Newsletter Vol. I, No. XI. Eleventh Issue July, 2001

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Newsletter Vol. I, No. XI.
Eleventh Issue
July, 2001

PROF DR. SYED ARSHAD HUSAIN: WIAMH’s NEW PRESIDENT

Following the shocking and untimely death of Professor Dr. Omar Shaheen, Prof Dr. Syed Arshad Husain who has been the president- elect of WIAMH since the last WIAMH Congress in Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina in August 1999, is now the President of WIAMH.

Members of WIAMH will elect the new President-elect in the next 7th WIAMH International Congress, which will be held in Aden next October 2001.

Dr. Syed Arshad Husain is one of the world-renowned psychiatrists who has developed innovative methods for the treatment of victims of Trauma around the Global Village utilizing the Islamic principles in Trauma Psychiatry.

For his pioneer efforts in this field he has been awarded “Pride in the Profession” by the American Medical Association in the year 2001. Dr. Arshad Husain is one of 4 Co-winners who won this most prestigious award for this year. This award is indicative of the respect Dr. Husain commands in the field of Trauma Psychology.

Professor Arshad Husain is one of the founding directors of the International Center for Psychosocial Trauma at the University of Missouri, Columbia, School of Medicine. Below is his Biography.

Pride in the Profession winner Syed Arshad Husain, MD

Child psychiatrist helps kids find peace after conflict

The emotional traumas of war often embed themselves deeper than visible physical scars, particularly in children. Few people can understand this better than Syed Arshad Husain, MD, founding director of the International Center for Psychosocial Trauma at the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine.

As a child, Dr. Husain fled war-torn India with his family in the 1940s. Throughout the 300-mile journey to Pakistan and a three-week stay in a refugee camp, Dr. Husain remained positive and confident. “I never had nightmares or anxiety attacks,” he remembers. “When I became a psychiatrist, I began to wonder: Why are some children not traumatized by war? Why do some have a resiliency that empowers them while others do not? Certainly temperament plays a role, as well as the child’s relationship with parents, peers and siblings. But this resilience also can be acquired. It can be taught and learned.”

Dr. Husain has made more than 20 trips to Bosnia and Herzegovina to help children deal with the trauma and tragedy of war, particularly post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). But because there were few trained mental health professionals in that region, and because PTSD was prevalent among the children, Dr. Husain realized the best way to treat the kids was to educate the teachers who have contact with them on a daily basis. Since then, he has helped train more than 2,000 teachers and 200 mental health professionals on the fundamentals of trauma psychology. “We’re all on the same level,” he said. “We learn together. It’s like a teacher, a doctor and a lawyer all joining together to learn about auto mechanics. No one has any advantage over the other.”

Elsewhere, Dr. Husain has led a World Federation of Mental Health Committee in its efforts to prevent child pornography and the commercial exploitation of children throughout the world. He has authored five books and more than 65 papers on various facets of child psychopathology, and following the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, Dr. Husain traveled to Oklahoma City to provide emergency training to counselors treating families.

“He has perhaps the strongest humanitarian drive and commitment of any psychiatrist I know,” said Allen Tasman, MD, past president of the American Psychiatric Association. “His work with children who have been traumatized by war is among the most important mental health interventions any person could make.”

MESSAGE FROM THE NEW WIAMH PRESIDENT:
PROFESSOR DR SYED ARSHAD HUSAIN
From: "Little, Maxine K." LittleM@health.missouri.edu
To: 'Farouk El Sendiony' felsendiony@yahoo.com
Subject: RE: WIAMH
Date: Tue, 24 Jul 2001 15:52:30 –0500

Dear Dr. Sendiony:

Thank you for your e mails including the last one. I have received them all and enjoyed very much the information it contains. Indeed the death of Professor Omar Shaheen represents a great loss to all of us and has created a vacuum which will be hard to fill. We pray to Allah Subhano Talllah for his guidance.

