West Java Government Pushes Competency Strengthening for Clinical Psychologists to Improve Mental Health Services

The Chair of the West Java PKK Driving Team, Samantha Dewi Erwan Setiawan, is encouraging the strengthening of clinical psychologist competencies in community health centres (puskesmas) and hospitals. The goal is to improve the quality of mental health services for the public. Samantha made the statement while attending the opening of a Workshop on Strengthening the Competence of Clinical Psychologists from Puskesmas and Hospitals in Practice and Their Role as Field Clinical Supervisors at the Health Training UPTD of the West Java Provincial Health Office in Bandung on Saturday (18/7/2026). The workshop was attended by representatives of clinical psychologists from puskesmas and hospitals across regencies and cities in West Java. The workshop is expected to enhance the competence of clinical psychologists in professional practice while strengthening their role as field clinical supervisors to support quality mental health services. “I hope this event brings benefits to all of us, especially to you who are representatives at hospitals and puskesmas in regencies and cities across West Java,” said Samantha. On the same occasion, West Java Regional Secretary Herman Suryatman asserted that strengthening the competence of clinical psychologists must be accompanied by expanding the reach of services to directly touch the community. He noted that clinical psychologists should not wait for the public to come to them; instead, they must go out into the community. Herman stated that West Java still faces social challenges with a poverty rate of 6.78 percent and an unemployment rate of 6.64 percent spread across 27 regencies and cities, 627 districts, 5,312 villages, and 645 urban wards. He expressed hope that clinical psychologists can be present in puskesmas across all 5,312 villages. He also invited all clinical psychologists to continuously improve their competence to address various mental health issues within the community. Chair of the Clinical Psychology Collegium, Indria Laksmi Gamayanti, expressed hope that West Java can become a pioneer in strengthening clinical psychology services at the puskesmas level through various sustainable training programmes. “Through various training sessions, psychologists are expected to be more prepared to carry out their roles and get closer to the community,” she said. She noted that improving competence is an important step in ensuring clinical psychologists can provide professional services while addressing the mental health problems faced by the public. She appreciated the West Java Provincial Government for facilitating training for clinical psychologists as part of efforts to improve the quality of human resources in the health sector. “This step is expected to be a good start in presenting increasingly competent psychologists for the benefit of the people of West Java,” said Indria.