As the demand for quality mental healthcare and education continues to grow in Southeast Asia, a US-based non-profit organisation will organise an online workshop aiming to bring together early career researchers, practitioners, and community leaders working in mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) field in Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam to foster collaboration and strengthen the area’s capacity in the region. The Southeast Asian Mental Health Initiative (SEAMHI) is partnering with Cambodian mental health practitioners and researchers to convene a two-day virtual Southeast Asian mental health conference on September 10 and 11 from 8:30 am to 5 pm. This conference will be a platform where mental health practitioners and researchers from the three countries will be presenting their original research.

The conference will feature keynote speakers, Dr Robert Lemelson from University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) who is a leading anthropologist and documentary filmmaker, as well as Dr Bahr Weiss from Vanderbilt University, who is an expert in child psychopathology and global mental health.

There are also many other scholars from top US institutions, including Harvard University, UCLA, Georgetown University, and University of California San Diego (UCSD), who will lead discussion, training, and workshop sessions during the conference.

There is no fee and all attendees will be awarded a certificate.

“Although Cambodia has made enormous progress, the country is still recovering from the mental health fallout of nearly three decades of conflict,” explained Elena Lesley, PhD, an SEAMHI co-founded who has worked in Cambodia since the early 2000s.

“I’m really excited about this initiative, because I believe it will bring much-needed resources to mental health professionals in the country, and also build networks with scholars and practitioners throughout the region and in the United States.”

For decades, mental health had not gathered much attention in Cambodia, despite the people’s traumatic history during the Khmer Rouge regime (1975-1979). However, the Covid-19 pandemic which haunted the Kingdom in the past shows that there is an urgent call for solutions to improve mental health and save lives. Still, very few mental health resources in Cambodia related to the needs, especially considering the psychological stress caused by the recent pandemic, are available.