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Third Family Counseling Forum

Supporting Arab Families During Times of Crisis

The Third Family Counseling Forum concluded with a set of recommendations focused on preserving the cohesion of Arab families during crises, improving mental-health awareness and services, supporting children and vulnerable groups, strengthening family counseling, and developing cooperation between educational, research, and social institutions.

Forum RecordNo. 003
  1. 01Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
  2. 0222 February 2024
  3. 03Final Forum Recommendations
FACFamily Advisory Council
Third Forum

Official Report

Ways to Preserve the Cohesion of the Arab Family During Crises

The report Ways to Preserve the Cohesion of the Arab Family During Crises was issued by the Family Advisory Council at the conclusion of the Third Forum held in Jeddah.

The report focused on preserving family cohesion during crises and on educational approaches that help children develop national identity and responsible citizenship.

The forum was held under the patronage of His Highness Prince Faisal bin Abdulrahman Al Saud, with the participation of more than 45 speakers and researchers. It also included specialist workshops intended to prepare counselors to provide psychological support to families during crises.

Dr. Khalifa Mohammed Al-Muharzi, Chairman of the Forum’s Scientific Committee and President of the Family Advisory Council, stated that the forum sessions resulted in recommendations covering the themes discussed by the participants and researchers.

Final Recommendations

Recommendations for Family Cohesion, Mental Health and Crisis Support

The recommendations are organised into clear thematic groups for readability, while preserving their official wording as issued in the forum report.

01

Mental-Health Awareness and Public Policy

  • Raise public awareness of mental health as an important dimension of personality and wellbeing.
  • Develop policies aimed at protecting and improving mental health for all groups within society.
  • Encourage periodic visits to psychological clinics for family members, with particular attention to adolescents and older people.
  • Encourage individuals to use facilities intended for walking and physical activity.
  • Support positive psychology through attention to hope, psychological security, positive interaction, and happiness.
  • Increase community awareness of mental health and the prevention of psychological disorders.
  • Promote accurate and responsible psychological knowledge.
  • Increase awareness of the social and economic value of psychological research.
02

Developing Mental-Health Services and Research

  • Conduct further research to improve services intended to strengthen mental health and quality of life.
  • Provide diverse services that meet the needs of people experiencing psychological and behavioural disorders.
  • Establish partnerships with research centres and institutions across Arab countries to support and develop scientific work in mental health.
  • Educate communities about the role of psychologists in building constructive relationships with the families of people experiencing psychological disorders.
  • Direct scientific research, counseling programmes, and treatment programmes toward improving mental health.
  • Support psychology specialists in developing and standardizing modern assessment tools that assist with early detection, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.
03

Universities, Education and Professional Development

  • Strengthen the role of universities and educational institutions across Arab countries in improving mental health and quality of life for Arab families, particularly during crises.
  • Establish guidance units in universities and colleges to provide counseling, preventive, and therapeutic services.
  • Create dedicated family-guidance and counseling departments in universities and colleges of Sharia.
  • Establish appropriate admission requirements for these departments to prepare successful and effective family counselors.
  • Provide professional-development programmes in mental health for specialists and practitioners working in educational institutions and psychological-treatment centres.
  • Train psychologists and mental-health professionals to deliver electronic psychological services.
04

Supporting People With Special Needs

  • Encourage Arab governments to allocate independent budgets supporting insurance and social-solidarity programmes for people with special needs.
  • Develop future plans within education colleges that include specialist courses on autism in response to its increasing prevalence.
  • Use modern technologies as a central part of education and training programmes for people with special needs.
  • Identify and address barriers affecting electronic education and develop practical proposals to resolve them.
05

Protecting Families and Children During Crises

  • Review family-related legislation across Arab countries.
  • Create awareness programmes that strengthen psychological support during crises.
  • Develop educational programmes and projects that protect children after trauma and crises.
  • Form specialist teams to provide psychological support to families during different crises.
  • Help families achieve stronger mental-health and quality-of-life outcomes.
  • Increase attention to children and improve psychological services provided by care institutions.
06

Family Legislation and Counseling Cooperation

  • Review personal-status legislation to ensure that it responds appropriately to changing social conditions and emerging challenges.
  • Build partnerships with family-guidance departments across Arab countries.
  • Exchange knowledge and experience among family-guidance organizations.
  • Provide family consultations through different communication channels.
  • Increase public awareness of family-guidance committees through appropriate communication and public-information channels.
07

National Programmes and Community Training

  • Prepare and support a national programme across Arab countries focused on community mental-health awareness.
  • Diversify training programmes offered to different groups within society.
  • Develop personal skills that help people manage psychological pressure.
  • Prepare and support families in achieving stronger mental-health and quality-of-life outcomes.
  • Use electronic technologies and social-media platforms to distribute responsible psychological content.
  • Design psychological-awareness and educational programmes for all groups in coordination with relevant organizations.
08

Early Detection and Support for Vulnerable Groups

  • Strengthen the early detection of psychological disorders.
  • Develop and support early-intervention approaches.
  • Increase attention to the early identification of suicide attempts and related risks.
  • Give particular attention to groups that are more vulnerable.
  • Direct specialists to provide appropriate support to those groups.
Session Record

The session proceedings included the reading of the agenda by Dr. Samir Al-Dhahrib, Chairman of the Advisory Authority of the Family Advisory Council, and Dr. Salim Al-Kahali, Secretary-General of the Council. The record of the eleventh session held on 22 February 2024 was also approved.

Official Forum Document

Read the Original Recommendations

The official recommendations document in Arabic (PDF).

View the Original Arabic PDF

Family Advisory Council

Supporting Stronger Families Through Shared Knowledge

The Council continues to promote family wellbeing through professional cooperation, research, counseling, education, and responsible community initiatives.

Contact the Council