I am further humbled by having to assume the responsibility of the presidency of WIAMH prematurely. It is a responsibility which I take very seriously. I am concerned about the absence of a sustained source of funding for various activities under WIAMH. Your Newsletter is outstanding and I thank you very much for it. The last Mental Peace in English was published in 1999. Lack of funds has suspended the publication temporarily. As a president, I feel my immediate priority is to make the organization fiscally responsible through membership and fund raising. I will need your help in this regard. Please make suggestions as to how we can raise funds.

I am very pleased to hear that the next WIAM congress will be held in Yeman in October. I will Inshullah be there.

In August (August 12-14, 2001) I will be delivering Professor Rasheed Chaudhry's memorial lecture in Lahore. On my return I am going to Ingushetia to work with Chechen refugees. My trauma team and I are scheduled to go to Palestine in the fall to work with traumatized children.

Please Dr. Sendiony keep up the good work you are doing by writing the Newsletter. Until next time.

Yours sincerely,

Syed Arshad Husain, M.D.

President WIAMH

7th INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF THE WORLD ISLAMIC ASSOCIATION FOR MENTAL HEALTH
PROGRAMME
ADEN, REPUBLIC OF YEMEN
OCTOBER 15 – 17, 2001

Arabic Version:

English Version:

PATRON OF THE CONGRESS

THE 7TH INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF THE WORLD ISLAMIC ASSOCIATION FOR MENTAL HEALTH IS UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF YEMEN

IT IS SPONSORED BY HIS HIGHEST HONOR ALI ABDALLAH SALEH : PRESIDENT OF YEMEN

CONGRESS COMMITTEE

Chairman

Coordinator

Co-Chairman

Secretary General of WIAMH

President of WFMH, Treasurer of WIAMH

CALL FOR PAPERS

The congress secretariat announces that the following areas will be discussed in the congress.

Islamic Mental Health: Muslim Mental Health workers around the world who have developed innovative methods for the promotion of mental health and the prevention of mental illness utilizing the Islamic principles are encouraged to participate in this congress.

Mental Health Services

Prevalence Mental Disorders and protocol treatment

Wars: A man made disaster, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Socio - cultural factors and their impact on mental health

The effect of the emerging information super highway on mental health

The role of none - governmental organizations in mental health

Law and Mental Health: Forensic Psychiatry, Mental Health Acts

Training and rehabilitation programs in mental health

Alcohol and drug abuse

Child abuse

RULES OF ENGAGEMENT: A CASE STUDY OF ARAB-MUSLIM’S DEMONIZATION

Active participants have to send their papers by 30th of August 2001 to the congress secretariat, Dr. Maan Abd Al Bary e-mail MAAN@Y.NET.YE

PROFESSOR DR. RASHID CHAUDHRY’s DEATH ANNIVERSARY 12 – 14 August 2001
First International Symposium on Psychiatry
(IN THE MEMORY OF LATE PROF. DR. MUHAMMAD RASHID CHAUDHRY)
(August 12-14, 2001)
VENUE: Hotel Pearl Continental Lahore Pakistan
Dear Sir,

We are pleased to inform you that Pakistan Psychiatric Research Centre (PPRC) in collaboration with World Islamic Association for Mental Health WIAMH (Pakistan Chapter) is organizing International Symposium on Psychiatry to commemorate the death anniversary of Prof. Dr. Mohammad Rashid Chaudhry.

The programme is as under:-

Events	Venue	Date & Time
Inaugural Dinner	Hotel Pearl Continental.	12-08-2001 08.00 p.m.
Scientific Sessions (I, II, III) "Prof. Muhammad Rashid Chaudhry Memorial Lecture" Speaker: Prof. Arshad Hussain	Hotel Pearl Continental.	13-08-2001 08.30 a.m. to 04.30 p.m. 12.30 p.m. to 01.00 p.m.
Concluding Dinner	Fountain House	13-08-2001 at 08.00 p.m.

Please confirm your availability in case if it is not possible for you to participate in the event, kindly send us your messages/ abstracts for the meeting.

