TITLE:
Mental Health Care in Saudi Arabia: Past, Present and Future
AUTHORS:
Harold G. Koenig, Faten Al Zaben, Mohammad Gamal Sehlo, Doaa Ahmed Khalifa, Mahmoud Shaheen Al Ahwal, Naseem Akhtar Qureshi, Abdulhameed Abdullah Al-Habeeb
KEYWORDS:
Mental Health Care, Saudi Arabia, Mental Health System, Psychiatry, Psychiatric Education, Middle East, Research
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Psychiatry,
Vol.4 No.2,
April
21,
2014
ABSTRACT: We review the past,
present and future state of mental health care in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
(KSA). The past is reviewed prior to the modern era, discussing early
explanations and treatments for mental health illness up through the
establishment of the first mental hospital in the 1950s, tracking advances in
mental health care over the past 60 years. The present is explored in terms of
the current need for mental health care based on the prevalence of mental
health problems in KSA. We also discuss the role of the family in caring for
the needs of the mentally ill today. Finally, we look forward into the future,
discuss the current education system that will produce the next generation of
mental health professionals, examine areas of mental health care that need
improvement, and provide a research agenda to guide the continued development
of the mental health care system in KSA. Our goal is to present a blue print
for the development of a state-of-the-art mental health that may serve as a
model for other countries in the Middle East, while taking into account the
political, cultural and religious factors that are unique to this region of the
world.