Bring Mental Health Care to Cambodians

A 26-year-old man was reported by his brother to Operation Unchain Project via hotline. He lives in a remote district near the Khmer-Thai border of Battambang province. When the mobile team arrived there, the patient was chained by his relatives and left alone in a shabby hut. The patient could not communicate. The shabby huts were littered with rubbish, which was filled with foam boxes that relatives give food for him.

According to relatives, they described that at the onset of the illness, the patient often took water or drink to pour for praying ghost’s spirituals before he ate. When he saw the ants drowning, he lifted the ants up to the pillar. He eats raw meat, such as beef or fish. When a chicken came near him, he killed the chicken and ate it without cooking.

He behaved aggressively and smashed other’s cars. At that time, relatives took him to a traditional healer (monk)for treatment, but he did not recover. The monk explained that no bad magic spiritual within him and advised to take him to the psychiatric hospital. Because he was in a remote area, his relatives did not take him to the hospital, but instead took him to see two more traditional healers. His signs and symptoms often appear before holy day of Buddhism and during holy day. The patient sleep at day time but sleeps less at night and talks alone. The patient has very poor insight.

When he was adolescent, the patient was beaten on the head and had an accident with head injury and had used drugs. Because he was aggressive and made harmful on others, the relatives decided to chain him for years.

After he received treatment done by TPO for a month, his insight was improved and was able to communicate. The patient was recovered and relatives released after 10 weeks of treatment. At present, patients can help with some of the housework and farm work.

Relatives and neighbors expressed their excitement and congratulations to the patient because they never had any hope of recovering and become human being again. They thanked TPO and generous individuals who helped to treat this patient until he recovered with free of charge.

A young man, 25 years old, is the son of a poor widow and lives under the makeshift roof of his relative’s house. The patient’s leg was chained attaching to a mango tree stump. While the mango tree is growing bigger, the chain which was put around the mango tree stump for locking him up, is now planted in the mango tree bark under the old cottage made with iron sheet. His mother emotionally mentioned that, firstly her son was hit in the head by gangsters. Before he had a severe mental illness, he had also drug addiction and up to now his illness has been suffered for 04 years. His mother took him to see a psychiatrist at a public hospital in Phnom Penh. The patient has easily taken his medicines. After receiving the treatment for 04 months, his mother dropped out the treatment because of no money. His mother washes clothes by her hands for a small fee which is hired by other people in order to buy food for his son.

He has aggressive behavior and violence on his mother and others. At that time, his mother has no alternative, she decided to seek help from commune police to chain him for safety attaching to the mango tree. His mother had injured by his action. He used to beat his mother and throw something at her head. He violently abused his mother and other people around him. When his mother was bringing rice or food to him, he picked up a branch of a tree and threw it at her, along with his food. The patient laughed alone, spoke alone, and couldn’t communicate with. The patient was anemic and malnourished because the mother was poor.

In collaboration with the Kandal Provincial Department of Women's Affairs, District and Commune Committees for Women's and Children's Affairs as well TPO treatment team, which went to see that patient for treatment at his house. When the team arrived, the patient could not communicate and was not interested in the team's presence. Even though the team tried talking with him, but he ignored. The psychiatrist interviewed the patient and his mother. And then the psychiatrist prescribed medicines for him and his mother who is his caregiver keep that medicine and give him medicine to take. A psychologist also did awareness raising with family members and his neighbors about the causes of schizophrenia and effective treatment in order seek more support for the patient.

After receiving the treatment for ten weeks, the patient recovered from his symptoms of schizophrenia, and his mother decided to free her son (unchain her son). The mother is very happy and thanks TPO and charity persons for making the treatment available for her son and make him free from chain in order to integrate into the family.