Physical restraint and idleness often took the place of proper medication and psycho-therapy, and when coming out, a stay at Mathari had branded them for life. Once a psychiatric patient always a mental case, was the common judgement among people. In Kenya, as in so many other countries around the world. Now, Mathari has cut down the number of patients to around 400. The average stay for inpatients is around 14 days.
Patients gets proper care, which includes medication and other therapy.
Hopefully, this young girl will find that society has also changed. That an experience of mental illness does not brand her for life. Today, as we celebrate World Health Day, we will hear much more about stigma and the damage it does. We will hear about the violation of the basic human rights of patients, mainly of those in large psychiatric institutions. And we will hear about the tremendous gap between the number of people who are ill and those who actually get the treatment they need.