…offering Master Degree in Clinical Psychology

THE Jay and Sylvia Sobhraj Centre of Behavioural Sciences and Research at the University of Guyana was formally opened on Friday, paving the way for the Master programme in Clinical Psychology.
University of Guyana (UG) Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ivelaw Griffith, said the project reflects the rebranding of UG in building its educational and economic enterprise, enabling the institute to become a national and international stakeholder.

“This is a manifestation of dreams becoming reality, it is important to view this as a singular milestone coming on the heels of many other achievements under project renaissance,” Professor Griffith said.

Minister within the Ministry of Public Health, Dr. Karen Cummings, in her remarks, said it is heartening to see the partnership that has led to the birth of the centre. She said the ministry views mental health as one of its priority areas and for the first time in its history, the ministry had established a mental health unit in 2016.

Since then, she said much work has been done particularly in areas of capacity building, with training programmes for specific categories of staff within the ministry. The minister noted that while mental illness is multifaceted, it is treatable. “Ever since UG decided to launch its psychology programme, we at the ministry saw this initiative as a major asset in the drive towards addressing mental illness in Guyana,” the minister said.

Minister Cummings said there will now be a broader pool of human resources that the ministry can utilise in an effort to address mental health in a holistic manner. “Psychologists are essential when it comes to tackling mental illness, as they diagnose problems with state-of-the-art diagnostic tools. Physicians and other healthcare professionals turn to psychologists for their diagnostic capabilities and services,” she said.

She said that the launching of the Masters in Clinical Psychology is timely, especially in light of the many mental health issues that beset Guyana.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor Paloma Mohamed, said the thousands of people who worked to make the event a reality must be praised, and one of the many partners that are in the background is UNICEF.

She said UNICEF has been funding the development of the psychology programme at the university for more than four years. Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Michael Scott, said the programmes that are offered have passed through quality assurance that was certified by international partners.

He said the programme that will be offered will be one of a high quality which will be delivered to society. “We recognised the importance of the human condition and we have seen the manifestation in what these conditions can cause and I must say thanks to the Sobhraj Foundation for its foresight,” Scott said.
The newly-designed centre will accommodate a psychology department, lecture halls, a clinical psychology clinic, a student medical centre, students’ gym, a bookstore, students’ religious offices, and a food court.

The building was designated for use by the Psychology majors and will also be used for o

ther majors such as Engineering, Science and Liberal Arts. The construction of the centre was completed a few weeks ago by Buddy’s Construction – a local general construction company. The Sobhraj Foundation, after spending millions of dollars in the Information Technology sector, working with government institutions such as the Guyana Police Force and NGOs to provide free computer training to the public, while simultaneously working in New York with the public schools by enhancing their existing computer centres, has embarked in assisting the mental health sector in Guyana.

During construction, Dr. Jay Sobhraj increased the donation to ensure that the quality of the construction is not compromised. In March 2018, Founder of the Jay and Sylvia Sobhraj Foundation, a US-based Guyanese entrepreneur, Dr. Jay Sobhraj, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the University of Guyana worth approximately $80M, to renovate an existing building known on the University campus as the “Spicy Dish” building.