Mental Health
“Music Therapy sessions are a reliable tool in rehabilitating mental health patients” Psycho=social department, Kissi Psychiatric Hospital
WAYout has been running Music Therapy (MT) sessions in Sierra Leone’s biggest psychiatric hospital- Kissi Psychiatric Teaching Hospital- for the past year. A recent assessment from the staff at the hospital who manage and arrange the sessions says the sessions have:
- Changed lives
- Reduced stress
- Improved livelihood
- Helped relieve tension
- Changed stressful mood
- Encouraged more physical activity
- Changed negative to positive behaviour
- Increased ward discharge
- Helped to build the patient’s resilience
We hope to build on the success of this work
WAYout works with some very vulnerable young people and we are aware of a need for a greater understanding of mental health issues. We ran the first mental illness film competition and pitching forum in 2013. This was a pioneering project for Sierra Leone. Two of the films made were in the Opun Yu Yi Human Rights Film Festival and one, ‘My Side‘, won best documentary prize and was shown at the Mental health conference organised by The Mental Health Commission.