The topics of the last day of the first annual international conference of the Syrian Association of Psychiatrists, held at Damascus University, focused on psychological treatments and digital transformation in mental health.

Dr. Caroline Mohsen from the Faculty of Health Sciences, Damascus University, explained in her lecture entitled “Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Depersonalization and Reality Disintegration in People Affected by Crises and Earthquakes” that earthquakes and natural disasters increase the risk of injury as severe stress affects the mind and creates separation from the self, thus reducing the sense of security among people

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Dr. Mohsen explained that cognitive behavioral therapy is an effective treatment because it focuses on changing the intellectual and behavioral patterns that lead to symptoms of depersonalization and replacing them with more realistic and positive thoughts by presenting techniques that have proven effective in treating derealization and depersonalization.

In her turn, Dr. Nour Al-Hassan presented the findings of a study entitled “Symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in a Sample of Workers in Social Care Organizations in Damascus ,” noting that the aim of her research was to identify the differences in the scale of symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder among workers in organizations that provide social care services in Damascus  according to the variables of gender, educational qualification, and number of years of experience.

The research found that there were no statistically significant differences between the average scores of the research participants on the PTSD scale, which was attributed to the gender variable (males - females). On the other hand, differences were found between the responses of the participants according to the educational qualification variable in the total score and sub-dimensions, as well as differences between their responses according to the variable of the number of years of experience in the total score and sub-dimensions

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Dr. Fatima Rashid Al Mansouri from the United Arab Emirates, reviewed the experience of the “Halek” platform, which is a virtual mental health treatment platform in the UAE, noting that this platform provides all types of self-care for mental health, with the aim of ensuring access to high-quality mental health care at affordable prices

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In her online lecture titled “Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) for the Treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder,” Dr. Raja Jurdi from the University De Tours in France explained that EMDR is a psychotherapy created in 1987 by American psychologist and behavioral therapist Francine Shapiro, and the scientific evidence for its effectiveness in treating PTSD has been recognized by many international associations

Dr. Jurdi pointed out that trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapies and eye movement therapy have proven effective in treating PTSD. These therapies use exposure techniques, which involve inviting the person to remember or imagine the traumatic event in order to recall their memories in a safe and supportive environment

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Dr. Bassam Aweil from Poland gave an online lecture entitled “Contemporary Online Psychosexual Counseling: Techniques and Applications,” noting that psychosexual counseling and therapy is one of the modern specialized branches of counseling and therapy services that aims to help individuals, couples and partners become aware of their psychosexual traits, understand and resolve conflicts related to them, in addition to providing family counseling, especially with regard to sexual behaviors that raise concerns among parents regarding the sexual development of their children

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Dr. Aweil reviewed the most important therapeutic methods and techniques used in counseling and psychosexual therapy, as well as the advantages, benefits, and obstacles of counseling and psychosexual therapy “remotel

Dr. Salman Al-Shaer, from the Faculty of Economics at Damascus University, participated within the framework of digital transformation in the education sector by shedding light on theoretical and practical experience in this field, as well as the field of pre-university virtual education, the mechanisms used and the research conducted in this field. He stressed that digital transformation in education has become a necessity and everyone must be prepared to deal with it. He also shed light on the significance of preparing lessons using artificial intelligence and delivering them to students in a useful way

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Through artificial intelligence technology, digital transformation consultant Dr. Ahmed Shamdin gave an interactive lecture on artificial intelligence in mental health, during which many questions from the audience were answered about the challenges and future opportunities for mental health.

  Shamdin stressed that traditional artificial intelligence began in the seventies of the last century, but three years ago the revolution of generative artificial intelligence began, which is a technology capable of interacting with humans, understanding the language spoken by humans, interacting with it, and deducing ideas in an attempt to simulate the way humans work

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It is worth noting that the conference lasted for three days and was attended by professors and researchers specializing in mental health, medicine, psychological counseling, and digital transformation from Syria, Arab and foreign countries.