Thirty years ago, there were few psychiatrists in Poland, and definitely fewer patients, and social awareness was at a completely different level. The beginning of the changes was the Mental Health Act. It is better now, but the system is still under construction, and finances are still a challenge.
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Katarzyna Szczerbowska accompanies people in mental crisis as a recovery assistant. She can talk, have coffee with patients, help with things in the city. To do this, she completed a course and her own crisis. – If a person, especially when they have a crisis for the first time and are very lost in it, has someone with them who has been through it, it is simply much easier for them – says Katarzyna Szczerbowska.
The help of such assistants is available in state mental health centers – this was unthinkable not so long ago. – There was practically no regulation that would protect the rights of psychiatric patients – recalls Prof. Piotr Gałecki, national consultant in the field of psychiatry.
The Mental Health Act in Poland came into force on 21 January 1995 and introduced free psychiatric treatment. Today, treatment is different and different – there are more and more depressive disorders, anxiety disorders and addictions. – We are observing a systematic decrease in the prevalence of psychoses, for example schizophrenia. This is simply due to various demographic and civilization changes – points out Prof. Piotr Gałecki.
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Finances are still a challenge, and the system is still under construction. – The most pressing problem is the lack of money – emphasizes Maja Herman, psychiatrist. – The advantage is definitely that today a psychiatric hospital is a kind of last resort. Before, we have a certain package, probably still imperfectly available options, such as a clinic, psychologist, psychotherapist. It still sometimes takes effort to get in, but we already have a certain network of institutions – indicates prof. Błażej Kmieciak, former advocate for patients' rights in a psychiatric hospital.
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“The number of school psychologists has increased”
In recent years, support institutions have been under siege. – 30 percent of our children see symptoms of depression in themselves, so we can say that the demand is really huge – informs Małgorzata Kaczmarek, psychologist and psychotherapist. There is also positive information. – Year by year, we have observed an increase in the number of specialists in Polish schools. The number of school psychologists has increased – says Dominik Kuc from the “GrowSpace” Foundation.
Focusing on the younger, however, one cannot ignore the older. – When it comes to depressive disorders, the elderly are a risk group – points out Dr. Łukasz Cichocki, deputy director of treatment at the Dr. Józef Babiński Clinical Hospital SPOZ in Krakow.
Especially those who are lonely, whose symptoms of disorders are simply taken for ordinary old age. – In 2022, 1,522 suicide attempts in people over 60 were successful, which only shows that these people are really often left to themselves, left without support and their problems are often downplayed – explains Urszula Szybowicz, president of the “Niewidzisz po mnie” Foundation.
Today, about a million people in Poland have depressive disorders. Rescue begins with simple things. – Talking is the first aid – emphasizes Katarzyna Szczerbowska.
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