The Establishment :

The National Center for Mental Health Promotion was established by the Honorable Council of Ministers Decision No. 685 dated 1440/27/11, to create national programs that contribute to promoting mental health, creating a better life for community members, promoting positive participation, and supporting groups that are most vulnerable to mental disorders.

The Vision :

Pioneering at the national and regional levels in the development and production of mental health promotion programs.

The mission :

Creating a better life that contributes to building an individual capable of positive and effective participation.

The Objectives :

·         Guiding the community to support mental health issues.

·         Empowering the target groups and developing their skills to achieve a comprehensive concept of mental health.

·         Provide health awareness and education programs in the field of mental health.

·         Contribute to improving the quality of psychological services provided.

·         Developing preventive programs in the field of mental health.

The Tasks and Specializations :

·         Participating with the relevant authorities in designing national policies in the field of mental health promotion.

·         Facilitate the target groups' access to psychological support, help, and necessary services.

·         Proposing and adopting awareness programs in line with emerging social changes.

·         Benefiting from international experiences in the field of mental health promotion.

·         Monitoring and following up phenomena and problems related to mental health.

·         Cooperating and coordinating with the various health, educational, and research authorities inside or outside the Kingdom.

The Board of Directors :

The center has a board of directors headed by His Excellency the Minister of Health, and membership of several governmental and private sectors, namely:

- Ministry of Sports

- Ministry of Justice

- Ministry of Health

- Ministry of Interior

- Human Rights Commission

- Ministry of Education

- Ministry of Media

- Saudi Society for Schizophrenia

- Council of Saudi Chambers

- King Khalid Charitable Foundation

- Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Dawah and Guidance

- Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development

- Saudi Psychiatric Association

The Services :

The center provides a qualitative and rare service in the field of psychological counseling through:

The psychological counseling call center: 920033360

Sunday to Thursday 09:00 am - 3:00 p.m

Qareboon application :

which can be downloaded from the app store and Google Play in order to request text or audio counseling at any time, in complete confidentiality, in addition to an educational psychological library that includes videos, articles, infographics, and motion graphics.

The Programs :

·         National indicators in the field of mental health promotion.

·         Training specialists in the field of mental health legislation.

·         Adopting regulations related to mental health.

·         Manual of regulations and legislation in the field of mental health.

·         National standards for evaluating mental patients' rights and practices in treatment facilities.

·         A survey measuring the factors affecting the concepts of mental health.

·         National Award for Mental Health Promotion.

·         Your psychological guide.

·         Establishing a coordination council for charitable health societies in the field of mental health.

·         Program for imams and preachers.

·         Mental Health Friends.

·         Psychological support in crises and disasters.

·         Promote mental health in universities and student care centers.

·         Promote mental health in the work environment.

·         School psychological support and student clubs.

·         Program for effective parenting and mother-child education.

Programs, initiatives, and projects :

Your Psychological Guide Application

Observed in the past few years, increasing awareness of the community in seeking mental health service; however, information on the sources of mental health services is still very limited. From here, the center launched the initiative "Your Psychological Guide Application" to be a reliable source for those who need mental health services, as the idea is to provide a guide that covers most of the mental health services available in the Kingdom, including hospitals, private clinics, societies, rehabilitation and early intervention centers for all ages, with the aim of helping the community to deal with any mental health difficulties, and to assist professionals in directing their patients to the appropriate care needed.

Concepts of Mental Health for Imams and Preachers :

An initiative to promote the concept of mental health for imams and preachers, as they are a reference for the residents of the neighborhood, and the first line in the community to receive problems and contribute to solving them. It is imperative to equip them with the necessary skills to deal with mental disorders, to direct them properly, to correct misconceptions and beliefs about them, and to highlight their importance through forums and lectures. The initiative, which has benefited more than 500 Imams, preachers, and advocates throughout the Kingdom in correcting misconceptions of mental health, in understanding mental illnesses and methods of their treatment. This will reduce societal stigma of the psychiatric patient, in addition to introducing the rights of the psychiatric patient, which in turn contribute greatly to alleviating common mental disorders.

Award of the National Center for Mental Health Promotion :

The center launches its award every year to spread the spirit of competition and motivate establishments, individuals, civil society institutions, and volunteers to provide quality initiatives and services that improve mental health concepts, create opportunities for improvement, and identify activities that have the greatest impact in promoting mental health and achieving a better life. The award aims to support and encourage creativity and initiatives in the field of promoting mental health. It stimulates governmental and private mental health facilities to improve the level of services provided, and disseminates best practices and experiences at the national level in the field of mental health. It also allows workers, service providers, and initiatives in the field of mental health to provide their services and honors individuals and supporters of community mental health programs.

Mental Health First Aid program :

The idea of the program was born after the need to find specific mechanisms for the general public to deal with mental disorders in emergency situations, since mental illness may affect any individual in this community. Therefore, it became necessary to publish the basics of primary or emergency mental health interventions so that the contribution of the general public is guided in the right direction while ensuring that this assistance has a positive impact and does not cause harm, as is the case with first aid in bodily injuries. It aims to:

• Transfer international experience in the field of Mental Health First Aid to the Kingdom and apply it in a standardized manner.

