Mental health awareness forums return to Sheikh Khalifa Medical City



ABU DHABI // The psychiatric department at Sheikh Khalifa Medical City today resumes its mental health awareness programme.

Organisers say the initiative has been revived because of the public's continued misconceptions about mental health problems.

"We are still facing people who unfortunately have a lot of confused and misunderstood ideas about the human psychological condition," said Dr Tarek Darwish, the medical director at the Behavioural Science Pavilion, which is running the programme.

"People in the community have very minimal knowledge about mental health, so we believe it is our role to clarify the issues for them and help them really understand what they mean."

Dr Darwish will speak at the first lecture tonight, between 7pm and 9pm at the Behavioural Science Pavilion's auditorium.

The programmes, in Arabic, will offer monthly public seminars on different topics related to mental health. The sessions will be run by a panel of mental health professionals including psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers.

Dr Darwish said each sitting would include a long session for questions from the public.

"The floor will be open for discussion, which is really what is important," he said.

"Half of the time is used for questions from the public and sometimes it gets very crowded in the auditorium."

Vidaamuyarchi

Director: Magizh Thirumeni

Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra

Rating: 4/5

 

Company profile

Name: Fruitful Day

Founders: Marie-Christine Luijckx, Lyla Dalal AlRawi, Lindsey Fournie

Based: Dubai, UAE

Founded: 2015

Number of employees: 30

Sector: F&B

Funding so far: Dh3 million

Future funding plans: None at present

Future markets: Saudi Arabia, potentially Kuwait and other GCC countries

Game Changer

Director: Shankar 

Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram

Rating: 2/5

If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.

When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.

How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.