The latest therapeutic and diagnostic developments in the second day of the First Syrian-Russian Conference on Psychiatry in Damascus

For the second day, the work of the first Syrian-Russian conference on psychiatry continued, which was held by the Syrian-Russian Cooperation Foundation under the title (Your mental health is a priority), at the Russian Cultural Center in Damascus.

The participants’ discussions focused on a number of axes, including (post-traumatic stress disorder, cognitive-behavioral therapy, dentist phobia, the psychological impact on oncology patients, family therapy, the Russian experience in psychotherapy, and the Russian experience in post-war trauma).

In statements to the media, Dr. Essam Zakaria Al-Amin, Director General of Al-Mowasat University Hospital in Damascus, stated :”that the hospital participated with its specialized doctors and professors effectively in the work of the conference, which discussed all important axes related to mental illness such as depression, schizophrenia, addiction and its spread among young people, its approaches with modern therapeutic methods, pointing to the importance of exchanging experiences with The Russian side in the field of (mental health), which is an important part of community health. ”

Al-Amin pointed out that the mental illness department in the hospital, which was rehabilitated years ago, includes specialists and university professors who treat hundreds of cases of mental illness that have increased with the conditions of the crisis, where the necessary treatments are provided as required and in accordance with the latest international protocols.

Dr. Youssef Latifa, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Damascus, indicated that depression is a disease of the age, where the incidence of it rises during crises, disasters, wars, and difficult economic conditions, indicating that there is a wide segment of society and of all ages affected by depression, as it affects adults and children as well as adolescents and the elderly,pointing out that in adolescents it may lead to suicide and abnormal thoughts, while in the elderly, physical symptoms appear more than psychological symptoms.

On his part, Dr. Mazen Al-Khalil, head of the Association of Psychiatrists in Syria, pointed out the importance of the conference, especially that one out of every five people is psychologically damaged, indicating that most of the people who communicate with his program (Psychiatry Online) are between (19 and 29) years old and they are the generation who witnessed the war on Syria since its inception, as they were in the prime of their lives in childhood and youth, and this has a great impact.

Dr. Amer Al-Hajj, a specialist in psychiatry, presented a lecture on (post-traumatic stress disorder), whose cases are common during wars and natural disasters such as earthquakes, indicating that its prevalence rate can reach 13 percent in men or males after exposure to these events, and it can reach 30 percent in women,pointing out that this disorder is very important and must be identified and the patient must be exposed to its diagnosis mechanism and methods of pharmacological and psychological treatment, noting that the Russian side had a major role in diagnosing this disorder after World War II.

The first Syrian-Russian Conference on Psychiatry was launched yesterday with the aim of shedding light on the role of mental health and its reflection on physical health, which gives immunity and strength to society as a whole, and to discuss various issues that have a major role in providing psychological support to groups affected by the terrorist war on Syria.

Leen Al Salman