The National Mental Health Support Line, launched in July 2021, will continue to be available to anyone who needs to contact experts with their mental problems. Minister of Health Vladimír Lengvarský decided to continue its operation until the end of 2022.
The Ministry of Health originally established National mental health support line in the context of the implementation of the mental health recovery and resilience plan measures in July 2021 for a period of 12 months as a measure to eliminate the consequences of a pandemic on mental health.
–Mental health is one of the priorities of the health sector. In the current difficult situation with regard to the pandemic of cowid as well as with regard to the events in Ukraine, the action of the mental health support line has proved to be very effective and necessary. Quite often people also call repeatedly, the line has become a clue point for them, a place where they take them seriously. The consultant on the line is the one who will help to clarify the situation and bring structure and support to the life of the caller, stated Minister of Health Vladimir Lengvarský.
The line works as a project of the National Mental Health Programme implemented in the framework of the Slovak Recovery and Resilience Plan. It advises 27 professionals - professional clinical psychologists and physicians specializing in psychiatrist (for children, adults) with many years of experience. Since the beginning of the mental health support line, the health department has recorded 230 to 271 calls each month. Since March, in connection with the conflict of war in Ukraine, telephone experts have also provided communication for Ukrainian-speaking war refugees and will arrange an average of twenty calls per month in the Ukrainian language. After a year of operation of the line, it can be concluded that the team of advisors has stabilised, and the number of callers is increasing.
Experts provide people with psychological advice, crisis intervention and a safe space to talk about uncertainties, concerns or psychological problems in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic and the current military conflict. They provide advice and support to health professionals, as well as the general public, in managing acute stress reactions or symptoms of developing post-traumatic stress response to extreme stress events. Among the most common problems facing citizens are: for example, panic attacks, loneliness, insecurity, health problems that the client has difficulty coping with, anxiety and depression, but also obtaining information about mental disorders due to suffering relatives. People also struggle with social inclusion difficulties, misunderstandings on the part of the community, burnout syndrome, family relationship problems, conflicts, and possible suicidal tendencies. The public can learn about the activities of the line in the newsletter, which has also been translated into the Ukrainian language and distributed to facilities providing psychological/psychiatric care. At the same time, a range of professionally relevant offices and hospitals have been identified, offering cooperation in the care of caller clients to resolve their problems with which the consultants actively cooperate on the line.