Mental Health Matters Now and Forever
Mental health art-piece by Intersect’s artist, L.E.M.
by Nicholas Jeffrey, Intersect
Content warning: Depression, Anxiety, mental illness, ableist language and suicide
Mental health is an important part of our advocacy at Intersect and we place heavy importance on it. Previously we have discussed the colonial roots of mental health problems within the Caribbean and why it’s a feminist issue. May is International Mental Health Awareness Month and we at Intersect would like to acknowledge it by sharing some information on mental health, and some resources that are available for persons in Antigua and Barbuda, as well as what we do internally to practice mental wellness.
"Without mental health there can be no true physical health” - Dr. Brock Chisholm (1954). We live in a world that is wrought with hardship, sorrow, and pain (not to mention a bloody pandemic) and navigating through it takes its toll. Millions of people around the world suffer from different mental health challenges and conditions with depression and anxiety being two of the most common with MDD (Major Depressive Disorder) affecting at least 16.2 million Americans (Koskie B. 2020). For the Caribbean the data varies from country to country but suicide rates according to Abel W, Baboolal N, and Gibson R. (2012) being just under 3 suicides out of every 100,000 persons in Jamaica, 4 out every 100,000 in Barbados, and just over 12 out of 100,000 in Trinidad and Tobago.
Many of the people who need mental health help do not get it. There are many reasons for this, from social stigma of mental illness, the high cost of getting quality care, lack of adequate infrastructure, fear of incarceration (being thrown in an asylum) and many other factors. This being said, a compounding factor is that Caribbean governments offer very little of their budget toward mental health despite the need. The problems are laid out, all we have to do is address them. Make mental health care affordable and accessible, invest more into non-carceral infrastructure and education, challenge taboos around mental health. This can simply look like removing ableist language from your vocabulary like stupid, dumb, and r*t*rded, and from colonial-era Mental Health Acts like “imbecile” and “idiot.” Many of these solutions can happen through advocacy and community education but what if you're an Antiguan who is looking for help/information/education on mental health/illness right now?
There are many wonderful mental health professionals in Antigua and Barbuda but who are they and how can you get into contact with them? The founders of Mental Health Talk Antigua, including Regina Amelia Chin-Aelong, Montifa St. John, and Jo-Nelle Walsh- with whom we've engaged in dialogue- have compiled a list of resources available to persons in Antigua have access to. Take a look at the list here:
Mental Health Talk Antigua: Mental Health Professionals Directory
Regina A. Apparicio: Associate Clinical Psychologist (268) 770-1802, regina.apparicio@gmail.com. Speciality: youth, anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, stress management
Jo-Nelle Walsh: Clinical Psychologist, (268)779-3192. Speciality: anxiety, depression, trauma, grief, and loss
Dr. Jean-Machelle Benn-Dubois: International Psychologist, (268)772-3083/771-3085, jeanmachelle.com. Speciality: Depression, anxiety, trauma, PTSD, relationships
T’Mira Looby, MS. NCC, Founding and Primary Therapist at Transformation Through Therapy, (268)-788-3509, transformationthroughtherapyab@gmail.com. Specialty: trauma, anxiety, depression, couples therapy
Sydney Retemyer, Mental Health Counsellor, retemyerssydney@gmail.com. Speciality: spirituality, addiction, relationships
Dr. Carolla Ellis, Family Therapist. (268)783-8336/(268)561-9625. Speciality: family therapy, youth, elderly
Imagistic Counseling, Counselor, (268)770-2814, imagistic@hotmail.com. Speciality: substance misuse, marriage/couple/family; career/guidance; trauma; stress management
Koren Norton, Social Worker, (268)784-5015, consultkoren.com. Speciality: stress, relationship, depression, grief and loss.
Alaina Gomes, Counseling Psychologist, (268)770-3207. Speciality: services covers a broad range of clinical concerns.
Free Resources: The Directorate of Gender Affairs - (268)463-5555, and Family and Social Services Division - (268)464-7421/562-5669
*this list will be updated regularly by Mental Health Talk
Additionally, we at Intersect Antigua have also curated a list of resources that persons across the Caribbean can use for help or information. You can also check out our mental health section for our Caribbean feminist stories project on our website and read or listen to different poems, stories, and art pieces submitted by persons across the Caribbean.
Description: An image of the mental health section of stories we curated on our website from Caribbean writers.
There are many more amazing mental health advocates in Antigua. We would like to highlight Chaneil Imhoff who is very vocal about the need for improvement in mental health care in Antigua and Barbuda. Together with our now research and wellness agent Nicholas Jeffrey and other close friends, Chaneil created the mental health bill. This bill serves to make improvements to our current act by implementing provisions to combat discrimination and maintain the dignity of mental health patients, improve standards of care, establish a psychological ethics committee and much more! It's a civilian bill that we intend to present and debate before Antigua and Barbuda’s parliament with the hope that it is passed. You can download and read proposed act in full here.
Intersect believes that wellness, both physical and mental, are important practices we all can do to resist the pressures of society. One of the most radical activities you can do is to practice self-love and care. It may not free you from "ontological violence" (Harrison, D 2021) but it is important for helping you combat that violence. Intersect has curated its own personal wellness plan that includes activities from journaling to virtual "parties" where we can relax and have fun together, wellness check-ins with each member, virtual yoga, and exercise sessions etc… In addition to this we have included scheduled wellness breaks from posting on social media so that we can recharge and combat burnout. We are continually trying to improve and looking for ways in which wellness can always be at the forefront of our activism.
The fight for adequate mental health care in the Caribbean is an ongoing one, and until it's available and accessible to everyone we have to do what's best for ourselves and be mindful of our mental well-being. We will continue to challenge the violent and oppressive structures that often lead to mental unrest. You can let your voice be heard and submit a Caribbean feminist story, poem, and/or art piece to our website here.
References
Abel, W. D., Baboolal, N., & Gibson, R. C. (2012). Chapter 5 The Epidemiology of Mental Health Issues in the Caribbean. In Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Disaster Situations in the Caribbean (pp. 2-3). D.C, Washington: Pan American Health Organization.
Brock, Chisholm. (1951). Outline for a study group on World Health and the survival of the human race: material drawn from articles and speeches. World Health Organization. https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/330666
Harrison, D. [@DaShaunLH]. (2021, April 27). you can’t “radically” love yourself out of ontological violence. [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/DaShaunLH/status/1387169691869880327?s=19
Koskie, B. (2020, June 03). Depression: Facts, Statistics, and You. Retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/health/depression/facts-statistics-infographic
