Kazakhstan's mental health crisis: 'as men we can't seek help'

Mental health professionals in Kazakhstan are reporting a surge in the number of male clients seeking help as a result of the country’s financial crisis.

Psychologists say the economic downturn has proven particularly traumatic for men who are under significant pressure to provide for their families in what is still a heavily patriarchal society.

After the government agreed a free-floating exchange rate last August the tenge has fallen 45% against the dollar, with savings in the currency seeing huge devaluation.

The Kazakh news service Krisha.kz has reported that nearly a quarter of all mortgage holders across the country are now three months behind with repayments.

Official figures suggest unemployment was at 5.1% as of January 2016, but the real number may be much higher as the social stigma attached deters many from registering with the government.

For men like Vladimir, a former market analyst in the capital Almaty, the loss of his job and the struggle to find new work triggered severe depression and anxiety. “I’ve got a mortgage. I really searched hard for a new job, but with no success,” he explains.

Vladimir reluctantly decided to seek help. “I realised that I couldn’t go on like this, but still felt ashamed [to visit a psychologist]. It’s hard to explain, I felt as if I weren’t a man.

“I wanted to run away during that first session, but then I calmed down and got used to it. As time went by and I kept being counselled, I felt better.”

Irina Kirova, a therapist working in Almaty, said the number of male clients seeking help is unprecedented.

“It has tripled within a year,” she explained. “In 2011 I held only two counselling sessions with men for every seven with women, today I have 15 sessions with men for every five with women.”

Kirova said that in line with Kazakh tradition, the man is the head of the household and must be the main breadwinner. “For [Kazakh] men demonstrating weakness is unthinkable,” she added.

Most of her clients are between 32 and 50, and many prefer to keep their visits secret, even from those closest to them.

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Fear

Mikhail, a plumber who has also been affected by mental health issues, says he prefers to tackle his issues on his own, but recognises that anxiety over money often goes hand-in-hand with broader social problems.

“Many of my friends go on a [drinking] binge because of their family issues. [Their families] are dissatisfied with their earnings, with the fact that they don’t spend enough time with them and don’t make enough money,” he says.

Seven years ago, a men’s crisis centre was opened in Almaty by the Er Azamat Public Association. Though there are some 40 centres for women operating across the country this was the first focused specifically on men, offering psychological services as well as a hotline for those in need of emergency help.

But it didn’t last long. The project closed down a year later after only 200 men contacted it for assistance. Zulfiya Baysakova, chairwoman of the Association of Legal Entities Union of Crisis Centres of Kazakstan, says this is was because it’s a struggle to persuade men to seek help.

“Most regrettably, in Kazakhstan the idea of a crisis centre for men did not take root. Our men are embarrassed to talk about problems. While for a [Kazakh] woman the problem is avoiding being abandoned by her husband, for a man the problem is how to support his family,” Baysakova said.

For his part Vladimir is happy he chose to talk to someone, although he still feels ashamed of his choice. “I visited a psychologist when I realised I couldn’t go on without professional help,” Vladimir says. “My wife and children still don’t know. I don’t want to tell them.”

Some names have been changed. This article first appeared on the Institute of War and Peace Reporting.