Mental health support, services offered

KUWAIT CITY, Oct 11: The Global Burden of Disease study estimates that, within the GCC region, approximately 15% of the population is believed to suffer from mental disorders in any given year. However, an estimated 75% of individuals who experience mental health difficulties do not seek professional help.

This October, and as a follow up to her ongoing awareness campaigns to break the stigma around mental health, philanthropist, entrepreneur and mental health advocate, Sheikha Majda Jaber Humoud Al Sabah announces the launch of the Houna Initiative, which addresses the urgent need for mental health support and services, not only in Kuwait but the wider GCC region.

The Houna Initiative is a mental health platform that includes a region-wide offering of resources, services, and support. Accessible to people of all ages, nationalities, and socioeconomic backgrounds in the Middle East, the platform provides information related to mental health disorders, treatments and symptoms, as well as lists of wellbeing centres, podcasts, articles, webinars, physical and virtual events to keep people abreast of the latest information in the field of mental health and encourage them to achieve holistic wellbeing.

It also includes a directory of professionally licensed therapists, allowing them to connect to the therapists that are most relevant to their needs. Anchored on the values of inclusivity, respect, confidentiality, credibility, integrity, and treating people equally, Houna Initiative is a go-to digital aggregator created to act as an oasis of knowledge, support, guidance, and engagement for people dealing with mental health issues. Sheikha Majda Al Sabah, Founder of Houna Initiative expressed her pride in the launch of the platform, highlighting the urgent need to go beyond just raising awareness, but to create a platform that can directly support those suffering.

“I believe that no one is immune to changes of mood, obsessions, fears, or mental health concerns. Through the ASAP initiative, I tried to be an advocate for destigmatizing mental health. However, raising awareness is not enough. I wanted to go beyond, and hence created a platform that can offer information and support not only to those that are suffering from mental health challenges, but also to anyone trying to achieve a state of holistic wellbeing “ she said.

Emphasising the importance of reaching out for support, guidance, and treatment, and aiming to engage with those who would shy away from asking questions on mental health, the Houna Initiative also hosts regular support groups tackling crucial mental health issues and connecting people that face similar challenges in their families. These support groups are led by certified professionals from the region, and are available to the Houna membership community through a dedicated annual membership fee. Users across the MENA region can access the information bank, volunteers and therapists, and open free webinars and podcasts on the Houna Initiative platform. For more information, visit www.houna.org or @hounainitiative.