Mental health team heads to school where student was shot dead
A Mental Health Crisis Assessment and Treatment Team will visit the school in Nonthaburi province where a schoolboy was shot dead by his classmate on Wednesday (December 18), to help students, teachers, staff and parents cope with the tragedy.
“This kind of case is rare in Thailand, but can greatly affect students’ education and lifestyle,” Kiattiphum Wongrajit, the director-general of the Department of Mental Health, said on Wednesday.
The department will operate urgently through the MCATT with screening of basic mental health and mental health counselling. “The operational team will talk to those who were affected by the incident to strengthen their minds,” he added.
The department also planned to send those who were severely affected, especially with severe stress, to a psychiatric hospital. Those in the high-risk group suffering mental distress will get direct counselling from psychiatrists or psychiatric nurses.
The director-general added that bullying in school was the starting point of violence, physically and mentally affecting children. “Bullied students are always stressed and depressed. In case they are pressured acutely, they may decide to take revenge on those who bullied them,” he explained. Children who habitually bully others could become aggressive and resolve problems with violence.”