Thanking you

With Profound Regards,

Yours truly,

Prof. Haroon Rashid Chaudhry

Chairman Organizing Committee

pprc@wol.net.pk
saadh@brain.net.pk

The following was written in WIAMH Newsletter no. 8 on the occasion of the death of Professor. Dr. Chaudhry on 13th August 2000 by Dr. M. F El Sendiony WIAMH Secretary General

FAREWELL PROFESSOR DR. RASHID CHAUDHRY

The renowned Pakistani Psychiatrist and Scholar, Professor DR. Rashid Chaudhry passed away Sunday August the 13th 2000 in Lahore of a heart attack.

Chaudhry had occupied several teaching positions in psychiatry and is considered the founding father of Pakistani Psychiatry.

A scholar in both Psychiatry and Muslim civilizations Chaudhry championed cross cultural and transcultural psychiatric studies and attempted to bridge the misconception gaps between Islam and Psychiatry. He was the second President of the World Islamic Association for Mental Health 1995 – 1999.

Chaudhry was a strong believer in the intrinsic values of Islam and the Islamic civilization. He argued that present day Muslims could only hope to optimize their mental health and pull out of their backwardness and under development by truly embodying the spirit and values of Islam. Chaudhry was also a strong supporter of inter-Muslim cooperation. Working with doctor Osama Al Rady, Gamal Abou El Azayem, and Omar Shaheen, Professor Chaudhry continued to peruse his dream of establishing the World Islamic Association for Mental health. And never dies the dream. We believe he had succeeded and his dream had finally come true. The World Islamic Association for Mental Health finally took off the ground. Its First International Congress was held December 1985, in Lahore Pakistan. It was inaugurated by the late President of Pakistan Diaa Al Haq.

Losing Prof. Muhammad Rashid Chaudhry is truly a misfortune. Pakistani Psychiatry and the World Islamic Association for Mental Health will not be the same.

Prof. Chaudhry was an interesting fellow. He had done a lot in his life, went to many places. He had a lot of psychiatric knowledge, which he didn’t hesitate sharing with his students. He had distinguished disciples who are now being acknowledged as authority in the field of International Psychiatry. In the word of one of his distinguished disciples “ Having him as a Professor of Psychiatry was a privilege for students. I wish by the time I would be his age I would know one tenth of what he knew. He was a living encyclopedia. He was one of the most effective Professors of Psychiatry in Pakistan and he was sweet and kind hearted. He taught me how to love Psychiatry.”

Throughout his distinguished career he had become an authority. He is referenced (notably in International Psychiatric sources) as Pakistan’s Leading Psychiatrist; his uncollected contributions of the past four decades in International Psychiatric Congresses make up according to a recent issue of World Psychiatry a “ Splendid Corpus” in the Worlds of Pakistani and Islamic Psychiatry, Prof. Chaudhry’s name is a name that is synonymous with excellence.

Few pleasures could be comparable to a long and leisurely lunch with Prof. Chaudhry whose vast knowledge was lightly worn and willingly shared. His conversation sparkled, the shafts of light illuminating a vast array of subjects. We last saw him in Cairo last April 2000 when we attended a lunch hosted by Professor Omar Shaheen. In his charming high voice he had frequently tried to point out to us the importance of the future of WIAMH.

Pakistan’s most delightful psychiatrist, and one of the World’s most accomplished Mental Health workers is now gone, sadly. But with his passing WIAMH (his brain child) which he co-founded with his colleagues, will continue to deliver his message of Islam and Mental Health.

MINUTES OF WIAMH MEETING HELD IN CAIRO ON SATURDAY 9TH OF JUNE 2001, CAIRO, EGYPT

The meeting was attended by.

DRAFT MINUTES

1. The agenda was approved
2. The minutes of February 2001 were approved
3. Dr. Abu Bakr Badahdah made the following announcement

- The financial support for WIAMMH 7TTH International Congress to be held in Yemen, Aden, 15 – 17 October 2001

- He asked the secretariat of WIIAMH to announce this important event to every chapter around the World.

- He urged the secretariat to coooperrate closely with the president of the Yemeni Association for Mental Health, Dr. Maan Abd Al Bary to bring this WIAMH event to a successful conclusion.

- He urged the secretariat to annnounnce for the job of a person who is qualified in computers and who masters Arabic and English and he said that this job would be financed annually. This person will be working with Dr. Mahmoud Abu El Azayem the editor in Chief of Mental Peace.