Libya

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There is no available information on background and context about counselling in Libya.

Libya has two main psychiatric public hospitals with in-patient services, located in Tripoli and Benghazi. The country has no mental health policy (WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean [WHO EMRO], 2015) or updated mental health legislation. Besides, WHO is working to fill urgent gaps in the most affected areas. In 2019, it supported the deployment of two psychiatrists (one to east and one to west Libya). Throughout 2019, they saw an average of 110 patients per week. WHO also trained 65 PHC doctors on treating patients with common mental health disorders. In 2020, subject to the availability of funds, WHO plans to launch an ambitious project to scale up mental health services in Libya. 

Moreover, many mental health workers and members of voluntary organisations agreed that it is time to make a change and establish a much more suitable, culturally sensitive, accountable, and responsive mental health service in Libya (El-Badri, 2013). Modern facilities with adequate staffing and resources are required to facilitate the shift towards patient-oriented community-based services. The drive to create this collaborative approach is consistent with Libyan cultural and Islamic values which consider the mentally ill to be vulnerable and deserving of humane treatment and protection.

There are two psychiatric hospitals in the country, one in Tripoli and one in Benghazi. However, there are no facilities or services for adolescent or child psychiatry, forensic psychiatry, or older-adult psychiatry. Besides, several psychologists and social workers have started working or volunteering at general health clinics. However, they often work unsupervised and without the needed clinical skills. In addition, some international NGOs such as Save the Children, Act Alliance and IMC have provided training and workshops for parents, teachers and support staff in basic psychosocial support and helping children cope.

• Mental health in Libya has historically been underfunded.
• Lack of knowledge of clinical skills or best practices across disciplines.
• Absence of a national health information system.
• There were few local NGOs offering social welfare services and those that existed were closely monitored and controlled by the government.
• Variety of traditional healers in Libya. ( healers who use methods such as cutting, burning skin, and beating to release “evil spirits.”)

For a deeper exploration of the counselling profession in the country, interested readers are recommended to read the following journal articles:

• El-Badri, S. (2013). Mental health services in new Libya: the way forward. Libyan Journal Of Medicine, 8(1), 1-2. https://doi.org/10.3402/ljm.v8i0.21581

• IMC Libya Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Assessment Report (2011) 

• Who Is Where, When, Doing What (4WS) In Mental Health And Psychosocial Support (2017)