A series of mental health awareness workshops has been held as part of the National Mental Health Programme (NMHP), promoting and managing mental health and well-being in the workplace. 
This is in line with the Qatar National Mental Health Strategy and the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH)’s ‘Healthy Workplace Programme’.  Training sessions have been delivered in Arabic and English to over 1,000 clinical and non-clinical staff groups drawn from a wide range of government and non-government organisations, the MoPH has said in a statement. 
The initiative addresses ‘Mental health and well-being awareness at work’, ‘Mental health and well-being at work champions’ and ‘Managing mental health at work’. 
Training sessions have been ongoing for the last four years, providing participants with introductory knowledge about mental health and tools and techniques to support resilience in the workplace. 
The training covers topics such as well-being in the workplace, positive psychology and the science of happiness as well as maintaining mental well-being at work and reducing stress. It also provides information on how and where to access services and support in Qatar, the statement noted.
Sheikh Dr Mohamed bin Hamad al-Thani, director of the Public Health Department, MoPH, explained the importance of employers engaging in constructive dialogue with employees. 
“Increasingly, there is a realisation that any well-functioning society depends on a healthy workforce, and therefore protecting our employees’ mental health is fundamental to establishing a cohesive and productive society. We encourage all employers to consider how they can support mental health and well-being within their organisation and engage in dialogue with their staff,” he said.
Susan Clelland, acting executive director of the National Mental Health Programme, noted: “There are a number of risk and protective factors attached to our mental health and wellbeing. Knowing these can help us maintain our mental health and well-being at work. In order to maintain a healthy work/life balance, the training addresses workplace factors such as anxiety and stress. 
“People often worry that if they talk about stress they will be seen as weak or not capable of doing their job. However, stress is not a weakness and it is very common for people to experience stress at work. Speaking up early about stress provides the opportunity to prevent it from becoming worse which is helpful for both the individual employee and their workplace.”   The MoPH said it “would encourage organisations to engage in proactive efforts to raise awareness about mental health and well-being in their workplace”. If an organisation would like to find out more about the mental health training resources available, it can contact the National Mental Health Programme ([email protected]) at the MoPH.