Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Sheikh Khalifa Medical City (SKMC), managed by the Cleveland Clinic, will be discussing the best approach to raise kids and teenagers part of their series of public health talks on mental health.

Open to members of the public, patients and medical professionals, the lecture is aimed at creating awareness around the importance of all aspects of raising children – including their mental health.

The lecture takes place at 6:30 pm on Tuesday 5 May 2015 in the Behavioural Sciences Pavilion (BSP) auditorium at SKMC.

During the talk, which will be given in Arabic, Dr. Amani Ibrahim, Consultant Psychiatrist, will address different topics relating to child rearing, such as the role of parents, society and government, mental and cognitive development, and the relationship between parents and children.

“Raising children is an all-encompassing undertaking, which shapes their physical, emotional, social and mental behaviour for the future. There are many different styles of parenting – controlling, balanced, lenient and uninvolved – and it’s important for parents to get the facts on the impacts of these styles,” Dr. Amani said.

“Ultimately our goal as a society is to raise physically, emotionally and mentally healthy children. Kids who are adequately guided through adolescence are less likely to suffer from behavioural disorders and low self-esteem, so being active and engaged with children should be a parent’s priority,” Dr. Amani added.

This health talk is part of the Mental Health Awareness Program that started in March 2010, and includes a series of health talks in Arabic language every month on different topics related to mental health and social problems.

SKMC is part of the SEHA Health System and is owned and operated by Abu Dhabi Health Services Company PJSC (SEHA), which is responsible for the curative activities of all the public hospitals and clinics in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

The Mental Health Awareness Program is organized by the BSP of SKMC, a comprehensive psychiatric facility committed to providing mental health treatment services in the UAE. The program consists of monthly public health talks about different topics related to mental health in the Arabic language. The talks are given by a panel of mental health professionals, including psychiatrists, psychologists as well as social workers from the BSP. Each session includes a question and answer session to answer the attendees’ inquiries.