Mental Health Reforms in Lebanon

According to the Human Rights Watch, the number of those living below the poverty line has doubled, and tripled for those already living in extreme poverty in the past year.2 By August 2021, most Lebanese are experiencing severe power outages, with access to electricity for only a few hours a day.

Due to these multiple disasters, the Lebanese have experienced much stress which has been detrimental to the mental health of the population. The Lebanese have a long history with political turmoil yet discussing mental health is considered culturally taboo. This leads to a failure to address mental health issues which goes back several generations, as exemplified by the country-wide amnesia surrounding the civil war.

According to emerging trends in the literature, particularly regarding the effects of clientelism, some scholars would argue that members of different communities, driven by fear-based identity politics, continue to either ignore or justify the acts of their sectarian leaders due to a belief that their survival is at stake and rests in the hands of these leaders.