TY - JOUR T1 - Mental health problems in Armenia: low demand, high needs JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract SP - 64 LP - 65 VL - 55 IS - 510 AU - Luc van Baelen AU - Yorgos Theocharopoulos AU - Sally Hargreaves Y1 - 2005/01/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/55/510/64.abstract N2 - Armenia, situated in the South Caucasus, was one of the first states of the former Soviet Union to gain independence. Fifteen years later however, there are still thousands of people with mental health problems in Armenia who live an uncertain life in a society that does not recognise them as equal members. As in many societies, in Armenia the community's rejection is based on myths about people with mental health problems.‘L’ is a 15-year old girl. She is mentally ill and shows signs of autism. She attended school for 1 year, but is no longer welcomed because the teacher considers her a bad student who cannot be taught anything. Her parents have decided that they do not want to spend any money to buy medication for L or to let her visit a psychiatrist or psychologist. For them, L is a punishment from God. Her future is uncertain as she will not be able to have a job. At the moment her parents still support her, because she is still a minor, but the day she becomes an adult, nobody knows what will become of L.The case of L is just one example of the way in which stigmatisation affects the lives of people with mental health problems in Armenia every day. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) conducted a survey among the general population researching the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviour towards mental health problems.1 It was apparent that the myths about people with mental health problems are very similar to the misconceptions in western Europe.2 Most responders in the survey thought that people with mental health problems should be kept in hospital (56%), that they are usually violent and dangerous (63%), or that they cannot do any work (54%). The majority … ER -