Triton 2025 - Magazine - Page 15
FIVE VIEWS ON PSYCHOLOGICAL WELLBEING
Psychological support: a basic right
Psychologist and psychotherapist Charles Watkins was working in private practice in Hamburg when he had
a chance conversation with a colleague who was writing a book about seafarers. “She knew my passion is to
try to bring psychological support to populations that don’t have the luxury to access it. I think it should be a
basic right to have access to medical and psychological services,” he says.
“I felt sure that there would be people focusing on the psychological wellbeing of seafarers – but my colleagues
didn’t 昀椀nd anything and suggested I did my own research.”
Quickly, he identi昀椀ed the gap and went on to MHSS in 2018. Today, the company provides support to seafarers
serving on board thousands of vessels operating around the world, and Watkins continues to speak out on
behalf of seafarers, their mental health challenges and their right to support.
“At the start, I wrote all these plans and had all these great ideas, but I didn’t have a background in seafaring at
all. I visited a vessel for the 昀椀rst time and soon found out that none of my plans were going to work. I had to
rewrite everything. A lot was new to me – and shocking.”
Many people didn’t believe his concept would work, insisting that seafarers would never use mental health
support, would not be open to therapy and wouldn’t understand the value of mental health support. “But every
seafarer I interviewed said we absolutely need this – it is one of the most pressing matters.”
Mental health support professionals are from a 昀椀eld of study that is very complex and dif昀椀cult but should be
listening to the people who will actually bene昀椀t, he said. “Especially in seafaring, it’s all about being very practical
and very swift and quick in your response time.”
As ships unload and load more quickly, time in port is shortened and shore leave becomes ever-more limited,
there have been dramatic changes, says Watkins. “I have interviewed seafarers who used to sail 20 or 30 years
ago who told me – I used to love to sail but I would never sail under today’s conditions.”
However, he doesn’t like ‘different de昀椀nitions for humans’, explaining: “If you look at what is really important for
people, it’s going to be the same – proper rest and sleep hours, good healthy food, meaningful connections
onboard and at home and feeling safe on board and good about your whereabouts and the possibilities you
have.
“It doesn’t matter what study you look at it, they all show that the thing seafarers worry most about is
connection to other people. So it’s either being bullied or harassed on board, or worrying about a family member
or loved one, maybe worrying about their safekeeping or their 昀椀nancial situation. That’s because we are social
beings.”
Among many new initiatives, MHSS is providing training for people to be ‘psychological 昀椀rst aiders’ on vessels,
offering a 昀椀rst person to talk to for any seafarer who is struggling.
Meanwhile, Watkins said, if funding and opportunity were no object, he would
increase the number of seafarers serving on each commercial vessel to ensure
that everyone gets enough rest and sleep; offer seafarers full-time contracts
to take away the anxiety around being hired on a contract by contract
basis, and introduce a standardised approach for mental health across
the entire industry.
Charles Watkins is CEO and Founder of
Mental Health Support Solutions (MHSS).
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Triton 2025
2025
