Qatar University (QU) and the Behavioural Healthcare Centre recently organised the second International Congress on Behavioural Health (IICBH) in the QU Research Complex.

The congress aims to provide a multi-disciplinary platform for scholars, researchers, instructors and practitioners to present and discuss the latest findings, developments, dilemmas and solutions related to behavioural health.

Behavioural health describes the interplay between behaviour mood and biology and the physical, mental and emotional well-being of an individual.

The IICBH’s main objective is to increase awareness and understanding of behavioural health by bringing together the most recent and progressive knowledge and expertise. By doing so, the congress strives to improve behavioural health within society by promoting multi-level approaches and evidence-based practice and assessments.

The congress tackles two main themes: ‘Contemporary Issues in Behavioural Health,’ which tackles topics such as mental representations and attitude toward mental illness and psychological services in Qatari society and ‘Problems of Field Practice in Behavioural Health’ that covers issues such as social representations and stigma and protection and safety mechanisms.

QU vice president, Research & Graduate Studies, Prof Mariam al-Maadeed said that various educational institutions were invited to the congress to address challenges stemming from behavioural health. She noted that solutions must come through effective activities that involve everyone from family to schools and universities as well as other public and private institutions.

QU has been doing its part to address behavioural health issues by adopting a number of appropriate programmes in the fields of psychology, sociology, health and medicine, and has organised various conferences and activities on the topic. The university has also signed agreements and MoUs including with the Behavioural Healthcare Centre, which has played a leading role in solving these particular challenges.

Chair of the congress, Prof Kaltham al-Ghanim stressed the importance of the event in enabling access to health, treatment and awareness services as a key element for the overall well-being of the human being and not just as a treatment to disease. The discourse that health is the absence of disease is no longer acceptable, she said, in light of the advances in knowledge related to health and human beings' physical and psychological requirements.


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