Doha, Qatar: Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), in collaboration with Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC), is highlighting the continued development of specialist and community-based mental health services across Qatar as the country joins the global community in marking World Mental Health Day 2026.
Held annually on 10 October, World Mental Health Day provides an opportunity to highlight the importance of ensuring people can access high-quality mental health care that responds to their individual needs.
This year’s theme, “Lived Experiences Heard: Real Voices, Real Change,” emphasises the importance of meaningful engagement with people who have lived experience of mental health conditions and recognising their knowledge and experiences as an important contribution to the development and delivery of mental health services.
As Qatar’s main provider of specialist mental health care, HMC provides a comprehensive range of services for children, young people and adults across inpatient, outpatient, community and virtual settings. These include Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), perinatal mental health, older adult psychiatry, forensic psychiatry, intellectual disability services, adult psychiatry, psychology services and community mental health care.
The continued development of these specialist services reflects a wider shift towards providing high-quality mental health care within community settings wherever clinically appropriate, while maintaining access to specialised hospital-based services for patients with more complex needs.
People with lived experience have an important role within this approach. Their perspectives can help healthcare professionals better understand barriers to accessing care, identify opportunities to strengthen services and ensure that care pathways respond to the needs and circumstances of the people who use them.
Chairman of Mental Health at HMC, Dr. Majid Alabdulla said: “Over recent years, HMC has continued to expand and develop the range of specialist mental health services available to the people of Qatar. Our focus is on ensuring that patients receive evidence-based, patient-centred care from expert multidisciplinary teams, whether that care is provided in the community, through outpatient or virtual services, or within one of our specialist inpatient facilities.”
A key part of Qatar’s evolving model of mental health care has been the close collaboration between HMC and PHCC to integrate mental health services within primary care.
The partnership has supported the development of 28 integrated mental health clinics and services across health centers in Qatar, supporting access to community-based mental health care for a diverse range of patient groups, including adults, older adults, perinatal patients and autistic adults.
For patients, this integrated approach can provide greater continuity between primary and specialist care. Patients who can be appropriately supported within the community are able to receive care within familiar healthcare settings, while clear referral pathways remain in place for those requiring more complex or intensive specialist treatment through HMC.
Senior Consultant Family Physician, Assistant Managing Director - Operations and Clinical Affairs, and Executive Director of Operations at PHCC, Dr. Samya Al Abdulla said: “Primary care plays an important role in supporting people with mental health needs. Through PHCC health centers, patients can discuss mental health concerns with their family physician, receive assessment and appropriate care, and be referred to integrated or specialist mental health services when required.
Alongside integrated mental health services, PHCC Family Physicians play an important role in identifying, assessing and managing mental health needs within primary care, with access to psychology and other supportive services where appropriate. This enables patients to receive care at the most appropriate level, with referral to specialist services.
