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Getting counselling normal, necessary to erase stigma against it: academic

No one able to always handle problems by themselves, says Assoc Prof Abdul Rashid Mohamed
Updated 4 days ago · Published on 15 Sep 2022 8:00AM

Assoc Prof Abdul Rashid Mohamed says that following the trauma left behind by the Covid-19 pandemic, it is natural to register a steep increase of people affected by mental health challenges. – IAN MCINTYRE/The Vibes pic, September 15, 2022

GEORGE TOWN – There is a need to eradicate the stigma against counselling to ensure people’s problematic conditions do not worsen into mental disorder afflictions, an academic said.

“It is not right to brand anyone who is undergoing counselling in a negative manner,” said Assoc Prof Abdul Rashid Mohamed, who specialises in counselling services.

“Society must be taught the importance of seeking counselling at all times as nobody is able to handle problems by themselves all the time.”

He said it is similar to someone who has physical problems seeking medical care from a doctor.

“So, if one has mental health issues, accepting counselling should be seen as normal,” he said.

He said this after conducting a workshop for enforcement agencies on facing stressful job conditions at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) here yesterday.

Rashid lectures at USM’s Centre for Policy Research and International Studies.

Also present were Penang deputy police chief Datuk Fisol Salleh and the centre’s director, Assoc Prof Azeem Fazwan Ahmad Farouk.

Rashid said that following the trauma left behind by the Covid-19 pandemic, it is natural to register a steep increase of people affected by mental health challenges.

“We need to ensure that they are not prevented from attending counselling or scared away from doing so due to peer pressure in society. Nobody has nerves of steel all the time,” he said, noting that the government has made counselling services widely available.

The challenge is to prompt society to do away with the belief that counselling is always tied to mental health when it is normal for anyone to be counselled, he added.

All government enforcement agencies have counselling services provided by police, firemen and other enforcement agencies.

Rashid also said that high stress is widely linked to mental health disorders, so people must be better taught on how to handle it better.

He noted feedback from the World Health Organisation – that people should perform job tasks which they excel in instead of been assigned responsibilities beyond their capabilities.

“We must know what we are capable of and what our limits are. By not exceeding our abilities, we will not put unnecessary stress on ourselves,” he said.

Earlier, Azeem called for more studies to be conducted on how the country is handling stress following the onslaught of Covid-19.

Fisol said that police will accept more hi-tech equipment to patrol areas where there are suicide-prone cases.

“Equipment such as drones may alert us to the possible suicide takers, but we must be able to respond fast to prevent them from resorting to harm themselves,” he said. – The Vibes, September 15, 2022