The Ministry of Education (MoE) signed a cooperation agreement with Whispers of Serenity Clinic on Tuesday morning to implement a training programme for psychologists and social workers on mental health programmes. 

H E Dr Abdullah bin KhamisAmbosaidi, Undersecretary in MoE, signed the agreement with H HSayyidaBasmabintFakhri al Said, founder of the clinic, in the presence of Sana bintHamad bin Saud al Busaidi, advisor to the minister and acting director general of the Career Guidance and Counselling Centre. 

On the occasion, H E Dr Ambosaidi said, “The signing of this agreement comes as a result of the continuous cooperation between the ministry and civil society institutions in providing professional development and training programmes for psychology specialists and social workers. 

“The importance of this programme is that it enriches and develops the work of specialist, especially regarding the challenges that our students face in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and its effects on their mental health. Such programmes direct social workers and train them on how to deal with, guide and direct students in a way that ensures their psychological safety. We will endeavour to support such programmes in the future in cooperation with various sectors in the country, both private and government, in order to facilitate the work of mental health specialists in the ministry.”

SayyidaBasma said, “The signing of this agreement today comes from our belief in the importance of providing psychological support and developing students’ awareness skills. That is why we sought to implement a training programme on mental health targeting psychology specialists and social workers in order to help them in educating students to be balanced and stable, with good psychological and social stability, to help them achieve academic excellence, and make them mature and ready to face the difficulties of life.”

She added, “The programme is designed by the specialists in the clinic to implement it targeting a sample of social and psychological specialists from the governorates of Muscat, Dakhliyah and South Batinah.”