In the media

On the occasion of World Mental Health Day, the Mental Health for Romania (MHR) association announces a record number of registrations on the online platform that facilitates patients’ access to a mental health professional.

_{Press release picked up by Forbes, Radio România Cultural, România liberă, Monitorul Expres, Revista Biz, start-up and 360 medical.}

Many of us have become used to freely talking about our mental health and to treat it with the importance it deserves, however, in many countries the situation is different. This is the case of Romania, where the association “Mental Health for Romania” is working hard to destigmatize mental health.

The aim of this project is to educate and inform the public about mental health issues and increase access to quality services for as many people as possible, especially young people.

The online platform was recelntly upgraded. It currently includes 260 psychotherapists, clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, counselors and speech therapists, but the end goal is to include all professionals in the field in the country.

The most common mental health problems among teenagers, but also what can be helpful or how important social or family support is, were the topics that ENTR discussed with Ioana Tonceanu, clinical psychologist and psychotherapist in training, at the event organised by Mental Health For Romania.

With only 4 years of activity and a young team, we have so far worked to increase our visibility and fill some gaps that we considered strategic, with very limited resources. However, much remains to be done and we have hopes for much bigger projects in the future. I would mention the Mental Helath for Romania Map of Professional as our most complex and visible project to date.

Concerned about the importance of mental health, Dan Mirea creates educational content about psychology and linguistics on TikTok and Instagram. This year, he attracted about $250,000 in grants to study the effect of “social rewards,” such as social media likes or shares, on the behavior and emotions of people with depression.

Dumbrava, the village from Prahova which last year obtained the title of “European Youth Village”, organized the first mental health workshop last weekend. Ioana Tonceanu, a volunteer from the Mental Health for Romania organisation, was invited to deliver the workshop.

In September, Mental Health for Romania, a non-governmental organization dedicated to mental health among youth, launched the Mental Health for Romania Map of Specialists. Maria Pascale launched this NGO in 2019 with the desire to raise awareness about mental illness and improve access to professional services for those in need.

I wish we spent more time talking about our inner struggles with our thoughts and feelings when I was in high school. I wish there was more understanding and less stigma, that it was normal to take care of yourself and know that you can trust those around you. When I found Mental Health for Romania on Instagram, I know I had a little aha moment…

Mental Health for Romania is a youth-led organization dedicated to mental health among young people. I talked a little with Dan Mirea, project coordinator, about what led him to get involved in the association, about how he wants to contribute to creating a dialogue regarding mental health in our country and about the projects they already have in deployment.