Rita Obeid, instructor in Case Western Reserve University's Department of Psychology, collaborated with Sabine Saade, professor of psychology at the American University of Beirut, to discuss the impact of Lebanon’s economic crisis on the nation’s psychological well-being in a recently published article.
“An urgent call for action: Lebanon's children are falling through the cracks after economic collapse and a destructive blast,” published in Global Mental Health earlier this month, highlights the far-reaching repercussions of Lebanon’s economic upheaval on the nation’s children, particularly those with developmental disabilities.
As the population bears the strain of rising inflation and the aftermath of the pandemic, they write, Lebanese physicians and mental health professionals have left the country to seek employment opportunities and economic stability abroad, leaving children in need of psychiatric and/or behavioral therapy more vulnerable than ever. Obeid and Saade discuss the country’s critical need for large- and small-scale intervention and healthcare reform to improve the population’s psychological and economic well-being.