In February 2017, I will be flying to Sri Lanka as part of the SLV team to support a mental health project for 8 weeks. Sri Lanka is a beautiful island off the southern tip of India however, with limited mental health resources and approximately 1 mental health practitioner for every 120,000 people there is a vast mental health crisis on the island. Not only is there great pressure on mental health professionals but, this means that less than 5% of individuals who need help actully recieve it. Following the 26 year civil war and the tsunami in 2004, individuals within the Sri Lankan community have faced great trauma such as; the destruction of social networks (family separation), dealing with death and injury, and issues related to human rights. The SLV organisation works in partnership with Samutthana, the Kings College resource centre in London for Trauma, Displacement and Mental Health which works to provide continuous ethical support through the help of volunteers.

During my time in Sri Lanka I will be living with a local family and working a 5 day week travelling to different projects in the community. As well as working in a psychiatric facility and mental health care home, these projects include supporting people with specials needs, local children and teaching English.

I'm extremely excited (and nervous!) to have the opportunity to be able to take part in this placement and would be so grateful for any support! Being able to help in what ever way I can is something I'm really passionate about, and from reading the reviews of previous volunteers I can see how SLV is already beggining to make a positive impact within the community and I would love to help continue this. In addition to helping individuals in Sri Lanka, this experience would also really benefit me. As a psychology graduate in a very competetive industry, this experience will be invaluable and really give me that extra push in helping me pursue a career in mental health.