Call Centre Offering Psychological Support for COVID-19 Cases Functional in Ivory Coast

Ivory Coast recorded its first COVID-19 case on March 11, and in a span of two weeks, the number of confirmed cases have soared to at least 80, a rapid spread that has seen the country’s President, Alassane Ouattara declare, March 23, a state of emergency coupled with a curfew.

"We assess the situation and offer first aid or psychological support for mild emotional disorders. We then refer this person to a specialist if necessary,” Professor Koua has said and added, “80 percent of situations are light and transitory and, in this case, psychological support is effective and sufficient.”

According to the mental health expert, “the absence of psychological support can delay or prevent a quick recovery and a return to normal life."

The 24-hour call centre is staffed by a team of professionals from the Psychiatric Hospital of Bouaké, and a group of 25 students from the Centre for Professional Counselling and Clinical Pastoral Care (Copac), created by ITCJ.

In teams of two, the volunteers handle the incoming calls on the three telephone lines, striving to provide the necessary support to the callers while Fr. Messingue and Professor Koua coordinate and supervise the telephone interventions.

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“The students have already followed the course of certification in initiation in the art of professional counseling,” Fr. Messingue has said and added, “a preparatory phase on psychosocial crisis intervention has been carried out and each student takes an oral test.”

Fr. Messingue said that the psychological support services offered at the center are free of charge, with Copac and the Psychiatric Hospital of Bouaké incurring the financial expenses of the project.

However, the Ivorian cleric considers the non-toll-free telephone lines a challenge saying, “unfortunately, those who call us must have enough call credit to hold an interview of 30 minutes on average, and we have called those who do not, but we will not be able to do so for many of them for several weeks."

Since its inception, the call centre has attracted various volunteer psychologists who are yet to be recruited. “We will contact them if we need them,” Fr. Messingue said referencing volunteer psychologists.