Changing Landscape of Mental Health from Early Career Psychiatrists’ Perspective in Indonesia

Abstract

This article briefly describes mental health services in Indonesia from the perspective of early-career psychiatrists practicing mainly in an urban setting. Mental health in Indonesia faces a major challenge of low availability of professionals, low funding, and a high treatment gap. In rural and suburban areas, lack of knowledge, prevailing stigma, and difficult access to mental health services lead to confinement and re-confinement. On the other hand, youth in urban settings are experiencing increased levels of common mental disorders, such as depression and anxiety, accelerated by the pandemics and are more concerned about their mental health. We provide policy, educational, and practice recommendations to address the problem.