• Raise Awareness of Mental Health First Aid in the Community.

• Create a guide to help deal with mental patients. The guide should have a national identity commensurate with our society.

• Prepare qualified and trained national competencies capable of disseminating the principles of mental health first aid.

• Collect statistics and data from the project and making psychological studies that serve the community.

Promoting Mental Health in the Work Environment :

The idea of the initiative came in line with the Kingdom's 2030 vision and the development of human resources included in it to raise its efficiency and productivity at work. In order for workers to have good productivity in all establishments, they must have good mental and physical health. This prompted the Center to launch the "Initiative to Promote Mental Health in the Work Environment," in order to contribute, in turn, to provide a supportive work environment for mental health in accordance with the highest international standards. It aims to:

• Find standards for mental health in the work environment in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

• Raise awareness of mental health in work environments.

• Prepare and translate many manuals in the field of mental health in the work environment.

• Provide materials and resources that support mental health at work.

• Create an annual award for the best mental health-enhancing work environment.

Qareboon Application :

An electronic application that contains an integrated library on mental health with the latest modern means and methods such as text materials, infographics, and visual content (video), in addition to a psychological text counseling service supervised by specialized work staff. It aims to:

• Build a society with a high mental health culture.

• Deliver education and awareness about mental illness and how to deal with it.

• Facilitate access to specialized services and obtain psychological counseling.

Mental Health Promotion Call Center :

The Center works to spread awareness and psychological education, helping patients and their families to face the burden of mental disorders and problems that they may be exposed to, by providing free, high-quality and efficient psychological telephone counseling services. These are under the supervision of a group of consultants specialized in the field of mental health. The Call Center is considered one of the rare government centers that provide free psychological counseling services. Since its launch, it has provided 116,322 psychological consultations. In addition, it has provided psychological counseling to employees of more than 30 government agencies, in partnership with the initiative to raise psychological awareness in government agencies.

Quality of Care and Human Rights in Mental Health and Social Care Facilities :

The National Center for Mental Health Promotion seeks, through this initiative, to conduct a comprehensive national survey to assess human rights practices in treatment facilities. It aims to:

• Improve the quality of care and human rights in mental health services for patients.

• Promote human rights, recovery, and independent living in society.

• Create a movement of individuals with mental disabilities to provide mutual support between them.

• Reform national policies and legislation.

Friends of Mental Health :

The Center's interest in strengthening the role of partners in raising health awareness has launched the Mental Health Friends Initiative to create specific volunteer initiatives in the field of mental health. The initiatives contribute to conveying the message of the National Center for Mental Health Promotion. It aims to:

• Spread the culture of professional volunteering in mental health promotion programs.

• Promote the mental health of the community through voluntary efforts.

• Develop the skills and abilities of volunteers to communicate the goals of the Center and its voice to the community.

Effective Parenting Program :

An initiative to develop capacities to practice effective parenting skills. It aims to:

• Understand the characteristics of children during infancy and into adolescence.

• Understand the physical, mental, psychological and social needs of children.

• Help mothers to develop their skills to satisfy the needs of children throughout their various stages of life.

• Help mothers to provide a suitable home environment for their children's growth.

• Improve the relationship between mothers and other family members.

• Learn good communication and listening skills.

• Protect children from risky behavior.

• Develop mothers' confidence in themselves and in their ability to solve problems.

Developing the Strategic Plan and Strategic Maturity of the National Center for Mental Health Promotion: Based on the

Center team's belief in the importance of strategic planning, they have embarked on preparing a future strategic plan, whose end is scheduled for 2024, and consists of four main strategic objectives and a number of important pillars through which the team draws community mental health.

Better Life Program :

A national program that seeks to enhance life skills according to the latest studies and scientific research. It aims to:

• Spread the culture of acquiring life skills by scientific methods.

• Teach and train students to acquire life skills.

• Teach and train the rest of the community to acquire life skills.

• Contribute to finding specialists who are interested in scientific research in the field of personal development.

Digital Psychological Support Platform :

Realizing the importance of keeping abreast of technological developments in the service of society, the Center launched a psychological support platform in cooperation with the "Maodi” platform. Its aim is to provide remote and confidential services such as psychological counseling and integrated virtual clinics. Through this platform, the Center aims to provide and facilitate access to psychological services, reduce societal stigma, and raise psychological awareness among the community. Since its launch, 33 mental health professionals have joined the platform including both physicians and non-physicians.

The Stress Management Program :

A qualitative program through which the Center seeks to spread the culture of dealing with stress, and to provide community members with relaxation skills. This is done in accordance with scientific methods and under professional supervision by qualified professionals. It aims to:

• Train community members in stress management skills.

• Raise the level of psychological protection for community members.

• Learn about best practices and techniques for stress management.

• Facilitate access to psychosocial support services.