Seventy professionals listed on Church website, services available to all
Mental health professionals who are also members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Peru are doing their part to assist the nation’s citizens during the emotional crisis brought on by the novel coronavirus and associated COVID-19 disease. Some 300 Peruvians have received free counseling through a service established by the Adventist Church there that links telephone callers with 70 professionals.
Peruvians can connect with a professional via the Church’s website, www.esperanzaonline.org. There is no charge for referrals or for telephone counseling.
The global lockdown inspired by the novel coronavirus is taking its toll on economies and societies around the world. One area is mental and emotional health. Writing at the website of the World Economic Forum, psychology professor Dr. Elke Van Hoof of Vrije University in Brussels, noted “currently, an estimated 2.6 billion people – one-third of the world’s population – is living under some kind of lockdown or quarantine. This is arguably the largest psychological experiment ever conducted.” (Source: bit.ly/3d4bBsb.)
Van Hoof, the Belgian professor, reported “people who are quarantined are very likely to develop a wide range of symptoms of psychological stress and disorder, including low mood, insomnia, stress, anxiety, anger, irritability, emotional exhaustion, depression, and post-traumatic stress symptoms. Low mood and irritability specifically stand out as being very common, the study notes.”
She added, “In cases where parents were quarantined with children, the mental health toll became even steeper. In one study, no less than 28 [percent] of quarantined parents warranted a diagnosis of ‘trauma-related mental health disorder.’”
Although Van Hoof’s research covered global trends, the need for emotional and mental health support reaches every corner of the planet. Efforts such as those of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Peru are bringing help and hope to those who might not otherwise receive assistance. Adventists said they were extending this aid in order to bring hope, peace, and relief in the midst of the crisis.
This article was originally published on the South American Division’s Spanish site