On 10 October on the World Mental Health Day, Department of Elementary Psychology and Communication Skills together with Department of Psychiatry and Narcology, and with participation of 5-year students of specialty “General Medicine” held a festival of mental health at Auditorium No. 111 of KSMU corps located at 36 Gogol Street.

  Currently, students of 5-039э, 5-042э, 5-059э, 5-061э groups study an elective discipline “Psychosomatic medicine in pediatrics” at Department of Elementary Psychology and Communication Skills and show great interest in psychological and psychotherapeutic aspects of psychosomatic medicine and psychiatry. On that day they prepared a creative scenario according to which this great event was held. Masters of Ceremony made presentation on mental health, ways of preserving mental health. Head of Department of Elementary Psychology and Communication Skills L.L. Macievskaya conducted mini-lectures on topics “Reforming psychiatric care in the Republic of Kazakhstan” and “Nurture of healthy personality” (presentation in Russian and Kazakh languages). Head of Department of Psychiatry and Narcology M.Y. Lubchenco conducted a lecture “Mental ecology”.

Students made a performance based on scenarios of fairy-tales prepared by them in Russian, Kazakh and English languages. Tales were suitable for psychological correction of psychosomatic disorders. Then an Assistant of Department of Psychiatry and Narcology V.V. Stolyarova held a session of trance, and a 5-year student familiarized the guests of the festival with the method of Jacobson's progressive relaxation.

 Students had a lot of fun, sang songs, and recited poetry on issues of mental health of individuals. The auditorium was decorated creatively by them. Students presented cards made with their own hands to the teachers of two departments. Department of Elementary Psychology and Communication Skills printed and gave to everyone the materials on mental health criteria by Nancy McWilliams, aphorisms, wise phrases and anecdotes about mental health and psychiatry.

  The event was held in warm, inspiring atmosphere, all the participants and guests of the festival enjoyed it very much. Head of Department of Psychiatry and Narcology M.Y. Lubchenco expressed hope for establishing a tradition of celebrating Mental Health Day and invited everyone to Department of Psychiatry and Narcology on 10 October next year.

 The relevance and importance of this event is emphasized by ongoing reformation of psychiatric care services in Kazakhstan, conforming to innovations of World Psychiatric Association for improvement of quality of psychiatric care and enhancement of society awareness of the issues and relevance of mental health.