses in order to enhance prevention methods for the most common mental illnesses at the present time, such as suicide and depression.

The speakers of the session, who are: Prof. Kazem Jabor Al-Jubouri, Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, and President of Al-Qadisiyah University- Iraq, Prof. May Abdallah, Research Professor in Media and Communication Sciences at the Lebanese University- Lebanon, Prof. Manal Khairy, Professor of Economic and Financial Sciences Curricula and Strategies at Helwan University- Egypt, Dr. Musa Makki Abkar, Assistant Professor of Psychology at Dilling University- Sudan, Dr. Maryam Abu Turki, Executive Director of the Aman Counseling Center Association- Palestine, Dr. Ben Ouargla Nadia, Ph.D. in Mass Communication, University of Djelfa- Algeria, discussed the economic, educational, psychological, social and media axis.

Many experts, high figures and researchers from many Arab countries and the African continent participated in the webinar to highlight the importance of enhancing the role of mental health in building societies, as well as raising awareness of the importance of early detection to reduce breast cancer on the occasion of the Pink October.

At the end of the webinar, the participants recommended the necessity of holding and developing such webinars and expanding participation in them because of their importance. They stressed the need for synergy and integration of efforts between civil society institutions at the governmental level in coordination with universities and international and civic institutions.