An exploratory survey of mental health services for traumatized people in Bangladesh.

Background: There is little published in the field of mental health services for traumatized people in Bangladesh.

Objective: To identify the existence of any services for people with psychological trauma and to describe how they work.

Method: A telephone survey using a semi-structured interview was carried out in Summer 2008. Eight organisations were contacted, including two government agencies, two universities and four non-governmental agencies (NGOs).

Results: The survey identified eight services, seven of which were based in Dhaka. Three of the respondents provided services for children. Mental health interventions included selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), counselling, together with medical, educational, legal and occupational support.

Conclusions: There are services for traumatized people in Dhaka, but most of the rural population has limited access to them. Respondents acknowledged their training and development needs and the requirement to communicate more with each other. Future research is needed to address the efficacy of these services as well as the unmet necessities of the majority of the rural population of Bangladesh.