Nepal floods leave children traumatised as mental health crisis deepens

Nepal has deployed counsellors and helplines as flood survivors grapple with shock and separation. The response underscores a mounting mental health emergency likely to outlast the immediate rescue phase.Image used for representational purposes onlyNepal's deadliest floods in a decade have left behind a growing mental health crisis, with children waking from nightmares, adults struggling with fear and anxiety, and families separated by the rushing waters trying to find one another. As the country deals with the scale of the disaster, mental health workers say the psychological toll of loss, displacement and uncertainty is only now beginning to emerge.With the death toll crossing 900 and nearly 4,000 people still missing, the government has stepped up its mental health response in the worst-hit areas. According to a report by The Kathmandu Post on Tuesday, quoting officials, around 50 psychiatrists, psychologists and psychosocial counsellors have been deployed in Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts, while another 64 trained counsellors are on standby in Bagmati Province in view of what could be a prolonged need for support.The stepped-up response comes as more than 11,000 people have been rescued and entire settlements, homes, roads and bridges have been destroyed by the floods. Mental health professionals involved in the effort said Psychological First Aid, usually introduced after the immediate phase of a disaster, is now beginning in the worst-affected areas. Pomawati Thapa, senior consultant and medical generalist at the Department of Health Service, said about 10 of the 50 professionals deployed in Rasuwa and Nuwakot are directly providing Psychological First Aid, while a four-member team has been sent to Uttargaya in remote Rasuwa, an area without road access. She said the department has prepared a deployment plan and is coordinating placements where support is needed. Thapa said the initial response focused on Psychological First Aid and volunteer mobilisation while officials assessed conditions on the ground, and the Health Ministry later expanded deployment as the scale of the disaster became clearer.The response is being supported by the Nepal Red Cross Society, the Centre for Mental Health and Counseling Nepal, and several other NGOs. The government has also widened access to psychosocial support through telephone helplines. Ministry of Health and Food Safety deputy spokesperson Samir Kumar Adhikari said the 1115 hotline provides general health counselling and coordination, and staff handling calls have also been trained to offer basic psychosocial support after the floods. A dedicated psychosocial service is available through 1166, operated from Patan Mental Hospital, where calls are connected to psychosocial counsellors regardless of where they originate. Adhikari said seven counsellors are currently working in rotation to provide round-the-clock services. The ministry is also facilitating the 1098 Child Helpline. On the ground, however, mental health professionals said most survivors remain in the early stages of coping and formal counselling has barely begun. Psychologist Gopal Bohara, who is working with a four-member psychosocial team from the Centre for Mental Health and Counseling Nepal in Bidur, Nuwakot, said survivors were showing clear signs of shock and distress. "Most of them are currently in shock, unable to articulate their problems," Bohara said. He said two children at the holding centre have repeatedly woken up at night, suffering nightmares and crying that the flood has returned. Adults, he said, have shown anxiety, heightened fear and an exaggerated startle response. His team, made up of two psychologists and two psychosocial counsellors, is working alongside medical teams and coordinating with local health authorities.Psychiatrist Nirajan Bhattarai, who is part of a Health Ministry team deployed in Bidur Municipality, said the immediate priorities continue to be safety, basic needs and coordination. "Safety and basic needs have to come first," he said. Bhattarai said his team is providing emergency medication to people whose psychiatric treatment was disrupted by the flood and to those suffering from severe sleep disturbances, with Psychological First Aid and other interventions to follow as the immediate crisis stabilises. For now, much of the work involves reconnecting families, linking survivors with services and helping them get shelter and medical care rather than formal counselling. He said many adults were reluctant to interact with responders, while children appeared more willing to engage. Mental health workers have cautioned that the psychological impact may become more visible only after the immediate crisis has passed. Bohara said survivors were dealing not only with fear and grief but also with the loss of their communities. For now, the focus remains on keeping survivors safe, reuniting separated families, restoring access to psychiatric medication and providing Psychological First Aid as Nepal responds to the aftermath of the floods.With PTI Inputs- EndsPublished By: India Today Web Desk Published On: Sep 1, 2026 10:10 IST